HttpWatch supports several file formats for saving or exporting recorded sessions. The best choice depends on whether the file will be reopened in HttpWatch or exchanged with other tools.
This is HttpWatch's native format for saving and loading logs. If a log will be opened in HttpWatch Studio or used through automation, HWL is normally the preferred format because:
HAR is a JSON-based interchange format supported by browsers and network-analysis tools. HttpWatch writes HAR 1.2 by default and can write HAR 1.1 or 1.2. It imports HAR version 1.1 and later 1.x files subject to format and field compatibility checks.
The HAR 1.2 editor's draft was last updated in 2012 and predates standardized representation of HTTP/2 and HTTP/3. HAR is useful for interoperability, but it does not provide a standard representation for every HttpWatch-specific or modern protocol detail. Differences among HAR implementations can also prevent a file written by one tool from loading completely in another.
XML export writes the current log in the HttpWatch XML 5.1 format. This is a one-way export format: HttpWatch Studio does not open or import XML files. In HttpWatch Basic Edition, XML export omits requests whose URLs are restricted by the license.
The CSV export format can be customized to contain almost any data field displayed by HttpWatch or can simply be based on the columns selected for display in the main request grid. The format is useful if you just want to view certain data items in Excel or have a simpler file format to import into other tools.
HttpWatch log files cannot be reloaded from CSV.