Debugging tools
Block List
Block matching requests in Cloak Proxy with a 403 Forbidden response or by dropping the connection, to test failures or silence noisy endpoints.
The Block List stops matching requests before they reach the server. Cloak Proxy either answers with 403 Forbidden or closes the connection as if the network failed. Use it to see how your app copes when one endpoint is down, or to keep analytics and ad requests out of a test.
Block a request
Section titled “Block a request”-
Right-click a request in the traffic list and choose Tools › Block List….
Cloak Proxy creates a rule that matches the request’s URL (without its query) for any method, with subpaths on, turns the Block List on and opens the rule. To start from scratch, choose Tools › Edit Block List Rules… (⌥ ⌘ K) and click +.
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Adjust the matcher if needed. To block a whole host, use something like
analytics.example.com/. -
Under Action, choose Return 403 Forbidden or Drop the connection.
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Make the request again. It shows a
Block Listbadge in the traffic list.
A Block List rule. The note under the actions says what the app will see.
- The URL to block.
- Answer with 403 Forbidden.
- Close the connection with no response.
Actions
Section titled “Actions”| Action | What the app sees | In the traffic list |
|---|---|---|
| Return 403 Forbidden (default) | A 403 Forbidden response with Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8, the header X-Cloak-Proxy: blocked, and the body Blocked by Cloak Proxy rule “<rule name>”. |
A completed request with status 403. |
| Drop the connection | The connection closes without a response, as if the network failed. | A failed request with the message Blocked by “<rule name>”. |
Pick Return 403 Forbidden to test how your app shows a server refusal, and Drop the connection to test its offline and retry handling.
How blocking works with other tools
Section titled “How blocking works with other tools”- The Block List runs first. A blocked request never reaches scripts, breakpoints, Map Local, Mock Sets, Map Remote, Network Conditions or the server.
- Only the first matching rule is used.
- Blocked requests are still recorded (unless the Allow List hides them) and still trigger Alerts, so a Server error (5xx) alert won’t fire on a 403, but Any error will.