HTTP Proxy Setup¶

This guide covers how to configure and use HTTP proxies with Relyr for various networking scenarios.

Overview¶

HTTP proxies act as intermediaries between your client applications and target servers. Relyr provides comprehensive proxy support with features like:

HTTP/HTTPS proxy support
SOCKS4/SOCKS5 proxy support
Authentication mechanisms
Proxy rotation and load balancing
SSL/TLS termination

Basic HTTP Proxy Configuration¶

Environment Variables¶

The simplest way to configure proxy settings is through environment variables:

# HTTP proxy
export HTTP_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080

# HTTPS proxy
export HTTPS_PROXY=https://proxy.example.com:8080

# No proxy for specific domains
export NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1,.example.com

Configuration File¶

Create a relyr.yml configuration file:

proxy:
  http:
    host: proxy.example.com
    port: 8080
    protocol: http
  https:
    host: proxy.example.com
    port: 8080
    protocol: https
  no_proxy:
    - localhost
    - 127.0.0.1
    - "*.example.com"

Authentication¶

Basic Authentication¶

For proxies requiring username/password authentication:

proxy:
  http:
    host: proxy.example.com
    port: 8080
    auth:
      type: basic
      username: your_username
      password: your_password

Or via environment variables:

export HTTP_PROXY=http://username:password@proxy.example.com:8080

Token-based Authentication¶

For modern authentication systems:

proxy:
  http:
    host: proxy.example.com
    port: 8080
    auth:
      type: bearer
      token: your_api_token

SOCKS Proxy Support¶

SOCKS5 Configuration¶

proxy:
  socks:
    host: socks.example.com
    port: 1080
    version: 5
    auth:
      username: your_username
      password: your_password

SOCKS4 Configuration¶

proxy:
  socks:
    host: socks.example.com
    port: 1080
    version: 4

Advanced Proxy Features¶

Proxy Rotation¶

Configure multiple proxies for load balancing and failover:

proxy:
  rotation:
    enabled: true
    strategy: round_robin  # round_robin, random, failover
    proxies:
      - host: proxy1.example.com
        port: 8080
      - host: proxy2.example.com
        port: 8080
      - host: proxy3.example.com
        port: 8080

Health Checks¶

Monitor proxy health and automatically failover:

proxy:
  health_check:
    enabled: true
    interval: 30s
    timeout: 5s
    url: http://httpbin.org/ip
    expected_status: 200

SSL/TLS Configuration¶

For HTTPS proxies with custom certificates:

proxy:
  https:
    host: proxy.example.com
    port: 8080
    tls:
      verify_cert: true
      ca_cert_path: /path/to/ca.pem
      client_cert_path: /path/to/client.pem
      client_key_path: /path/to/client-key.pem

Proxy Chains¶

Chain multiple proxies for enhanced privacy:

proxy:
  chain:
    enabled: true
    proxies:
      - host: proxy1.example.com
        port: 8080
        type: http
      - host: proxy2.example.com
        port: 1080
        type: socks5

Testing Proxy Configuration¶

Command Line Testing¶

Test your proxy configuration:

# Test HTTP proxy
relyr test-proxy --type http --host proxy.example.com --port 8080

# Test with authentication
relyr test-proxy --type http --host proxy.example.com --port 8080 \
  --username user --password pass

# Test SOCKS proxy
relyr test-proxy --type socks5 --host socks.example.com --port 1080

Programmatic Testing¶

from relyr import ProxyClient

# Test proxy connectivity
client = ProxyClient(
    proxy_host="proxy.example.com",
    proxy_port=8080,
    proxy_type="http"
)

result = client.test_connection()
if result.success:
    print(f"Proxy working! IP: {result.external_ip}")
else:
    print(f"Proxy failed: {result.error}")

Common Proxy Issues¶

Connection Timeouts¶

If experiencing timeouts, adjust timeout settings:

proxy:
  timeouts:
    connect: 10s
    read: 30s
    write: 30s

DNS Resolution¶

Configure DNS resolution through proxy:

proxy:
  dns:
    resolve_through_proxy: true
    servers:
      - 8.8.8.8
      - 1.1.1.1

IPv6 Support¶

Enable IPv6 proxy support:

proxy:
  ipv6:
    enabled: true
    prefer_ipv4: false

Performance Optimization¶

Connection Pooling¶

Optimize performance with connection pooling:

proxy:
  connection_pool:
    max_connections: 100
    max_connections_per_host: 10
    keep_alive_timeout: 30s

Compression¶

Enable compression for better performance:

proxy:
  compression:
    enabled: true
    algorithms:
      - gzip
      - deflate
      - br

Security Considerations¶

Security Best Practices

Never log proxy credentials in plain text
Use encrypted connections (HTTPS/SOCKS5) when possible
Regularly rotate proxy credentials
Monitor proxy usage for suspicious activity

Credential Management¶

Store credentials securely:

proxy:
  credentials:
    source: env  # env, file, vault
    env_prefix: RELYR_PROXY_

Monitoring and Logging¶

Proxy Metrics¶

Monitor proxy performance:

monitoring:
  proxy_metrics:
    enabled: true
    endpoint: /metrics
    include:
      - connection_count
      - response_time
      - error_rate
      - throughput

Logging Configuration¶

Configure proxy-related logging:

logging:
  proxy:
    level: info
    format: json
    include_headers: false
    sanitize_auth: true

Examples¶

See the Examples section for complete implementation examples and use cases.