How to check if a proxy is actually working (checklist + commands)

Before blaming a provider (or a target site), run these checks. Replace USER:PASS@HOST:PORT with your details.

1. Does it connect, and what IP do you get?

curl -x http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT https://api.ipify.org

You should see the proxy's IP, not your own. For SOCKS5, use socks5h:// so DNS lookups also go through the proxy:

curl -x socks5h://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT https://api.ipify.org

2. Is it in the right country, and what network is it on?

curl -x http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT https://ipinfo.io/json

Check country/city, and org — a hosting company there means a datacenter IP even if you paid for residential.

3. Does it rotate (or stick) the way you expect?

for i in 1 2 3 4 5; do curl -s -x http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT https://api.ipify.org; echo; done

Rotating: different IPs. Sticky session: the same IP.

4. How fast is it?

curl -x http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT -o /dev/null -s -w 'connect=%{time_connect}s tls=%{time_appconnect}s total=%{time_total}s\n' https://example.com

Run it several times — residential speeds vary from request to request.

5. Does it leak your real IP in headers?

curl -x http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT https://httpbin.org/headers

If you see X-Forwarded-For or Via with your real IP, it's a transparent proxy — don't use it for anything sensitive.

6. Test against your actual target

A proxy that passes all of the above can still be blocked by your target. Test with realistic headers and a low request rate before scaling up.

Python equivalent

import requests
proxy = "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT"
r = requests.get("https://api.ipify.org", proxies={"http": proxy, "https": proxy}, timeout=30)
print(r.text)

Note: the proxy URL usually starts with http:// even for HTTPS sites — the https key only says which traffic uses it.

Got a result you can't explain? Send the redacted output and the exact command to the provider's support.