How to set up a proxy on Linux

Which proxy works best with Linux?

Residential proxies with a sticky session are the usual choice for browsing, because the IP address looks like a home connection and stays the same while you work. For heavy use such as video, a time-based Unlimited Datacenter plan avoids paying by the gigabyte.

• Residentialfrom $3.52 per GB
• Mobilefrom $3.52 per GB
• Unlimited Datacenterfrom $0.56 per hour

Proxy settings for Linux: host, port and login

A BooProxies plan gives you four things: a host, a port, a username and a password. These are the values for Residential; the username and password are on your plan page.

As one address:

http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.proxies.boo:8080

The country and the session are chosen in the username, not in a separate setting. The generator on your plan page writes the username for you, and Targeting and sessions explains each part.

Linux proxy setup, step by step

1. Set the variables in the shell you work in.
2. Run your program from that shell.
3. To make them permanent, add the lines to your shell profile.

Linux proxy example

Shell

export http_proxy=http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.proxies.boo:8080
export https_proxy=http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@resi.proxies.boo:8080
export no_proxy=localhost,127.0.0.1
curl https://api.ipify.org

Replace USERNAME and PASSWORD with the login from your plan page. The example asks an IP-check address, so the output is the address your request left from.

Rotating or sticky sessions for Linux?

A device or browser that sends everything through the proxy is acting as one visitor, so a sticky session is usually what you want: the IP address stays the same while you work. Remember that gigabyte plans count all traffic, so video and large downloads use a plan up quickly.

A sticky username looks like this:

USERNAME-country-us-time-600-session-a1b2c3d4

Linux proxy not working?

• Set the lower-case names. Some programs only read http_proxy, others also read HTTP_PROXY; lower case is the one nearly all of them accept.
• GNOME's network settings have a manual proxy page, but it has no field for a login. Programs that follow it will ask for the username and password, or fail.
• For a program that ignores these variables, see Proxychains.
• A 407 error means the username or password was not accepted. Copy both again from your plan page, and check that nothing added a space or cut the username short.
• If the IP address is in the wrong country, look at the username: the country code is part of it. More fixes.

Questions about Linux and proxies

Terms explained: proxy port, proxy format, HTTP proxy, SOCKS5 proxy, proxy checker.

Linux is a product of its own makers. BooProxies is not affiliated with it; the name is used here only to say what this guide is about. Use it within the rules of the sites you work with and our acceptable use policy.