These Proxy Servers Just Went Open Source

The Latest Open Source Proxy Servers: A Practical Guide

Overview of Newly Open Sourced Proxy Servers

Proxy servers are the backbone of anonymity, load balancing, and content filtering on today’s internet. Several powerful proxy servers have recently been open-sourced, offering admins, developers, and hobbyists unprecedented flexibility. This guide analyzes the most notable projects, their core features, and how to employ them effectively.

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Key Open Source Proxy Servers Comparison

Proxy Server	Language	HTTP/HTTPS Support	SOCKS Support	Authentication	Caching	Notable Features	GitHub Link
ProxyRoller	Python	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	API, free rotating proxies	https://github.com/proxyroller/proxyroller
Squid	C++	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Advanced caching, ACLs	http://www.squid-cache.org/
3proxy	C	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Lightweight, IPv6	https://github.com/z3APA3A/3proxy
TinyProxy	C	Yes	No	Yes	No	Lightweight, minimal config	https://github.com/tinyproxy/tinyproxy
GoProxy	Go	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Pluggable, cloud native	https://github.com/snail007/goproxy
Mitmproxy	Python	Yes	No	Yes	No	Intercept, modify HTTP traffic	https://github.com/mitmproxy/mitmproxy
COW (Cow Proxy)	Go	Yes	Yes	No	No	Shadowsocks, GFW circumvention	https://github.com/cyfdecyf/cow

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ProxyRoller: Free, Open Source Rotating Proxy Server

Core Features

• Free proxy lists: Aggregates and verifies thousands of proxies.
• API access: Simple RESTful API for fetching proxies.
• Rotating proxies: Automated rotation for scraping and anonymity.
• SOCKS and HTTP/HTTPS proxies: Supports both protocols.
• Docker support: Rapid deployment with containers.

Installation and Usage

Docker Deployment

docker run -d -p 8000:8000 proxyroller/proxyroller

Fetching Proxies via API

Retrieve a fresh proxy with:

curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/proxies?protocol=http

Integrating with Python Requests

import requests

proxy = requests.get('http://localhost:8000/api/v1/proxies?protocol=http').json()['proxy']
proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}
response = requests.get('https://httpbin.org/ip', proxies=proxies)
print(response.json())

Use Case: Web Scraping

ProxyRoller is ideal for large-scale scraping, rotating proxies automatically to avoid IP bans. Example using Scrapy:

import requests

def get_proxy():
    r = requests.get('http://localhost:8000/api/v1/proxies?protocol=http')
    return r.json()['proxy']

DOWNLOADER_MIDDLEWARES = {
    'scrapy.downloadermiddlewares.httpproxy.HttpProxyMiddleware': 110,
    'myproject.middlewares.RandomProxy': 100,
}

class RandomProxy:
    def process_request(self, request, spider):
        proxy = get_proxy()
        request.meta['proxy'] = proxy

Resource

• ProxyRoller GitHub
• ProxyRoller Free Proxy List API

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Squid: Advanced Caching and Access Control

Core Features

• HTTP/HTTPS caching for bandwidth savings.
• Fine-grained ACLs for access control.
• Authentication (Basic, Digest, NTLM).
• SSL bumping for HTTPS inspection.

Squid Installation Example (Ubuntu)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install squid

Basic Configuration

Edit /etc/squid/squid.conf:

http_port 3128
acl localnet src 192.168.1.0/24
http_access allow localnet
http_access deny all

Restart Squid:

sudo systemctl restart squid

Resource

• Squid Official Site

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3proxy: Lightweight, All-in-One

Features

• Supports HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS, FTP.
• Authentication and access control.
• IPv6 support.
• Minimal resource usage.

Installation (Linux)

sudo apt-get install 3proxy

Sample Config (3proxy.cfg)

auth strong
users admin:CL:password
proxy -p3128
socks -p1080
flush

Start 3proxy:

3proxy /etc/3proxy/3proxy.cfg

Resource

• 3proxy GitHub

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TinyProxy: Lightweight HTTP Proxy

Features

• Minimalistic, fast, low memory footprint.
• Suitable for embedded devices or simple use cases.

Installation (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get install tinyproxy

Basic Configuration

Edit /etc/tinyproxy/tinyproxy.conf:

Port 8888
Allow 192.168.1.0/24

Restart TinyProxy:

sudo systemctl restart tinyproxy

Resource

• TinyProxy GitHub

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GoProxy: Scalable, Pluggable Proxy

Features

• Written in Go, high performance.
• HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 proxy.
• Plug-ins architecture.
• Cross-platform.

Installation

wget https://github.com/snail007/goproxy/releases/download/v10.7/proxy-linux-amd64.tar.gz
tar -zxvf proxy-linux-amd64.tar.gz
cd proxy
./proxy http -t tcp -p 8080

Resource

• GoProxy GitHub

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Mitmproxy: Intercept and Inspect HTTP/S Traffic

Features

• Real-time interception and modification.
• Web UI for viewing/editing flows.
• Scripting with Python.

Installation (pip)

pip install mitmproxy

Start Interactive Proxy

mitmproxy

Resource

• Mitmproxy GitHub

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Practical Tips for Deploying Open Source Proxies

• Security: Always enable authentication and restrict allowed IPs.
• Logging: Monitor logs for abuse or malfunction.
• Performance: For high-load scenarios, prefer Go or C-based proxies.
• Automation: Use Docker or systemd to manage proxy lifecycles.
• Proxy Sources: Leverage ProxyRoller for up-to-date, verified free proxies via API.

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Actionable Workflow: Building a Rotating Proxy Pool

1. Deploy ProxyRoller:
Use Docker or run from source to host your local proxy API.

2. Integrate with Scraper:
Fetch proxy addresses dynamically for each request.

3. Monitor Health:
Track response times and failures to automatically filter out dead proxies.

4. Automate Updates:
Schedule regular updates from ProxyRoller’s API to keep your proxy list fresh.

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Additional Resources

• ProxyRoller Free Proxy API
• Scrapy Documentation
• Squid Documentation
• 3proxy Wiki
• GoProxy Documentation
• Mitmproxy Docs