diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a2d898b89..226075393 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 ### Internal
 
 - Factor out do_request in HTTP transport ([#2662](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-ruby/pull/2662))
+- Add `Sentry::DebugTransport` that captures events and stores them as JSON for debugging purposes ([#2664](https://github.com/getsentry/sentry-ruby/pull/2664))
 
 ## 5.26.0
 
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/configuration.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/configuration.rb
index 0a0f7236d..eea7d4fce 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/configuration.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/configuration.rb
@@ -196,6 +196,11 @@ def capture_exception_frame_locals=(value)
     # @return [Logger]
     attr_accessor :sdk_logger
 
+    # File path for DebugTransport to log events to. If not set, defaults to a temporary file.
+    # This is useful for debugging and testing purposes.
+    # @return [String, nil]
+    attr_accessor :sdk_debug_transport_log_file
+
     # @deprecated Use {#sdk_logger=} instead.
     def logger=(logger)
       warn "[sentry] `config.logger=` is deprecated. Please use `config.sdk_logger=` instead."
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/dsn.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/dsn.rb
index 3877b57fb..0be43a0e3 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/dsn.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/dsn.rb
@@ -1,11 +1,15 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 require "uri"
+require "ipaddr"
+require "resolv"
 
 module Sentry
   class DSN
     PORT_MAP = { "http" => 80, "https" => 443 }.freeze
     REQUIRED_ATTRIBUTES = %w[host path public_key project_id].freeze
+    LOCALHOST_NAMES = %w[localhost 127.0.0.1 ::1 [::1]].freeze
+    LOCALHOST_PATTERN = /\.local(host|domain)?$/i
 
     attr_reader :scheme, :secret_key, :port, *REQUIRED_ATTRIBUTES
 
@@ -49,5 +53,33 @@ def csp_report_uri
     def envelope_endpoint
       "#{path}/api/#{project_id}/envelope/"
     end
+
+    def local?
+      @local ||= (localhost? || private_ip? || resolved_ips_private?)
+    end
+
+    def localhost?
+      LOCALHOST_NAMES.include?(host.downcase) || LOCALHOST_PATTERN.match?(host)
+    end
+
+    def private_ip?
+      @private_ip ||= begin
+        begin
+          IPAddr.new(host).private?
+        rescue IPAddr::InvalidAddressError
+          false
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    def resolved_ips_private?
+      @resolved_ips_private ||= begin
+        begin
+          Resolv.getaddresses(host).any? { |ip| IPAddr.new(ip).private? }
+        rescue Resolv::ResolvError, IPAddr::InvalidAddressError
+          false
+        end
+      end
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/test_helper.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/test_helper.rb
index 5c04da796..7fb313b57 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/test_helper.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/test_helper.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,9 @@ module Sentry
   module TestHelper
     DUMMY_DSN = "http://12345:67890@sentry.localdomain/sentry/42"
 
+    # Not really real, but it will be resolved as a non-local for testing needs
+    REAL_DSN = "https://user:pass@getsentry.io/project/42"
+
     # Alters the existing SDK configuration with test-suitable options. Mainly:
     # - Sets a dummy DSN instead of `nil` or an actual DSN.
     # - Sets the transport to DummyTransport, which allows easy access to the captured events.
@@ -46,6 +49,11 @@ def setup_sentry_test(&block)
     def teardown_sentry_test
       return unless Sentry.initialized?
 
+      transport = Sentry.get_current_client&.transport
+      if transport.is_a?(Sentry::DebugTransport)
+        transport.clear
+      end
+
       # pop testing layer created by `setup_sentry_test`
       # but keep the base layer to avoid nil-pointer errors
       # TODO: find a way to notify users if they somehow popped the test layer before calling this method
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport.rb
index 2877982c2..0c93e7dfa 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport.rb
@@ -223,3 +223,4 @@ def reject_rate_limited_items(envelope)
 require "sentry/transport/dummy_transport"
 require "sentry/transport/http_transport"
 require "sentry/transport/spotlight_transport"
+require "sentry/transport/debug_transport"
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/debug_transport.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/debug_transport.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..58d3ffb3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/debug_transport.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "json"
+require "fileutils"
+require "pathname"
+require "delegate"
+
+module Sentry
+  # DebugTransport is a transport that logs events to a file for debugging purposes.
+  #
+  # It can optionally also send events to Sentry via HTTP transport if a real DSN
+  # is provided.
+  class DebugTransport < SimpleDelegator
+    DEFAULT_LOG_FILE_PATH = File.join("log", "sentry_debug_events.log")
+
+    attr_reader :log_file, :backend
+
+    def initialize(configuration)
+      @log_file = initialize_log_file(configuration)
+      @backend = initialize_backend(configuration)
+
+      super(@backend)
+    end
+
+    def send_event(event)
+      log_envelope(envelope_from_event(event))
+      backend.send_event(event)
+    end
+
+    def log_envelope(envelope)
+      envelope_json = {
+        timestamp: Time.now.utc.iso8601,
+        envelope_headers: envelope.headers,
+        items: envelope.items.map do |item|
+          { headers: item.headers, payload: item.payload }
+        end
+      }
+
+      File.open(log_file, "a") { |file| file << JSON.dump(envelope_json) << "\n" }
+    end
+
+    def logged_envelopes
+      return [] unless File.exist?(log_file)
+
+      File.readlines(log_file).map do |line|
+        JSON.parse(line)
+      end
+    end
+
+    def clear
+      File.write(log_file, "")
+      log_debug("DebugTransport: Cleared events from #{log_file}")
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    def initialize_backend(configuration)
+      backend = configuration.dsn.local? ? DummyTransport : HTTPTransport
+      backend.new(configuration)
+    end
+
+    def initialize_log_file(configuration)
+      log_file = Pathname(configuration.sdk_debug_transport_log_file || DEFAULT_LOG_FILE_PATH)
+
+      FileUtils.mkdir_p(log_file.dirname) unless log_file.dirname.exist?
+
+      log_file
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/dummy_transport.rb b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/dummy_transport.rb
index 66cda814d..4179ba1cc 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/dummy_transport.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/lib/sentry/transport/dummy_transport.rb
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ def initialize(*)
 
