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In Selenium 4, configure a browser proxy on the browser’s Options object before creating the WebDriver session. In Python, attach a Selenium Proxy object to options.proxy; this routes browser traffic for that session. It does not automatically proxy Selenium Manager’s separate network requests for managing browsers and drivers.
Configure a proxy for a Selenium browser session
This Python example uses Chrome and a placeholder proxy endpoint. Replace the host and port, and select settings that match your proxy service and browser.
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.proxy import Proxy, ProxyType
options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
options.proxy = Proxy({
"proxyType": ProxyType.MANUAL,
"httpProxy": "proxy.example.test:8080",
})
driver = webdriver.Chrome(options=options)
try:
driver.get("https://example.com/")
finally:
driver.quit()The endpoint above is illustrative, not a working proxy. Selenium’s Browser Options guide demonstrates the same pattern with a host-and-port value. Selenium 4 uses browser Options classes to supply session capabilities.
Choose the right proxy layer
Browser traffic
Use the browser Options object when page requests made by the browser need to pass through a proxy. Selenium describes proxy servers as intermediaries between a client and a server, and lists use cases such as capturing network traffic, mocking backend calls, and reaching sites across restrictive corporate networks. This is a situational network configuration, not a reason to route every automation task through a commercial proxy.
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Selenium Manager traffic
Selenium Manager’s own network requests—such as those involved in browser or driver management—have a separate proxy configuration. Its settings include --proxy, a proxy configuration value, and the SE_PROXY environment variable. Those settings do not configure the browser session. If browser or driver management fails before a session starts, see the Selenium Manager documentation and configure the network layer that is actually failing.
Proxy modes and available fields
The Selenium Python API exposes these proxy types: DIRECT, MANUAL, PAC, AUTODETECT, SYSTEM, and UNSPECIFIED. The API also exposes fields for HTTP and SSL proxy addresses, SOCKS address and credentials/version, a proxy auto-configuration URL, and bypass addresses (noProxy). Consult the Python Proxy API reference for the binding’s current names and details.
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Those fields describe the Python API surface; they do not establish that every option behaves identically across browsers, bindings, drivers, or versions. For Chrome, ChromeDriver accepts standard WebDriver capabilities and Chrome-specific settings through ChromeOptions; Selenium’s example supplies the standard proxy capability through browser options. See ChromeDriver capabilities.
Authentication and corporate proxies
The basic example configures a manual endpoint without credentials. The cited Selenium references do not provide a universal recipe for authenticated HTTP proxies across current browser and Selenium combinations. Do not assume that putting a username and password in a proxy URL will work everywhere. Check the proxy provider or administrator’s instructions alongside the documentation for your browser, driver, and Selenium binding. Keep credentials out of source control and logs.
The Python API lists SOCKS username and password fields, but that alone does not establish how HTTP proxy authentication works. In a corporate environment, ask your administrator whether browser traffic, Selenium Manager traffic, or both must use a company proxy.
Verify the configuration and troubleshoot failures
- Identify which traffic is failing. If the browser cannot reach a page after the session starts, check the browser proxy capability. If browser or driver management fails before the session exists, check Selenium Manager’s proxy configuration.
- Check the endpoint and mode. Confirm the hostname, port, protocol, and proxy type with the provider or network administrator. The manual example uses a host-and-port string.
- Check network policy. Confirm that the machine running the browser can reach the proxy and that the proxy permits the requested destination. For company networks, ask which outbound traffic must use the corporate proxy.
- Handle authentication separately. If the proxy requires login, follow the provider’s browser- and binding-specific method; the simple example does not configure authentication.
- Test with an approved destination. Use a permitted test endpoint and an approved diagnostic method to confirm the route. A successful WebDriver session alone does not prove that page traffic used the intended proxy.
Or skip the browser setup: use ScreenshotNeo
If your goal is to capture a website rather than automate an interactive browser workflow, ScreenshotNeo offers a screenshot API and MCP server. A single GET request returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Its cleanup steps accept cookie or consent banners and remove more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers. AI agents can use its MCP tools: take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf.
For example, save a WebP capture of a URL with cURL:
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. The same request in Python is:
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)Or in Node.js:
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card required.
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Version context
The Selenium Python proxy reference reviewed identifies Selenium 4.49.0. Selenium’s documentation also has a 4.50.0 API index, so check the current references when publishing or upgrading: API versions can advance, and the examples here are not a claim that every browser and driver combination has been tested.
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