How to set up a proxy in Google Chrome

What you need before you start

You need four things from your proxy provider: a host (the server address), a port, and either a username and password or an IP authorization set up in the provider's dashboard. This page calls them PROXY_HOST, PROXY_PORT, PROXY_USER and PROXY_PASS. Replace them with your real values only on your own computer.

Any provider works the same way here. Chrome does not care whose proxy it is, only that it can reach the host and port and, if needed, log in. Only use proxies for lawful purposes and within the terms of the websites you visit. A proxy is not a cloak: the proxy provider and the sites you visit can still see activity, so do not treat a proxy as making your traffic anonymous.

What Webshare's documentation says about connecting

We use Webshare as the example because it is a common starting point and has a free plan. We have not tested it. The details below come from Webshare's help center article on the rotating proxy endpoint and its API documentation on proxy connections, as read on October 31, 2026. Your own dashboard shows your real values, so copy them from there and not from this page.

Rotating endpoint: the help center says the domain name is p.webshare.io, the default port is 80, and the alternative ports are 1080, 3128, or any port between 9999 and 29999. It describes this method as rotating proxies randomly within your list for each request. Direct connections are different: the API docs say they use the proxy address and port fields from the Proxy List API, so each proxy in your list has its own address and port.

Authentication: the API docs describe two ways. With username and password authentication you provide the username and password along with the proxy address and port. With IP authorization only the address and port are needed, with no credentials, because Webshare recognizes the IP address you connect from.

Username options: for backbone connections the API docs say you can add parameters to your username with hyphens, for example a two-letter country code, a numeric session ID for a sticky session, or the word rotate for a new IP on every request. We have not checked which of these your plan includes, so check your dashboard before relying on them.

Method 1: change your system proxy settings

Chrome uses your operating system's proxy configuration, so the usual approach is to set the proxy at system level. This affects other programs that respect system proxy settings, not just Chrome. Menu names change between operating system versions, so treat the paths below as a guide.

The steps, for a normal HTTP proxy:

• Windows: open Settings, then Network and internet, then Proxy. Under Manual proxy setup choose Set up, switch Use a proxy server on, and enter PROXY_HOST and PROXY_PORT. Save.
• macOS: open System Settings, then Network, pick your active connection, open its details and choose Proxies. Turn on Web Proxy (HTTP) and Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS), and enter PROXY_HOST and PROXY_PORT for each.
• Restart Chrome, then visit a page that needs a login if your proxy requires one. Chrome should ask for the proxy username and password.

To go back to normal, turn the same switches off. If you forget, every program that follows the system settings keeps using the proxy, and will stop loading pages if the proxy later goes away.

Method 2: start Chrome with the --proxy-server flag

For a single session you can launch Chrome with a flag instead of changing system settings. Close all Chrome windows first, because a flag only applies to the process that starts. A fresh profile keeps this test separate from your normal browsing. Chromium's proxy documentation describes the host:port form of a proxy identifier, and an HTTP proxy uses port 80 by default if you leave the port out.

Example command on Windows (one line, in Command Prompt):

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --proxy-server="http://PROXY_HOST:PROXY_PORT" --user-data-dir="%TEMP%\chrome-proxy-test"

# macOS
"/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome" \
  --proxy-server="http://PROXY_HOST:PROXY_PORT" \
  --user-data-dir="/tmp/chrome-proxy-test"

The install path above is the usual default. If Chrome is installed somewhere else on your machine, adjust it. Closing that Chrome window ends the proxied session; your normal Chrome keeps the normal settings.

Why you cannot put the username and password in the flag

A common mistake is to write the login into the flag, like user:pass@host. Chromium developers have said in a public mailing list thread that Chrome does not support providing credentials from the command line, and Chromium's own proxy document says HTTP proxies use the same authentication schemes as target servers, including Basic. In practice that means Chrome shows a sign-in dialog when the proxy asks for credentials, and you type PROXY_USER and PROXY_PASS there.

If you would rather not type a login, there are two usual options. The first is IP authorization: many providers, Webshare included according to its API docs, let you authorize your own IP address so the proxy needs no credentials. This only works when your IP address stays the same. The second is a browser extension that supplies credentials, which we do not cover here and would suggest you check carefully before installing, since an extension can see your browsing.

If you do not have a proxy yet, Webshare has a free plan you can try (Affiliate link) and shows your host, port and login in its dashboard. Check its current plan limits and terms on its own site first, as they can change.

Check that it worked

Compare your public IP address with and without the proxy. Open our what is my IP tool in a normal browser tab and note the address, then run the same check through the proxy. The two addresses should differ if traffic really goes through the proxy. You can also run your proxy through our proxy checker, or look up the address you see with the IP lookup tool to see its country and network.

If the address did not change, the proxy is probably not being used. If you get an error instead, see the troubleshooting section.

If it does not work

• The page never loads: check the host and port for typos, and check that the proxy is running in your provider's dashboard.
• A sign-in dialog keeps coming back: the username or password is wrong, or the provider expects IP authorization from an address that has since changed.
• The address did not change: Chrome may not have been fully closed before you used the flag, or system proxy settings are off. Close every Chrome window, including background ones, and try again.
• Some sites block the proxy's address. That is a feature of that website, not of your setup.

When Chrome is the wrong tool

If you want to send requests from code, a browser is more than you need. See the guides for Python requests, Puppeteer and Scrapy. Not sure whether you need a proxy or a VPN at all? Read VPN vs proxy first.

Once your proxy works, the next step is choosing a plan that fits your use. See Webshare's current plans (Affiliate link) or compare other providers; the setup above stays the same either way.