     def send_event(event)
       @events << event
+      super
     end
 
     def send_envelope(envelope)
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/dsn_spec.rb b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/dsn_spec.rb
index 181c6a1b9..04f2b8d11 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/dsn_spec.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/dsn_spec.rb
@@ -37,4 +37,29 @@
       expect(subject.csp_report_uri).to eq("http://sentry.localdomain:3000/api/42/security/?sentry_key=12345")
     end
   end
+
+  describe "#local?" do
+    it "returns true for localhost" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@localhost/sentry/42").local?).to eq(true)
+    end
+
+    it "returns true for 127.0.0.1" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@127.0.0.1/sentry/42").local?).to eq(true)
+    end
+    it "returns true for ::1" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@[::1]/sentry/42").local?).to eq(true)
+    end
+
+    it "returns true for private IP" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@192.168.0.1/sentry/42").local?).to eq(true)
+    end
+
+    it "returns true for private IP with port" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@192.168.0.1:3000/sentry/42").local?).to eq(true)
+    end
+
+    it "returns false for non-local domain" do
+      expect(described_class.new("http://12345:67890@sentry.io/sentry/42").local?).to eq(false)
+    end
+  end
 end
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/rack/capture_exceptions_spec.rb b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/rack/capture_exceptions_spec.rb
index a8f1b6fba..7ff6f4e4a 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/rack/capture_exceptions_spec.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/rack/capture_exceptions_spec.rb
@@ -667,11 +667,15 @@ def will_be_sampled_by_sdk
 
           Sentry.session_flusher.flush
 
-          expect(sentry_envelopes.count).to eq(1)
-          envelope = sentry_envelopes.first
+          expect(sentry_envelopes.count).to eq(3)
 
-          expect(envelope.items.length).to eq(1)
-          item = envelope.items.first
+          session_envelope = sentry_envelopes.find do |envelope|
+            envelope.items.any? { |item| item.type == 'sessions' }
+          end
+
+          expect(session_envelope).not_to be_nil
+          expect(session_envelope.items.length).to eq(1)
+          item = session_envelope.items.first
           expect(item.type).to eq('sessions')
           expect(item.payload[:attrs]).to eq({ release: 'test-release', environment: 'test' })
           expect(item.payload[:aggregates].first).to eq({ exited: 10, errored: 2, started: now_bucket.iso8601 })
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/transport/debug_transport_spec.rb b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/transport/debug_transport_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..90b283ff3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry/transport/debug_transport_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+RSpec.describe Sentry do
+  let(:client) { Sentry.get_current_client }
+  let(:transport) { Sentry.get_current_client.transport }
+  let(:error) { StandardError.new("test error") }
+
+  before do
+    perform_basic_setup
+
+    setup_sentry_test do |config|
+      config.dsn = dsn
+      config.transport.transport_class = Sentry::DebugTransport
+      config.debug = true
+    end
+  end
+
+  after do
+    teardown_sentry_test
+  end
+
+  context "with local DSN for testing" do
+    let(:dsn) { Sentry::TestHelper::DUMMY_DSN }
+
+    describe ".capture_exception with debug transport" do
+      it "logs envelope data and stores an event internally" do
+        Sentry.capture_exception(error)
+
+        expect(transport.events.count).to be(1)
+        expect(transport.backend.events.count).to be(1)
+        expect(transport.backend.envelopes.count).to be(1)
+
+        event = transport.logged_envelopes.last
+        item = event["items"].first
+        payload = item["payload"]
+
+        expect(payload["exception"]["values"].first["value"]).to include("test error")
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  context "with a real DSN for testing" do
+    let(:dsn) { Sentry::TestHelper::REAL_DSN }
+
+    describe ".capture_exception with debug transport" do
+      it "sends an event and logs envelope" do
+        stub_request(:post, "https://getsentry.io/project/api/42/envelope/")
+          .to_return(status: 200, body: "", headers: {})
+
+        Sentry.capture_exception(error)
+
+        expect(transport.logged_envelopes.count).to be(1)
+
+        event = transport.logged_envelopes.last
+        item = event["items"].first
+        payload = item["payload"]
+
+        expect(payload["exception"]["values"].first["value"]).to include("test error")
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry_spec.rb b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry_spec.rb
index f5b1f4aea..5f0e2c97f 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry_spec.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/spec/sentry_spec.rb
@@ -390,7 +390,8 @@
 
       Sentry.get_current_client.flush
 
-      expect(sentry_envelopes.size).to be(2)
+      # 3 envelopes: log, transaction, and client_report about dropped profile
+      expect(sentry_envelopes.size).to be(3)
 
       log_event = sentry_logs.first
 
diff --git a/sentry-ruby/spec/spec_helper.rb b/sentry-ruby/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 3dc57f956..031fac7a4 100644
--- a/sentry-ruby/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/sentry-ruby/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -79,6 +79,14 @@
   end
 
   config.after(:each) do
+    if Sentry.initialized?
+      transport = Sentry.get_current_client&.transport
+
+      if transport.is_a?(Sentry::DebugTransport)
+        transport.clear
+      end
+    end
+
     reset_sentry_globals!
   end