Linux Proxy Configuration
How to Configure Proxy in CentOS/RHEL/Fedora – The Geek …
What is a Proxy Server
A proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources on the internet or an external network. Think of it as a go-between who makes requests on behalf of the client, ensuring that anyone outside of your network does not know the details of the requesting host.
Verify if proxy is set on the server
This command will show if there is a proxy server configured on the system:
Setting Proxy for Command line programs
The _proxy environment variable is used to specify proxy settings to client programs such as curl and wget. Below are the various examples of using proxy for commandline programs:
1. No username and password required:
To configure proxy without username and password:
# export _proxy=SERVER:PORT/
2. Username and password authentication:
To configure the proxy server with username and password authentication:
# export _proxy=USERNAME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT/
3. Domain, username and password required:
To configure proxy with username/password authentication along with the Domain name:
# export _proxy=DOMAIN\\USERNAME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT/
Special character handling
Literal backslash characters (\) need to be doubled escape them as shown below.
When the username or password uses the @ symbol, add a backslash (\) before the @ – for example:
# export _proxy=DOMAIN\\USERN\@ME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT
or
# export _proxy=DOMAIN\\USERNAME:P\@SSWORD@SERVER:PORT
Configuring Proxy in CentOS/RHEL 7 permanently (for processes without shell)
Define the environment variables in /etc/environment file if you want to add a permanent proxy in the CentOS/RHEL 7.
# echo “_proxy= > /etc/environment
Note that unlike a shell script in /etc/profile. d described in the next section, the /etc/environment file is NOT a shell script and applies to all processes without a shell.
Configuring proxy for processes with SHELL
For bash and sh users, add the export line given above into a new file called /etc/profile. d/ file:
# echo “export _proxy= > /etc/profile. d/
For csh and tcsh users, use the following command to set the _proxy variable in a new file called /etc/profile. d/ file:
# echo “setenv _proxy > /etc/profile. d/
The extension of these files determines which shell will read them. The commands are not interchangeable.
Setting proxu for other programs
To configure yum behind proxy, modify the /etc/ with the following:
# vi /etc/
proxy=
proxy_username=yum-user
proxy_password=qwerty
Note: Other programs (such as Firefox) will have their own internal settings for proxy usage.
Linux Proxy Server Settings – Set Proxy For Command Line
To use a proxy on the Linux command-line, you can set the environment variables _proxy, _proxy or ftp_proxy, depending on the traffic type.
These proxy server settings are used by the almost all Linux command-line utilities, e. g. ftp, wget, curl, ssh, apt-get, yum and others.
If you don’t know yet which proxy server to use, you can take one from the lists of the free public proxy servers at the end of this article.
Cool Tip: Need to improve security of the Linux system? Encrypt DNS traffic and get the protection from DNS spoofing! Read more →
Export Proxy Server Settings
Set these variables to configure Linux proxy server settings for the command-line tools:
$ export _proxy=”PROXY_SERVER:PORT”
$ export ftp_proxy=”PROXY_SERVER:PORT”
If a proxy server requires authentication, set the proxy variables as follows:
$ export _proxy=”USER:PASSWORD@PROXY_SERVER:PORT”
$ export ftp_proxy=”USER:PASSWORD@PROXY_SERVER:PORT”
Special Characters: If your password contains special characters, you must replace them with ASCII codes, for example the at sign @ must be replaced by the%40 code, e. p@ssword = p%40ssword.
Test The Proxy Server From The Linux Command-Line
As only you have configured a proxy it is time to ensure that it works as expected.
First off all it is required to check that the proxy server settings are set in the corresponding proxy variables.
Than it is required to ensure that your public IP address has changed.
Also it would be interesting to measure and compare response time of the remote resources and the Internet speed with and without proxy.
