How to Set Up a Proxy on Any Device

No: typing the proxy into your settings is enough on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iPhone and in every major browser. You need extra software only in four cases:

The built-in fields are documented by the makers themselves: Microsoft's Use a proxy server in Windows, Apple's Change proxy settings on Mac and Mozilla's Connection settings in Firefox. A proxy only changes the route of the traffic that uses it; it is not a VPN, which covers the whole device: VPN vs proxy.

Every proxy setup asks for the same 5 details; collect them first.

1. Address (host): the proxy server's host name or IP. ProxyField: gate.proxyfield.io.
2. Port: the number the proxy listens on. ProxyField: 7000 with a username and password, and SOCKS5 runs on the same gate.proxyfield.io:7000; with the IP allowlist, use the port you set up in the dashboard.
3. Protocol: HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5; your app must support the one you use. ProxyField: all three on the same gateway.
4. Login: a username and password, or your public IP on the provider's allowlist. ProxyField: both, in your account. An allowlist needs a fixed public IP; on mobile data or a connection whose IP changes, use the username and password.
5. Location and session: country, region or city, and a new IP per request or a sticky IP. ProxyField: in the username, e.g. <login>-country-us-city-new_york, or, with the allowlist, per port in the dashboard; sticky sessions last 30 s to 36 h.

Filled in, the five details make one proxy URL: http://<login>-country-us-city-new_york:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000. If the app answers 407 Proxy Authentication Required, the login is wrong or your IP is not on the allowlist: 407 errors. If your password contains @, : or /, URL-encode it inside a proxy URL (@ becomes %40, : becomes %3A, / becomes %2F), or the app reads the wrong host.

Region, session and session time go in the same username: -region-<region>, -session-<id> and -ttl-<seconds> (30 to 129,600 seconds, 20 minutes by default), as in <login>-country-us-region-new_york-city-new_york-session-he9f2qga-ttl-600; every part after the login is optional.

Your gateway details, credentials, IP allowlist and the configurator, which generates as many proxy lines as you need, are in your ProxyField account once the payment is confirmed. The address, the port and the line formats are explained in proxy server address, what is a proxy port and proxy format; usernames, passwords and allowlists in proxy authentication.

Where you set the proxy decides which traffic uses it.

The system proxy is the quickest; the app or code setting is the most precise, because nothing else on the device changes. What each setting means is explained in what are proxy settings.

1. Open Start → Settings → Network & internet → Proxy.
2. Under Manual proxy setup, next to Use a proxy server, select Set up (on Windows 10, turn Use a proxy server on).
3. Turn on Use a proxy server, enter gate.proxyfield.io in Proxy IP address and 7000 in Port (with the IP allowlist, the port you set up in the dashboard).
4. Leave Don't use the proxy server for local (intranet) addresses ticked. To let some sites skip the proxy, list them in the exceptions box, separated by semicolons; * is a wildcard, as in *.example.com; *.example.org. Select Save.
5. Windows has no username field here: your browser asks for the proxy's username and password on the first page you open, or you allowlist your IP in the ProxyField account.
6. Check it: open https://api.ipify.org; it should show the proxy's IP, not yours.

Two other options sit on the same page. Under Automatic proxy setup, Automatically detect settings finds a proxy your network announces, and Use setup script → Set up takes the address of a PAC file (automatic proxy setup). A VPN connection keeps its own proxy: Settings → Network & internet → VPN → your connection → Advanced options → Proxy settings for this VPN connection → Edit. Screens and PowerShell: Windows proxy setup. To turn the proxy off, switch Use a proxy server off again.

1. Open Apple menu → System Settings → Network.
2. Select your connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), then Details… → Proxies.
3. Turn on Web proxy (HTTP) and Secure web proxy (HTTPS); for each, enter gate.proxyfield.io as the server and 7000 as the port.
4. Turn on Proxy server requires password and enter your ProxyField username and password.
5. Add any hosts that should skip the proxy to Bypass proxy settings for these hosts & domains, separated by commas, then select OK.
6. Check it: open https://api.ipify.org in Safari; it should show the proxy's IP.

The same panel has Auto proxy discovery and Automatic proxy configuration (the address of a PAC file) for networks that hand out their proxy. On macOS 12 and earlier, the panel is under System Preferences → Network → Advanced → Proxies. The SOCKS proxy row takes SOCKS5 with the same username and password as HTTP, but Safari does not pass a SOCKS5 password: with Safari, use HTTP or the IP allowlist. More: Mac proxy settings.

• Chrome: Settings → System → Open your computer's proxy settings. Chrome uses the Windows or macOS settings above; to give Chrome its own proxy, use an extension. Chrome
• Edge: Settings → System and performance → Open your computer's proxy settings, then the Windows steps. Edge
• Safari: Settings → Advanced → Proxies: Change Settings…, which opens the Mac steps above. Safari
• Firefox: Settings → General → Network Settings → Settings… → Manual proxy configuration; enter gate.proxyfield.io and port 7000 as the HTTP Proxy, tick Also use this proxy for HTTPS, select OK. Firefox uses the system proxy by default, so this gives it a proxy of its own. Firefox

What to expect: on the first page you open, the browser asks for the proxy's username and password (unless your IP is on the allowlist); then check it as below. Opera and the rest: every browser in one table. Extensions: FoxyProxy, ZeroOmega and SwitchyOmega, proxy switcher extensions and other proxy managers. If Chrome says its proxy is "controlled by an extension": what that means and how to fix it.

