**Ruby** is a flexible and expressive language widely used for building scrapers, bots, and automation workflows. With native proxy support available in libraries like `Net::HTTP`, `HTTParty`, and `Mechanize`, it's easy to route traffic through Squid Proxies—whether you're working on lightweight scripts or developing more advanced scraping systems.
## **Squid Proxies format overview** Squid Proxies provides both datacenter and residential proxies. | Proxy Type | Format Example | Authentication | |------------|----------------|-----------------| | Datacenter | `http://123.45.67.89:3128` | IP & User/Pass Authorization | | Residential | `http://p102.squidproxies.com:8907` | IP & User/Pass Authorization |
## **System requirements** - Ruby 2.6 or later - Install HTTParty and Mechanize (if needed): ```bash gem install httparty mechanize ```
## **Using Net::HTTP with datacenter proxies** ```ruby require 'net/http' require 'uri' proxy_host = '123.45.67.89' proxy_port = 3128 uri = URI('https://httpbin.org/ip') Net::HTTP.start(uri.host, uri.port, proxy_host, proxy_port, use_ssl: uri.scheme == 'https') do |http| request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri) request['User-Agent'] = 'Mozilla/5.0 (RubyBot)' response = http.request(request) puts response.body end ```
## **Using Net::HTTP with residential proxies** Residential proxies automatically rotate every 10 minutes — no manual switching required. ```ruby proxy_host = 'p102.squidproxies.com' proxy_port = 8907 # rest of code same as above ```
## **Using HTTParty with proxies** HTTParty makes web requests simpler while supporting proxy settings. ```ruby require 'httparty' proxy = 'http://123.45.67.89:3128' # or p102.squidproxies.com:8907 url = 'https://httpbin.org/ip' response = HTTParty.get(url, http_proxyaddr: URI(proxy).host, http_proxyport: URI(proxy).port, headers: { 'User-Agent' => 'Mozilla/5.0' } ) puts response.body ```
## **Using Mechanize with proxies (simulated browser)** ```ruby require 'mechanize' proxy_host = '123.45.67.89' proxy_port = 3128 agent = Mechanize.new agent.set_proxy(proxy_host, proxy_port) agent.user_agent_alias = 'Windows Chrome' page = agent.get('https://httpbin.org/ip') puts page.body ```
## **Optimizing with proxy pool rotation** ```ruby require 'net/http' require 'uri' proxy_list = [ ['123.45.67.1', 3128], ['123.45.67.2', 3128], ['123.45.67.3', 3128] ] url = URI('https://httpbin.org/ip') proxy_list.shuffle.each do |proxy_host, proxy_port| begin Net::HTTP.start(url.host, url.port, proxy_host, proxy_port, use_ssl: true) do |http| req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(url) req['User-Agent'] = 'Mozilla/5.0' res = http.request(req) puts "Success via #{proxy_host}: #{res.body}" break end rescue => e puts "Failed using #{proxy_host}: #{e.message}" end end ```
## **Best practices for Ruby proxy integration** | Tip | Why It Matters | |-----|----------------| | Set timeouts | Prevents long waits on slow proxies | | Rotate proxies | Avoid detection and IP bans | | Use realistic headers | Reduce chance of bot detection | | Use residential proxies | Ideal for logins, geo-targeted scraping, forms | | Avoid frequent IP changes mid-session | Maintains sticky sessions for logins | | Add delays between requests | Mimics human behavior (use sleep) |
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**More Guides:** - [Use Proxies in Your Code](https://www.squidproxies.com/developer-docs/dev-getting-started/use-proxies-in-your-code) - [Proxy Rotation & Session Management](https://www.squidproxies.com/developer-docs/dev-advanced-guides/proxy-rotation-amp-session-management)