Install Root CA Certificate
To inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic without browser warnings, your browser or OS must trust the Hexbuffer Root CA. Select your browser below for step-by-step instructions.
Select Your Browser
Google Chrome
System & Chrome Storechrome://settings/certificatesChrome delegates certificate validation to the underlying operating system trust store or its built-in Chrome Root Store depending on the OS and configuration.
macOS
Install and trust the CA in one command:
sudo security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain ~/.hexbuffer/cert/ca.pem- 1
Open Certificate Settings in Chrome
Navigate to chrome://settings/certificates in Chrome, or go to Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Manage certificates. This will open macOS Keychain Access.
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Add Certificate to System Keychain
In Keychain Access, select 'System' in the left sidebar under Keychains, and choose the 'Certificates' tab. Drag and drop your ca.pem file into the list (or click File → Import Items...).
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Set Trust to 'Always Trust'
Double-click 'Hexbuffer Root CA' in the list. Expand the 'Trust' section, and set 'When using this certificate:' to 'Always Trust'.
Important: All child trust settings (SSL, S/MIME, Code Signing) will automatically change to Always Trust.
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Save and Authenticate
Close the certificate inspector window. macOS will prompt for your administrator password or Touch ID to confirm the trust modification.
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Restart Chrome
Fully quit Chrome (Cmd+Q) and reopen it to apply the refreshed certificate authority trust cache.
Windows
Install and trust the CA in one command:
Import-Certificate -FilePath "$HOME\.hexbuffer\cert\ca.pem" -CertStoreLocation Cert:\LocalMachine\Root- 1
Open Manage Certificates
In Chrome, go to chrome://settings/certificates or navigate to Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Manage device certificates.
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Select Trusted Root Certification Authorities
In the Windows Certificates dialog, click on the 'Trusted Root Certification Authorities' tab, then click the 'Import...' button.
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Browse to the CA File
Click 'Next' in the Certificate Import Wizard. Click 'Browse...', set file type filter to 'All Files (*.*)', and select your ca.pem or ca.crt file.
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Place in Trusted Root Store
Select 'Place all certificates in the following store' and verify that 'Trusted Root Certification Authorities' is selected. Click 'Next', then 'Finish'.
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Confirm Windows Security Warning
Windows will display a Security Warning asking if you want to install the certificate. Click 'Yes' to authorize.
Linux
Install and trust the CA in one command:
sudo cp ~/.hexbuffer/cert/ca.pem /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/hexbuffer-ca.crt && sudo update-ca-certificates- 1
Open Chrome Certificate Manager
Navigate to chrome://settings/certificates in Chrome. Select the 'Authorities' tab.
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Import the CA Certificate
Click the 'Import' button and navigate to your ~/.hexbuffer/cert/ca.pem file.
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Set Trust Settings
In the dialog prompt, check the box: 'Trust this certificate for identifying websites'. Optionally check other trust purposes if needed.
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Save and Restart
Click 'OK' and restart Chrome to load the newly imported certificate into NSS database.
Verifying CA Installation
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1. Start Hexbuffer Proxy
Ensure Hexbuffer proxy is running on 127.0.0.1:8080 (or your configured port).
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2. Set Browser Proxy
Configure your browser or system proxy to HTTP / HTTPS proxy 127.0.0.1:8080.
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3. Visit an HTTPS Target
Navigate to any HTTPS website (e.g. https://httpbin.org/get or https://example.com).
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4. Verify Certificate Details
Click the padlock icon next to the URL. The certificate hierarchy should show 'Hexbuffer Root CA' as the root issuer, with a valid, trusted status and no warnings.
Learn how Hexbuffer handles certificate forging
Deep dive into the Tokio, Hyper, and rustls interception pipeline.