Complete guide to configuring proxy routing in cURL. Learn how to connect through HTTP/HTTPS proxies, SOCKS5 tunnels with remote DNS resolution, proxy authentication, and environment variables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is the difference between socks5:// and socks5h:// in cURL?
With socks5://, your local machine resolves the domain name into an IP address via local DNS before connecting through the proxy. With socks5h://, the hostname is passed to the proxy server to resolve remotely, preventing DNS leaks and bypassing local DNS firewalls.
Q2. How do I test my public IP address through a cURL proxy?
Run: curl -x http://proxy.example.com:8080 https://api.ipify.org?format=json. The returned IP should match the proxy server instead of your local machine.
Q3. How do I ignore environment proxy variables in cURL?
Pass --noproxy "" or empty proxy flag: curl --noproxy "" https://example.com.
Q4. Can I route cURL requests through the Tor network?
Yes. If Tor is running locally on port 9050, run: curl --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9050 https://check.torproject.org/api/ip.