http_proxy, https_proxy and no_proxy: Setup on Linux, Windows and Docker

The three variables

The most common mistake is HTTPS_PROXY=https://.... The scheme in the value describes how to connect to the proxy itself, not to the website. A standard HTTP/HTTPS proxy accepts http:// connections, so both values start with http://. VinaProxy proxies are delivered as ip:port:user:pass; convert them to URLs with the proxy format converter if needed.

Upper case or lower case?

There is no single standard; each tool decides. For example, curl reads only lower-case http_proxy for HTTP requests, for security reasons, but accepts HTTPS_PROXY in either case. Python requests reads both. Other tools prefer one form and ignore the other. The safe approach is to set both forms to the same value.

If the password contains characters such as @, :, # or %, URL-encode it (@ becomes %40), or tools will split the string wrongly and you will get 407 Proxy Authentication Required.

Linux and macOS

• Temporary, current terminal only: export http_proxy=http://user:pass@ip:port, then export https_proxy=$http_proxy, export HTTP_PROXY=$http_proxy, export HTTPS_PROXY=$http_proxy.
• Bypass internal addresses: export no_proxy=localhost,127.0.0.1,.internal.local and export NO_PROXY=$no_proxy.
• Permanent for your user: add those export lines to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc and open a new terminal.
• System-wide on Ubuntu: add http_proxy=http://user:pass@ip:port (without export) to /etc/environment, then log out and back in. Details are in the Ubuntu proxy setup guide.
• sudo strips most environment variables by default. Use sudo -E command or configure env_keep if commands run with sudo also need the proxy.
• apt does not reliably pick up environment variables under sudo; create /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/95proxy containing Acquire::http::Proxy "http://user:pass@ip:port/"; and a matching line for Acquire::https::Proxy.
• To remove: unset http_proxy https_proxy HTTP_PROXY HTTPS_PROXY and delete the lines you added to config files.

Windows

• CMD, current window only: set HTTP_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port and set HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port.
• PowerShell, current session: $env:HTTP_PROXY = 'http://user:pass@ip:port' and $env:HTTPS_PROXY = 'http://user:pass@ip:port'.
• Permanent for your user: setx HTTP_PROXY http://user:pass@ip:port and setx HTTPS_PROXY http://user:pass@ip:port. They apply only to windows and apps opened afterwards.
• Or use the UI: System Properties, Environment Variables, and add them under User variables.
• Important: environment variables are separate from the Windows system proxy setting. Browsers and many GUI apps use the system setting, while curl, git, pip and Python read environment variables. The system setting is covered in the Windows proxy setup guide.

Docker: three different places

With Docker, the proxy may be needed in three places, and setting it in the wrong one is a common reason for "I set the proxy and it still fails".

• The Docker daemon pulling images: the daemon does not see your terminal's variables. Create /etc/systemd/system/docker.service.d/http-proxy.conf with a [Service] section and Environment="HTTP_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port" "HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port" "NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1", then run sudo systemctl daemon-reload and sudo systemctl restart docker.
• Containers and builds: add a proxies block to ~/.docker/config.json with httpProxy, httpsProxy and noProxy; the Docker CLI then passes them into new containers and builds.
• Per command: docker run -e HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port image or docker build --build-arg HTTPS_PROXY=http://user:pass@ip:port ..
• Inside a container, localhost is the container itself. If a proxy runs on the host, do not use 127.0.0.1 in the proxy value. The full walkthrough is in the Docker proxy setup guide.

Writing NO_PROXY correctly

• Comma-separated, no spaces: localhost,127.0.0.1,.internal.local,api.company.com.
• A leading dot as in .internal.local usually matches all subdomains; many tools treat internal.local the same way.
• CIDR ranges such as 10.0.0.0/8 are supported by some tools and not others. To be safe, list addresses or use hostnames.
• Always include localhost and 127.0.0.1 so local services do not loop through the proxy.
• Add internal services, private package registries and database hosts to avoid confusing connection errors.

Verify, troubleshoot and stay safe

• List current values: env | grep -i proxy on Linux, Get-ChildItem Env: | Where-Object Name -like '*proxy*' in PowerShell.
• Check the exit IP with curl -s https://httpbin.org/ip and compare it with the proxy IP, or open what is my IP from that machine. Add -v to confirm curl really connects through the proxy. See the curl proxy guide.
• Not every program reads environment variables. Some Node.js libraries and apps that manage their own networking need explicit proxy settings, as in the Node.js axios proxy setup.
• Variables holding proxy passwords can leak through shell history, logs or process listings. Do not commit config files with passwords to Git; if one leaks, change the proxy password in the dashboard.
• To remove proxy settings entirely, follow how to turn off a proxy.

Frequently asked questions