---
title: "Proxy"
description: "Browser automation CLI for AI agents"
canonical_url: "https://agent-browser.dev/proxy"
---

# Proxy

Use proxies for corporate networks, geo-testing, scraping infrastructure, and traffic routing through a controlled egress point.

## CLI flags

```bash
agent-browser --proxy "http://proxy.example.com:8080" open https://example.com
agent-browser --proxy "http://user:pass@proxy.example.com:8080" open https://example.com
agent-browser --proxy "http://proxy.example.com:8080" --proxy-bypass "localhost,*.internal.com" open https://example.com
agent-browser --proxy "http://proxy.example.com:8080" --ca-cert /etc/ssl/certs/proxy-ca.pem open https://example.com
agent-browser --use-system-ca read https://example.com
```

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td><code>--proxy &lt;url&gt;</code></td><td>Proxy server URL, with optional credentials</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>--proxy-bypass &lt;hosts&gt;</code></td><td>Hosts that should bypass the proxy</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>--ca-cert &lt;path&gt;</code></td><td>Trust a CA certificate or PEM bundle for the CLI's own HTTPS requests, and in a locally launched Chromium browser on Linux</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>--use-system-ca</code></td><td>Use the operating system trust store for the CLI's own HTTPS requests</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>--no-ca-cert</code></td><td>Clear CA trust retained by the running browser session</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

## Environment variables

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr><th>Variable</th><th>Description</th></tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY</code></td><td>agent-browser proxy URL</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY_BYPASS</code></td><td>agent-browser proxy bypass list</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY_USERNAME</code></td><td>Proxy username when credentials are provided separately</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY_PASSWORD</code></td><td>Proxy password when credentials are provided separately</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_CA_CERT</code></td><td>Path to a CA certificate or PEM bundle for CLI requests and locally launched Chromium on Linux</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>AGENT_BROWSER_USE_SYSTEM_CA</code></td><td>Use the operating system trust store for CLI requests</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>SSL_CERT_FILE</code></td><td>Fallback CA file for CLI requests when no CA is configured</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>HTTP_PROXY</code> / <code>HTTPS_PROXY</code></td><td>Standard proxy environment variables, used as fallbacks</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>ALL_PROXY</code></td><td>SOCKS or all-traffic proxy fallback</td></tr>
    <tr><td><code>NO_PROXY</code></td><td>Standard proxy bypass fallback</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

`AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY` takes precedence over standard proxy variables. The CLI also accepts credentials embedded in the proxy URL and separates them before passing launch options to the daemon.

## HTTPS interception certificates

### CLI requests

`read`, `install`, `upgrade`, and `doctor` make their own HTTPS requests and trust the built-in Mozilla roots by default. On every platform, `--ca-cert` adds the CA to those requests, and `--use-system-ca` switches them to the operating system trust store, which already holds a CA deployed by MDM or an enterprise image. `SSL_CERT_FILE` is used as a fallback CA file and is ignored with a warning when unusable. Neither option disables certificate or hostname verification. For `read`, a selection given on the command line stays in effect for the session until `close`, including across daemon restarts; `--no-ca-cert` or `--use-system-ca false` turns it off. `read` never launches or relaunches a browser because of these options. They do not yet change how agent-browser connects to a remote browser over `--cdp`, `--auto-connect`, or a provider.

### Browser

On Linux, `--ca-cert` imports each certificate into a private NSS database used only by the Chromium process launched for that session. Normal hostname and validity checks remain enabled. Later commands retain that trust when they omit the flag. A different certificate or `--no-ca-cert` relaunches Chromium without restarting the daemon. The same certificate content reuses the current browser even when supplied from a different path. `agent-browser install --with-deps` installs the required `certutil`; otherwise install `libnss3-tools` on Debian/Ubuntu or `nss-tools` on RPM Linux.

For browser commands, the option cannot be combined with `--profile`, `--cdp`, `--auto-connect`, providers, Lightpanda, or `--ignore-https-errors`. Browser trust is not supported on macOS or Windows, where Chromium already uses the operating system trust store.

## SOCKS proxy

```bash
export ALL_PROXY="socks5://proxy.example.com:1080"
agent-browser open https://example.com

export ALL_PROXY="socks5://user:pass@proxy.example.com:1080"
agent-browser open https://example.com
```

## Bypass local traffic

```bash
export AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY="http://proxy.example.com:8080"
export AGENT_BROWSER_PROXY_BYPASS="localhost,127.0.0.1,*.internal.com"

agent-browser open https://external.example.com
agent-browser open http://localhost:3000
```

## Verify routing

```bash
agent-browser open https://httpbin.org/ip
agent-browser get text body
```

The response should show the proxy egress address, not the machine's direct network address.

## Security notes

- Prefer environment variables or secret stores for proxy credentials.
- Do not commit proxy usernames, passwords, or session URLs.
- HAR exports and network logs may include proxy-authenticated requests.