Protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5)

SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxy is the choice most developers face when picking a protocol, and ColdProxy gateways support both (plus HTTPS) on the same endpoint. All three protocols run within the 30000–34999 port range on your gw-{service-id}.coldproxy.com gateway (code examples use gw-2312), so you do not need a separate host or port for each protocol. This page explains how the protocols differ, which to use for a given workflow, and how to configure each in your client. For a deeper comparison of the two main options, see SOCKS5 vs HTTPS proxies and TCP vs UDP proxies.

#Supported protocols

The gateway auto-detects the protocol of each incoming connection. There is no setting to change in the client area and no protocol-specific port; point your client at the gateway using whichever protocol your library or tool uses.

#SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxy — when to use which

Both protocols route traffic through the same ColdProxy IPs, so a SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxy decision comes down to your client and traffic type, not IP quality.

Use HTTP/HTTPS when:

• You are collecting public web data, calling APIs, or running browser automation.
• Your library or tool has native HTTP proxy support (requests, curl, headless browsers, most HTTP clients).
• Simplicity matters; HTTP is the most widely supported option and works out of the box in almost every environment.

Use SOCKS5 when:

• You need a protocol-agnostic tunnel that forwards traffic without inspecting or modifying it.
• Your workflow involves non-HTTP TCP services, or UDP traffic that an HTTP proxy cannot carry (for example, DNS-over-UDP or real-time data streams).
• A tool specifically requires a SOCKS proxy endpoint.

#HTTP/HTTPS examples

cURL

curl -x "http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000" \
  "https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip"

Python (requests)

import requests

proxy = "http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000"
proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}

print(requests.get("https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip", proxies=proxies, timeout=30).json())

#SOCKS5 examples

cURL

# TCP: --socks5 resolves DNS locally before connecting
curl --socks5 "gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000" \
  -U "USERNAME:PASSWORD" \
  "https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip"

# Remote DNS: --socks5-hostname (socks5h) resolves DNS through the proxy
curl --socks5-hostname "gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000" \
  -U "USERNAME:PASSWORD" \
  "https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip"

Python (requests)

import requests
# Requires: pip install "requests[socks]"

# TCP with local DNS
proxy_tcp = "socks5://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000"

# Remote DNS resolution through the proxy (socks5h)
proxy_rdns = "socks5h://USERNAME:PASSWORD@gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000"

proxies = {"http": proxy_rdns, "https": proxy_rdns}
print(requests.get("https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip", proxies=proxies, timeout=30).json())

#SOCKS5 UDP support

ColdProxy SOCKS5 supports UDP in addition to TCP. To enable UDP tunneling on plans and tools that support it, use the -udp- username tag. Confirm whether your specific plan exposes this tag and the exact tag prefix in your client area.

# Example: SOCKS5 UDP tag in username (confirm exact prefix in client area)
curl --socks5 "gw-2312.coldproxy.com:30000" \
  -U "USERNAME-udp-1:PASSWORD" \
  "https://api.vipv6proxy.com/api/checker/my-ip"

#Next steps

• Authentication — User:Pass or IP whitelisting.
• Username Tag Scheme — encode geo and session targeting in the username.
• SOCKS5 vs HTTPS proxies
• TCP vs UDP proxies
• Glossary: SOCKS5 proxy