How to "tail" raw HTTP requests to web app?

Question

I am new to working with raw HTTP and am trying to work with some relatively low-level libraries for making HTTP requests from a micro-controller. I have written a Sinatra application for the micro-controller to POST to. However, I don't know how to "tail" or view the raw HTTP requests coming in to see if I have formatted them correctly. What sorts of things can I do (apps, libraries, commands, ruby or other) in order to tail/view the raw HTTP request?

Answer 1

It's easy to use Wireshark to sniff the traffic; just run it on the server itself or on a third computer connected to the other two by a span port or hub. Wireshark's dissectors can help you ensure your formatting is reasonable.

Answer 2

If your communication stack allows you to specify a proxy, you can use Fiddler2, an HTTP debugging proxy, to peek at the HTTP requests and responses.

It's free, Windows only. If that doesn't work for you, there are similar options on other platforms. search for HTTP Debugging proxy.