Automation and testing: proxy guides

Automation and testing tools drive a browser or send requests on a schedule. These guides show where each one takes a proxy and how to hand it a username and password.

• ZennoPoster

  ZennoPoster is a Windows program from ZennoLab for building browser automation without much code. A project sets its proxy with an action, and the proxy is written as one address.

• Browser Automation Studio

  Browser Automation Studio, or BAS, is a free builder for browser bots on Windows. A script sets its proxy with the proxy action in the browser module.

• n8n

  n8n is a workflow automation tool you can host yourself. Its HTTP Request node has a proxy option, so a single step of a workflow can leave from a chosen country.

• Node-RED

  Node-RED wires together devices and services in a flow editor. Its http request node can use a proxy configuration with a username and password.

• Postman

  Postman is the common desktop tool for trying out APIs. Its settings can send every request through a proxy you choose, which is a quick way to see what an API returns in another country.

• Insomnia

  Insomnia is a desktop client for REST and GraphQL APIs. Its preferences take one proxy address for http and one for https.

• Cypress

  Cypress runs end-to-end tests in a browser. It reads its proxy from environment variables, set before Cypress starts.

• TestCafe

  TestCafe runs browser tests without WebDriver. It takes a proxy, with its login, as one command-line option.

• WebdriverIO

  WebdriverIO runs browser tests through WebDriver. The browser takes a proxy host and port in its capabilities, but there is no place for a username and password.

• Robot Framework

  Robot Framework tests are written in keywords. Where the proxy goes depends on the library: the Browser library takes it when the browser is opened, and RequestsLibrary takes it when a session is created.

• Browserless

  Browserless runs headless Chrome as a service that Puppeteer or Playwright connects to. The proxy is a Chrome launch argument on the connection address, and the login is given to the page.

• mitmproxy

  mitmproxy lets you watch and change the traffic of an app you are testing. In upstream mode it passes that traffic on through another proxy, so you can inspect it and change its country at once.

• Burp Suite

  Burp Suite is the standard tool for testing the security of web applications you are authorised to test. It can send its own traffic on through an upstream proxy.

• Charles Proxy

  Charles is a debugging proxy for seeing what an app or site sends. It can pass traffic on through an external proxy, which lets you debug a session as it looks from another country.

• Telethon

  Telethon is a Python library for the Telegram API. The client takes a proxy when it is created, and SOCKS5 is the usual choice.

• python-telegram-bot

  python-telegram-bot is a framework for writing Telegram bots in Python. The proxy is set on the application builder.

• discord.py

  discord.py is the common Python library for Discord bots. The bot takes a proxy address and, separately, the proxy login.

• yt-dlp

  yt-dlp downloads video and audio from the command line. One option sends it through a proxy.

• Automation Tools and Proxies: Setup Index

  An index of proxy setup guides for automation and testing tools, with a note on tools such as Zapier and Make that have no proxy setting at all.

Proxy types these guides use

• ResidentialHousehold IPs you can aim at a country, a state or one city. From $3.52 per GB.
• MobileCarrier IPs on live 4G and 5G networks, the most trusted kind. From $3.52 per GB.
• Residential LiteBudget household IPs for big scraping jobs, targeted by country. From $0.96 per GB.
• Unlimited DatacenterUS server IPs with the meter off: pay for speed and time, not data. From $0.56 per hour.

Rotating or sticky?

If your tool is acting as one visitor through several steps, use a sticky session so the IP address stays the same throughout. If each run is independent, leave the session out and every run starts from a new address.

Terms explained: headless browser, rotating proxy, sticky session, proxy authentication.

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