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How to use a proxy in Insomnia

Open Insomnia's Preferences, select the Proxy tab and tick Enable proxy. Enter http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT in both Proxy for HTTP and Proxy for HTTPS, add local hosts to No proxy, and send your request.

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What you need

Insomnia sends requests through libcurl, so it takes a proxy as a single URL with the credentials inside it. Pointing it at a CleanProxies static ISP proxy gives every request one fixed US IP, which is handy for testing an API that allowlists addresses or answers differently by country.

Your credential line

From the dashboard's proxy manager: host (or IP), port, username and password. Convert lists with the proxy list formatter.

Insomnia ready

  • Insomnia (recent versions keep the proxy on its own Proxy tab in Preferences; older releases put it under General → HTTP Network Proxy).

Which proxy fits Insomnia?

Both products use the same setup in Insomnia. What changes is how long an IP stays with you.

Static ISP Proxies

Best fit

Recommended. Every request leaves from one dedicated US ISP IP that never changes, so you can allowlist it on your own API and compare responses run after run, with unlimited bandwidth.

starting from$0.75/IP

Dedicated static IPs registered to US and Canadian ISPs. The address stays the same for as long as you hold it, with unlimited bandwidth and HTTP(S) or SOCKS5 access.

Buy NowSee Static ISP Proxies features

Rotating Residential Proxies

Also works

Paste a sticky residential line to test from a chosen country for the session length you picked. A rotating line can switch IP between requests, which is fine for one-off checks but confusing when you compare results.

starting from$0.63/GB

Residential IPs in 190+ countries with country, state and city targeting. Rotate on every request or hold a sticky session for up to 90 minutes; GB never expire.

Buy NowSee Rotating Residential Proxies features
credentials

Your CleanProxies credentials

Every product connects over HTTP(S); static ISP and ISP subnet proxies also run SOCKS5 and IP whitelisting. This is what the dashboard gives you to paste into Insomnia.

Static ISP and ISP subnetHTTP(S)SOCKS5IP whitelist
IP:PORT:USER:PASS

One line per dedicated IP. With IP whitelisting on, the line is just IP:PORT and no password is sent.

Rotating residential and mobileHTTP(S)User:pass
HOST:PORT:USER:PASS

Generated in the proxy manager. The username carries the location and session you pick, so generate a new list to change them.

As a URL, for code and most toolshttp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORTsocks5://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT

Use http:// even for HTTPS websites; the TLS session still runs end to end. The socks5:// form is for static ISP and ISP subnet proxies.

How to set up CleanProxies in Insomnia

Four steps, then check the exit IP with the free proxy checker.

  1. 1

    Open Preferences

    Click the gear icon (or press Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux, Cmd+, on macOS) and select the Proxy tab.

  2. 2

    Enable the proxy

    Tick Enable proxy. In Use proxy for, keep Only when sending requests in Insomnia unless you also want login, Git sync and updates to go through the proxy.

  3. 3

    Fill both proxy fields

    Paste http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT into Proxy for HTTP and the same URL into Proxy for HTTPS. Keep the http:// scheme in both.

  4. 4

    Add exceptions and send

    List hosts that should stay direct in No proxy, for example localhost,127.0.0.1. Close Preferences and send a request.

settings

Insomnia proxy settings

Replace the highlighted placeholders with the values from your dashboard.

Insomnia + CleanProxies

Proxy URLs Insomnia accepts

Insomnia reads the scheme from the URL. Basic authentication goes inside the URL; percent-encode @ or : in a password (@ becomes %40).

Proxy for HTTP and Proxy for HTTPSText
http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT

# static ISP proxy with SOCKS5 switched on in the dashboard
socks5h://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT

# static ISP proxy on IP whitelisting
http://IP:PORT
  • Use http:// in the Proxy for HTTPS field too. An https:// proxy URL tells libcurl to open TLS to the proxy itself, which is a different kind of proxy; HTTPS sites still work over the http:// proxy through a CONNECT tunnel.

What the proxy covers

  • The proxy is global: it applies to every request in every collection, not to a single collection.
  • To send one request direct, open that request's settings and untick Use proxy from preferences settings.
  • No proxy takes a comma-separated host list; start an entry with a dot (.example.com) to cover all its subdomains.
  • With Enable proxy off, Insomnia 10.1 and later follow your operating system's proxy settings, so a system proxy can still apply.
fix it fast

Troubleshooting Insomnia proxy errors

Verify your exit IP

Send a GET request to https://api.ipify.org?format=json; the response shows the IP the API sees. The Timeline tab of the response shows libcurl's connection log, where you can see the request going to your proxy host and port instead of straight to the site.

Open What is my IP? through the proxy to see the address and headers a website receives, or paste up to ten lines into the free proxy checker to test connectivity, latency and exit IP.

Still stuck? Our 24/7 support team answers fast: contact us with the error and the line you used (leave the password out).

Insomnia error fixes
  • 407 or Proxy Authentication RequiredWhy: Credentials missing from the URL, or a password character that breaks the URL.Use http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT and percent-encode @, : or # in the password.
  • TLS or SSL errors on every HTTPS requestWhy: An https:// scheme in Proxy for HTTPS.Change that field to the same http:// URL as Proxy for HTTP.
  • HTTPS requests show your own IPWhy: Only Proxy for HTTP was filled in.Fill Proxy for HTTPS as well; Insomnia picks the field by the request's scheme.
  • Requests use a proxy you didn't setWhy: Enable proxy is off and Insomnia follows the system proxy.Tick Enable proxy and enter your CleanProxies URL, or clear the system proxy.

Insomnia proxy guides

Setup guides and best practices from the CleanProxies blog.

Get the latest insightsAll Blogs

More integrations

Setup guides for tools people run next to Insomnia.

All integrations

Insomnia proxy FAQs

Straight answers about running CleanProxies in Insomnia.

In Preferences, on the Proxy tab: tick Enable proxy and fill Proxy for HTTP and Proxy for HTTPS. Older versions show the same fields under General, HTTP Network Proxy.

Got more questions?All FAQs