Setup guide
Set a proxy on Windows 11 and macOS
Both systems keep one proxy setting that browsers and many other apps read. That makes it the fastest way to put a whole computer behind a proxy, and the bluntest: everything that honours the setting goes through it. macOS stores the proxy’s username and password with the setting. Windows has no field for them.
Before you start
- Windows 11, or macOS Ventura or later. Earlier macOS versions keep the same fields under System Preferences.
- A browser to test with. On Windows it is also what asks you for the proxy login.
- HOST, PORT, USERNAME and PASSWORD from the service page.
Your connection details
Sign in to the dashboard and open the service you bought. Its page shows the host, port, username and password for that service. There is no single ProxyPanda address to remember, so copy them from there each time. The code in these guides uses the placeholders below; replace each one with your own value.
- HOST
- The proxy address for this service, exactly as the service page shows it.
- PORT
- The port to connect to. Copy it with the host, since it can differ from one service to the next.
- USERNAME
- Your proxy login. It is separate from the email you use for the dashboard.
- PASSWORD
- Copy it in full. On residential, the options you choose in the dashboard are added to the end of the password, so a password typed from memory loses them.
You can skip the username and password by adding the IP address you connect from to the service’s allowlist. Then only HOST and PORT go into your code.
The examples use HTTP, which reaches https sites through an encrypted tunnel. SOCKS5 works too: residential ports accept both, and ISP and datacenter proxies switch protocol in the dashboard.
Steps
Windows 11: open Manual proxy setup
Go to Settings, then Network & internet, then Proxy. Under Manual proxy setup, select Set up next to Use a proxy server.
Windows 11: enter the address and save
Switch on Use a proxy server, type HOST into Proxy IP address and PORT into Port, and keep the box for local (intranet) addresses ticked so your router and printer stay reachable. Select Save.
Settings › Network & internet › Proxy Use a proxy server: On Proxy IP address: HOST Port: PORT [x] Don't use the proxy server for local (intranet) addressesWindows 11: sign in from the browser
The Windows dialog stops at address and port. The first time Edge or Chrome goes through the proxy, it pops up a sign-in box, where USERNAME and PASSWORD go. Programs that cannot show such a box simply fail to connect, and are better served by their own proxy settings or by Proxifier.
macOS: open the Proxies tab
Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then Network. Click the service you use, usually Wi-Fi or Ethernet, click Details, and then Proxies.
macOS: fill in both web proxies and the password
Turn on Web proxy (HTTP) and Secure web proxy (HTTPS), and give each the same HOST and PORT. Switch on Proxy server requires password, enter USERNAME and PASSWORD, and click OK. Safari and other apps that use Apple’s networking can then answer the proxy without asking you.
System Settings › Network › Details › Proxies Web proxy (HTTP): On HOST PORT Secure web proxy (HTTPS): On HOST PORT Proxy server requires password: On Username: USERNAME Password: PASSWORDCheck the result, and switch it off afterwards
Load https://api.ipify.org in a browser; it should show the proxy’s address. Command-line tools such as curl ignore both panels and read the https_proxy variable instead, as the cURL guide explains. When you are done, turn the proxy off in the same place you turned it on.
Rotating and sticky IPs
A system proxy carries whatever your apps send: browser tabs, but also updates, sync clients and chat apps that honour the setting. On residential all of it counts toward the gigabytes you pay for, so leave it on only while you need it.
With Randomize IP, different apps and tabs can leave from different addresses at the same moment. Sticky IP, or an ISP or datacenter IP, keeps the whole computer on one address.
Common errors and fixes
Windows: pages will not load and no sign-in box appears
The app cannot answer the proxy’s login, and Windows cannot answer for it. Try Edge or Chrome, which do ask. For other programs, use their own proxy settings or route them with Proxifier.
Edge or Chrome shows ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED
Nothing answered at the address and port in the system settings. Compare them with the service page and confirm the service is still active.
macOS keeps asking for the proxy password
The saved login is wrong or incomplete. Open Proxies again, retype the password in full, and click OK.
Some apps still show your own IP
They ignore the system setting. Command-line tools, many games and apps with their own network code behave this way. Give them the proxy directly, or use Proxifier to steer them through it.
Nothing loads after the service ended
The computer still points at a proxy that no longer accepts your login. Switch off Use a proxy server on Windows, or both web proxies on macOS.
Which line to pick
To put a whole computer behind one address, datacenter is the cheapest line and fine for sites that accept server traffic. Residential suits a short session on sites that block servers, as long as you switch it off afterwards. ISP fits a machine that has to appear from the same consumer-network address for weeks.
Other setup guides
Not sure what a word means? The glossary explains it in plain English.
Stuck on a step?
Paste the command and the error into Discord, with your password taken out. People there have met most of these errors before.