Proxy setup in Go

A step-by-step guide to connecting Prokso proxies in Go. It takes a few minutes.

Step 1. Get the proxy details from your dashboard

Open your plan and copy the host gw.prokso.com, port, username and password. Port 823 is HTTP and 824 is SOCKS5 (both give a new IP for every request); ports 10000–20000 keep one IP (sticky session) for up to 120 minutes and work as both HTTP and SOCKS5 (each port is a separate address). Set the country in the username: username__cr.ua.

Step 2. Install nothing

Everything you need is in the standard library: the net/http and net/url packages. You don't need third-party modules for either HTTP or SOCKS5.

package main

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

func main() {
	proxyURL, err := url.Parse("http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw.prokso.com:823")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	client := &http.Client{
		Transport: &http.Transport{Proxy: http.ProxyURL(proxyURL)},
		Timeout:   30 * time.Second,
	}
	resp, err := client.Get("https://api.ipify.org?format=json")
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer resp.Body.Close()
	body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(body))
}

Step 3. Set the proxy on the Transport

Parse the proxy URL with the username and password using url.Parse and pass it to the Proxy field via http.ProxyURL. Go adds the authorization header itself, both for plain requests and for https websites through a tunnel.

Step 4. SOCKS5 with the same URL

Go picks the proxy type from the URL scheme. Change http:// to socks5:// and the port to 824, and the rest of the code stays the same. The username and password are still taken from the URL.

Step 5. One client for the whole program

Create the http.Client once and use it from all goroutines: it is safe for concurrent use and reuses connections to the proxy. For a series of requests from one IP, use a sticky port from 10000-20000.

Step 6. If the connection fails

Check the host gw.prokso.com, the port and the scheme: HTTP on 823, SOCKS5 on 824, either one on ports 10000-20000. A 407 error means a wrong username or password, or the plan has run out of traffic: check the balance on the plan page in your dashboard. A timeout most often means a typo in the port or a client expecting a different protocol. If you use the IP whitelist, make sure the external address of the exact machine running the code is on the list.

Step 7. Check the output

Run the example: the program calls https://api.ipify.org and prints the IP the website sees. It should be the proxy's address, not yours. A 407 error means a wrong username or password, or the plan has run out of traffic. The My IP page in your browser won't help here: the browser goes direct.