How to Use an HTTP or SOCKS5 Proxy with cURL, Python and Node.js

Every AptProxy proxy uses username and password authentication. In My Proxies you can copy each proxy as IP:Port:User:Pass, User:Pass@IP:Port or IP:Port only, and switch between the HTTP port and the SOCKS5 port where a SOCKS5 port exists. The examples below use the documentation address 203.0.113.10 and placeholder credentials; replace them with your own.

1. Build the proxy URL

Most tools accept a single proxy URL: scheme, credentials, host and port. Use http:// with the HTTP port and socks5h:// with the SOCKS5 port. The h in socks5h means DNS is resolved by the proxy, so the target's hostname never leaks to your local resolver.

http://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8000
socks5h://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8001

If the password contains characters such as @, : or /, URL-encode it first (encodeURIComponent in JavaScript, urllib.parse.quote in Python).

2. cURL

# HTTP proxy
curl -x http://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8000 https://api.ipify.org?format=json

# SOCKS5 proxy (DNS resolved by the proxy)
curl -x socks5h://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8001 https://api.ipify.org?format=json

The response shows the IP address the website sees. It should be the proxy's IP, not yours.

3. Python (requests)

import requests

proxy = "http://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8000"
proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}
r = requests.get("https://api.ipify.org?format=json", proxies=proxies, timeout=30)
print(r.json())

For SOCKS5, install the SOCKS extra and change the scheme:

# pip install "requests[socks]"
proxy = "socks5h://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8001"
proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}

4. Node.js (axios)

import axios from "axios";
import { HttpsProxyAgent } from "https-proxy-agent";

const agent = new HttpsProxyAgent("http://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8000");
const { data } = await axios.get("https://api.ipify.org?format=json", {
  httpsAgent: agent,
  proxy: false, // let the agent handle the proxy
});
console.log(data);

For SOCKS5, use socks-proxy-agent instead:

import { SocksProxyAgent } from "socks-proxy-agent";

const agent = new SocksProxyAgent("socks5h://USER:PASS@203.0.113.10:8001");
const { data } = await axios.get("https://api.ipify.org?format=json", {
  httpAgent: agent,
  httpsAgent: agent,
  proxy: false,
});

5. Fixing common errors

• 407 Proxy Authentication Required: the username or password is wrong, or a special character in the password was not URL-encoded.
• Connection refused or reset right away: the port and protocol do not match, for example a SOCKS5 URL pointed at the HTTP port. Copy the port for the protocol you use.
• IPv6 proxies time out on some sites: IPv6 proxies only reach targets that support IPv6. Test with an IPv6-capable endpoint such as https://api64.ipify.org. IPv6 orders are HTTPS or SOCKS5, chosen when you order (minimum 10 IPs).
• An IP shows as pending: the provider is still allocating it. Press Sync on the order to fetch it once it is ready.

You can also check that a proxy responds, and see its latency, with the ping button on the order page.