Check the current proxy server settings:
$ env | grep -i proxy
Check your public IP address from the Linux command-line:
$ wget -q -O – \
| sed -e ‘s/. *Current IP Address: //’ -e ‘s/<. *$//'
Compare the difference in the response time with the configured proxy and without it:
$ time wget -q -O - \
Check the Internet download speed through the proxy:
$ wget --output-document=\
/dev/null Unset Linux Proxy Variables
Use the following commands to disable proxy:
$ unset _proxy
$ unset ftp_proxy
Cool Tip: Stay anonymous during port scanning! Use Nmap + Tor + ProxyChains! Safe and easy penetration testing! Read more →
Automate Proxy Server Settings In Linux
If you use the same proxy server settings for the, and ftp traffic, you can use the following commands to set and unset the proxy settings:
$ export {,, ftp}_proxy="PROXY_SERVER:PORT"
$ unset {,, ftp}_proxy
If you use a proxy server often, you can create Bash functions as follows (add to your ~/ file):
# Set Proxy
function setproxy() {
export {,, ftp}_proxy="PROXY_SERVER:PORT"}
# Unset Proxy
function unsetproxy() {
unset {,, ftp}_proxy}
Reload your ~/ file.
$ source ~/
Now use the setproxy and unsetproxy commands to set and unset Linux proxy server settings.
Lists of Free Public Proxy Servers
WARNING: Free public proxy servers can insert your IP address into the headers of requests or sniff your traffic! Don’t use them to transfer sensitive data and do not expect anonymity!
Hide My Ass
Proxy Server List
Anonymous Public Proxy Servers
Daily HTTP Proxies
Cool Tip: Even if you use proxy server, all your DNS queries still go to the name servers of your ISP (Internet Service Provider)! Improve anonymity, by using free public name servers! Read more →
Configuring a Global Proxy | Cumulus Linux 4.1 – NVIDIA …
If you are using the current version of Cumulus Linux, the content on this page may not be up to date. The current version of the documentation is available
here. If you are redirected to the main page of the user guide, then this page may have been renamed; please search for it configure global HTTP and HTTPS proxies in the /etc/profile. d/ directory of Cumulus Linux. To do so, set the _proxy and _proxy variables, which tells the switch the address of the proxy server to use to fetch URLs on the command line. This is useful for programs such as apt/apt-get, curl and wget, which can all use this a terminal, create a new file in the /etc/profile. d/ directory. In the code example below, the file is called, and is created using the text editor mulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/profile. d/
Add a line to the file to configure either an HTTP or an HTTPS proxy, or both:HTTP proxy__proxy=export _proxy
HTTPS proxy__proxy=export _proxy
Create a file in the /etc/apt/ directory and add the following lines to the file for acquiring the HTTP and HTTPS proxies; the example below uses _proxy as the file name:cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/apt/
Acquire::::Proxy “;
Add the proxy addresses to /etc/wgetrc; you may have to uncomment the _proxy and _proxy lines:cumulus@switch:~$ sudo nano /etc/wgetrc…
_proxy = _proxy =…
Run the source command, to execute the file in the current environment:cumulus@switch:~$ source /etc/profile. d/
The proxy is now configured. The echo command can be used to confirm aproxy is set up correctly:HTTP proxy:cumulus@switch:~$ echo $_proxy
HTTPS proxy:cumulus@switch:~$ echo $_proxy
Set up an apt package cache
Frequently Asked Questions about linux proxy configuration
Where are proxy settings in Linux?
You configure global HTTP and HTTPS proxies in the /etc/profile. d/ directory of Cumulus Linux. To do so, set the http_proxy and https_proxy variables, which tells the switch the address of the proxy server to use to fetch URLs on the command line.
How do I change proxy settings in Linux?
Single User Temporary Proxy SettingsOpen a Terminal window where you need proxy access.Set and export the HTTP_PROXY variable. export HTTP_PROXY=user:[email protected]:8080.Set and export the HTTPS_PROXY variable. … Set and export the NO_PROXY variable to prevent local traffic from being sent to the proxy.Apr 26, 2018
How do I know if proxy is configured Linux?
Method 1: Start a new shell (xterm), then check the environment variables: % env | grep -i proxy http_proxy=http://172.17.0.130:8080/ ftp_proxy=ftp://172.17.0.130:8080/ all_proxy=socks://172.17.0.130:8080/ … Note that existing shells will not have updated environment variables.Sep 7, 2010
