@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ MCPHawk is a passive sniffer for **Model Context Protocol (MCP)** traffic, simil
1515
1616- It captures JSON-RPC traffic between MCP clients and WebSocket/TCP-based MCP servers (IPv4 and IPv6) e.g. from any tool, agent, or LLM
1717- MCPHawk can reconstruct full JSON-RPC messages from raw TCP traffic without requiring a handshake.
18- - It captures traffic "on the wire" between any MCP client and server—does not require client/server modification.
18+ - It captures traffic "on the wire" between any MCP client and server—does not require client/server modification.
1919
2020<img src =" examples/branding/mcphawk_screenshot.png " alt =" MCPHawk Logo " width =" 100% " >
2121
@@ -68,6 +68,24 @@ Non-exhaustive list:
6868- ** mcpinspector** : Best for actively testing MCP servers, crafting custom requests, interactive debugging
6969- ** Wireshark** : Best for general network analysis, non-MCP protocols, deep packet inspection
7070
71+ ## TLS/HTTPS Limitations
72+
73+ MCPHawk captures ** unencrypted** MCP traffic only. It cannot decrypt:
74+ - HTTPS/WSS (WebSocket Secure) connections
75+ - TLS-encrypted TCP connections
76+ - Any SSL/TLS encrypted traffic
77+
78+ ** This tool is ideal for:**
79+ - 🛠️ ** Local MCP development** - Debug your MCP server implementations
80+ - 🔍 ** Understanding MCP protocol** - See actual JSON-RPC message flow
81+ - 🐛 ** Troubleshooting local tools** - Monitor Claude Desktop, Cline, etc. with YOUR local MCP servers
82+ - 📊 ** Development/staging environments** - Where TLS is often disabled
83+
84+ ** Not suitable for:**
85+ - Production traffic analysis (usually encrypted)
86+ - Cloud MCP services (HTTPS/WSS)
87+ - Third-party MCP servers with TLS
88+
7189## Installation
7290
7391### For Users
@@ -176,6 +194,10 @@ Vote for features by opening a GitHub issue!
176194- [ ] ** Visualization** - Sequence diagrams, resource heat maps, method dependency graphs
177195- [ ] ** MCP Server Interface** - Expose captured traffic via MCP server for AI agents to query and analyze traffic patterns
178196
197+ ... and a few more off the deep end:
198+ - [ ] ** TLS/HTTPS Support (MITM Proxy Mode)** - Optional man-in-the-middle proxy with certificate installation for encrypted traffic
199+ - [ ] ** External Decryption Integration** - Import decrypted streams from Wireshark, Chrome DevTools, or SSLKEYLOGFILE
200+
179201## For Developers
180202
181203``` bash
0 commit comments