Proxy Setup on macOS

How to configure a proxy server on macOS for system-wide or browser-specific use.

Proxy Setup on macOS

This guide explains how to configure a proxy on macOS, both system-wide and within specific browsers.

System-Wide Proxy

  1. Open System Settings (Apple menu → System Settings).
  2. Click Network in the sidebar.
  3. Select your active network connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
  4. Click DetailsProxies.
  5. Enable Web Proxy (HTTP) or Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS):
    • Server: Your proxy host (e.g., fr.hypeproxy.io)
    • Port: Your assigned port number
  6. If your proxy requires authentication, check Proxy server requires password and enter your username and password.
  7. Click OKApply.

For SOCKS5 proxies, enable SOCKS Proxy instead and enter the host and port.

Using Terminal

You can also set proxies via the command line for terminal-based tools:

export http_proxy=http://username:password@proxy-host:port
export https_proxy=http://username:password@proxy-host:port

For SOCKS5:

export ALL_PROXY=socks5://username:password@proxy-host:port

Add these lines to your ~/.zshrc to make them persistent.

Browser-Specific Setup

Safari

Safari uses the system proxy settings. Configure the system-wide proxy as described above and Safari will use it automatically.

Google Chrome

Chrome on macOS uses the system proxy settings by default. For per-profile control, use the Proxy SwitchyOmega extension.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has independent proxy settings:

  1. Open SettingsGeneral → scroll to Network SettingsSettings.
  2. Select Manual proxy configuration.
  3. Enter your proxy host and port.
  4. Click OK.

Verifying the Connection

Confirm your proxy is active by checking your external IP:

curl -x http://username:password@proxy-host:port https://api.ipify.org

If the returned IP matches your proxy's IP, the configuration is working correctly.

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