All comparisons
toran vs Charles Proxy
Charles Proxy is a desktop interception proxy for macOS and Windows. It's a common choice for debugging mobile apps and local desktop requests by routing a device or machine through a local proxy.
What Charles is good at
- ✓Debugging mobile apps on a local device by configuring a proxy and trusting a certificate
- ✓Inspecting broad local traffic from a machine (not just one API)
- ✓Interactive, manual debugging workflows (breakpoints, rewrite rules, and on-the-fly edits)
Where it falls short for teams
- △Primarily local: not a natural fit for servers, CI pipelines, cloud functions, or containers
- △Setup friction: installation, proxy configuration, and HTTPS certificate management
- △Debugging backend APIs requires server-side certificate trust or proxy configuration
- △Sharing workflows are typically file-based (exports) rather than link-based live viewing
How toran is different
- →toran sits inline as a forward proxy by swapping a base URL - no certificate setup needed
- →Shows real outbound API requests from servers, CI, containers, and agents
- →Built for team sharing: the same toran can be viewed by multiple people
- →Read-only by design: no retries, caching, mutation, or policy enforcement
- →Captures practical timing breakdowns (upstream TTFB, transfers, and toran overhead)
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Quick decision rule
Use Charles for on-device mobile traffic inspection where you control the device. Use toran to debug your backend APIs without server-side certificate setup, or when you need visibility into requests from servers, CI, or agents.
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See your outbound API requests in seconds - no setup required.