On Linux, most command-line tools read two variables; set them for the session, keep them in ~/.bashrc, and give APT its own line, because sudo apt does not see your variables:

export http_proxy="http://<login>:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000"
export https_proxy="$http_proxy"
# keep them for new terminals
echo 'export http_proxy="http://<login>:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export https_proxy="$http_proxy"' >> ~/.bashrc
# APT (Debian, Ubuntu)
printf 'Acquire::http::Proxy "http://<login>:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000";\nAcquire::https::Proxy "http://<login>:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000";\n' | sudo tee /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/95proxy

curl https://api.ipify.org in the same terminal should then print the proxy's IP. An allowlist only works while your public IP stays the same; on mobile data or a home connection whose IP changes, add the new IP again or use an app that takes a login. From a terminal, the same settings are environment variables and commands: set a proxy from the command line. For an office-wide setup with a PAC file, see automatic proxy setup.

Most tools that need proxies have their own proxy field: enter the 5 settings above there, and nothing else on the device changes.

• Antidetect browsers: one proxy per profile, sticky for an account. AdsPower, GoLogin, Multilogin, Dolphin Anty, Incogniton, all antidetect browsers.
• SEO and marketing tools: SEO software.
• API clients and terminals: Postman, cURL, wget, SSH.
• Phone apps for SOCKS5 and rules: Shadowrocket and Clash (see above).
• Automation: n8n workflows take a proxy in the HTTP Request node's Proxy option.
• Programs with no proxy setting: a proxy client such as Proxifier or proxychains sends them through the proxy (see do you need special software above).

In code, the proxy is one URL: http://<login>:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000. Pass it to your HTTP client or browser automation tool. SOCKS5 URLs start with socks5h:// and use the same port, 7000, and the same username and password as HTTP.

A short Go example:

package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"net/url"
)

func main() {
	proxy, _ := url.Parse("http://<login>-country-us-city-new_york:<password>@gate.proxyfield.io:7000")
	client := &http.Client{Transport: &http.Transport{Proxy: http.ProxyURL(proxy)}}
	resp, err := client.Get("https://api.ipify.org")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body)) // the proxy's IP, not yours
}

Scraping with a headless browser through proxies, with rotation and retries, is covered step by step in how to scrape a website.

A working proxy changes the IP address that websites see; check it right after setup.

1. With the proxy off, open an IP lookup such as https://api.ipify.org and note your own IP.

2. With the proxy on, open it again. A different IP, in the country you chose, means the proxy works for that app.

3. For the whole setup at once, run one request from a terminal:

   ShellCopy Shell code

   curl -x gate.proxyfield.io:7000 -U "<login>-country-us-city-new_york:<password>" https://api.ipify.org

The proxy checker runs the same test from a browser. If the IP does not change, the app is not using the proxy; if you get an error instead, see the table below.

A rotating proxy gives a new IP on every request; a sticky session keeps one IP for a set time. With ProxyField, rotation is per request, and sticky sessions last from 30 seconds to 36 hours (presets 1, 5, 10 and 30 minutes and 1, 3 and 6 hours), with unlimited concurrent threads.

• Rotate for scraping many independent pages.
• Stick for anything with a login, a cart or several steps that must come from one visitor.
• Use a dedicated IP for an account that should see the same IP for weeks: ISP proxies are yours for a 30-day term.

Setup per proxy type (residential, mobile, ISP, datacenter) is in set up each proxy type; the choice itself in sticky vs rotating proxy sessions. Managing many proxies across tools and teams: proxy management.

Most setup problems are one of 6 errors, each with its own guide.

To see which proxy a device already uses, follow find the proxy a device uses; to remove it, turn off a proxy. The 24/7 live chat in your account also helps with setup and integration.

Every guide in this section, with what it answers:

• What are proxy settings?: each field and what it changes.
• Proxy server address: host names, IPs and ports.
• Find the proxy a device uses: its host and port, on each device.
• What is a proxy port?: common ports and which to use.
• Proxy format: host:port:user:pass and the other line formats.
• Proxy authentication: passwords and IP allowlists.
• Command line: environment variables, apt and PowerShell.
• PAC files and configuration URLs: automatic setup.
• Residential, mobile, ISP and datacenter setup: rotation and sticky sessions per type.
• Proxy management: many proxies across tools.
• "Your proxy settings are controlled by an extension": the Chrome message.
• Turn off a proxy: on every device.

ProxyField residential proxies cost $2.95/GB for 1 GB down to $1.95/GB from 1,000 GB, with no subscription; the traffic never expires and all purchases are final. See pricing.