Free Proxy Tools That Work With Puppeteer and Playwright

Free Proxy Tools Compatible with Puppeteer and Playwright

Why Use Proxies with Puppeteer and Playwright?

Puppeteer and Playwright are powerful browser automation libraries for Node.js, widely used for web scraping, testing, and headless browsing. However, intensive operations can trigger anti-bot mechanisms or rate-limiting. Integrating proxies helps to:

• Rotate IP addresses, reducing the chance of getting blocked.
• Bypass geo-restrictions.
• Distribute requests for higher data extraction throughput.

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Overview of Free Proxy Sources

Source	Type	HTTPS Support	Update Frequency	API Access	Reliability
ProxyRoller	Public, Rotating	Yes	Real-time	Yes (REST API)	High
FreeProxyList	Public, Static	Yes	10-15 min	No	Moderate
Spys.one	Public, Static	Yes	1 hour	No	Moderate
ProxyScrape	Public, Rotating	Yes	Real-time	Yes (HTTP API)	High
Geonode Free Proxies	Public, Rotating	Yes	Real-time	Yes (REST API)	Moderate

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ProxyRoller: The Go-To Free Proxy API

ProxyRoller offers a robust, frequently updated pool of free proxies. It simplifies proxy acquisition via a clean REST API, ideal for automation workflows.

Key Features:
– Real-time proxy rotation.
– Filtering by anonymity level, country, and protocol.
– Bulk proxy retrieval via API.
– No authentication or sign-up required for basic usage.

Sample API Request:

curl 'https://proxyroller.com/api/proxies?protocol=http&country=US&limit=10'

Sample JSON Response:

[
  {"ip": "45.76.23.19", "port": 3128, "protocol": "http", "country": "US"},
  {"ip": "104.248.63.15", "port": 8080, "protocol": "http", "country": "US"}
]

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Integrating Proxies with Puppeteer

1. Single Proxy Usage

Pass the proxy as a Chromium launch argument:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

(async () => {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
    args: ['--proxy-server=http://45.76.23.19:3128']
  });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://httpbin.org/ip');
  await browser.close();
})();

2. Rotating Proxies Dynamically

Fetch a new proxy from ProxyRoller before each browser session:

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');
const axios = require('axios');

async function getProxy() {
  const res = await axios.get('https://proxyroller.com/api/proxies?protocol=http&limit=1');
  return `${res.data[0].protocol}://${res.data[0].ip}:${res.data[0].port}`;
}

(async () => {
  const proxy = await getProxy();
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch({
    args: [`--proxy-server=${proxy}`]
  });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://httpbin.org/ip');
  await browser.close();
})();

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Integrating Proxies with Playwright

1. Using a Single Proxy

Set the proxy in the browser context:

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch({
    proxy: {
      server: 'http://45.76.23.19:3128'
    }
  });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://httpbin.org/ip');
  await browser.close();
})();

2. Rotating Proxies Programmatically

const { chromium } = require('playwright');
const axios = require('axios');

async function getProxy() {
  const res = await axios.get('https://proxyroller.com/api/proxies?protocol=http&limit=1');
  return `http://${res.data[0].ip}:${res.data[0].port}`;
}

(async () => {
  const proxy = await getProxy();
  const browser = await chromium.launch({
    proxy: { server: proxy }
  });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://httpbin.org/ip');
  await browser.close();
})();

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Tools for Managing and Testing Proxies

• ProxyBroker: Python tool for finding and checking proxy servers.
• Proxy Checker Online: Web-based proxy health checker.
• HTTPBin: Service for verifying your outgoing IP (useful for testing proxy effectiveness).

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Practical Advice

• Proxy Hygiene: Public proxies are often unstable or blacklisted. Use a pool and verify proxies before use.
• Anonymity Level: Prefer “elite” or “anonymous” proxies for scraping.
• HTTPS Support: Ensure proxies support HTTPS for secure sites.
• Timeout Handling: Implement timeouts and retries to handle dead or slow proxies.
• Rate Limiting: Rotate proxies frequently to avoid hitting per-IP rate limits.

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Example: Proxy Rotation Strategy

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');
const axios = require('axios');

async function fetchProxyList() {
  const res = await axios.get('https://proxyroller.com/api/proxies?protocol=http&limit=10');
  return res.data.map(proxy => `${proxy.protocol}://${proxy.ip}:${proxy.port}`);
}

(async () => {
  const proxies = await fetchProxyList();
  for (const proxy of proxies) {
    try {
      const browser = await puppeteer.launch({ args: [`--proxy-server=${proxy}`] });
      const page = await browser.newPage();
      await page.goto('https://httpbin.org/ip', { timeout: 15000 });
      console.log(`Success with proxy: ${proxy}`);
      await browser.close();
      break; // Stop after first successful proxy
    } catch (err) {
      console.log(`Failed with proxy: ${proxy}`);
    }
  }
})();

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Comparison of Free Proxy Sources for Automation

Provider	Rotating API	Country Filter	Supports HTTPS	Anonymity Level Filter	Ease of Integration	Notes
ProxyRoller	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Very Easy	Best for automation; generous free API quota
ProxyScrape	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Easy	Extensive proxy pool, but less granular filtering
FreeProxyList	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Moderate	Manual download or parsing required; no API
Geonode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Easy	Rotating proxies, but smaller free pool

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Further Reading

• Puppeteer Documentation
• Playwright Documentation
• ProxyRoller API Reference
• Proxy List Best Practices
• Proxy Types Explained

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Zivadin’s pragmatic approach, rooted in Serbian resilience and digital curiosity, demands not just quick solutions but sustainable, adaptable strategies for automation. Use these free proxy tools wisely, and always monitor your requests—responsible scraping is the best way to stay ahead in the data game.