You can get a free SOCKS5 proxy by running Tor locally or creating an SSH tunnel through a server you already control. Public SOCKS5 proxy lists also exist, but these proxies are often slow, unreliable, and operated by unknown parties.
Use Tor as a Free SOCKS5 Proxy
Tor provides a local SOCKS proxy that supported applications can use to route traffic through the Tor network.
Install and run Tor using the instructions for your operating system. A Tor service commonly listens on: 127.0.0.1:9050 (Tor Browser uses 127.0.0.1:9150 instead)
Test the Tor SOCKS5 Proxy
Use the following cURL command to send a request through the local Tor proxy. The command also prints the public IP address used for the request:
curl --proxy socks5h://127.0.0.1:9050 \
https://api.ipify.org && echo
The command outputs this IP address:
The address might vary. The socks5h:// scheme tells cURL to let the proxy resolve the destination hostname instead of resolving it locally.
Use the example below to compare the proxy IP with the normal public IP:
curl https://api.ipify.org
Create a SOCKS5 Proxy with SSH
You can also create a local SOCKS5 proxy when you have access to a remote SSH server.
The following command opens a local proxy on port 1080:
ssh -N -D 1080 user@your-server.example
Replace user@your-server.example with your SSH username and server address.
Keep that terminal session open, then test the proxy from another terminal using this command:
curl --proxy socks5h://127.0.0.1:1080 \
https://api.ipify.org
The output should show the public IP address of the remote SSH server.
Once either proxy is running, you can point a scraper at it the same way. Our guide to using proxies with Selenium in Python walks through a browser-based example.
Can You Use a Free Public SOCKS5 Proxy?
Free public SOCKS5 proxies are available, but they may be slow, offline, overloaded, or operated by someone you do not trust.
A SOCKS5 proxy does not encrypt application traffic by itself. Continue using HTTPS, and do not send passwords or sensitive information through an unknown public proxy.
If you do decide to use free public proxies, our walkthrough on building a free AI-powered scraper for fresh public proxies shows how to collect and test them in bulk.
For regular use, running Tor or creating an SSH tunnel is safer than selecting a random server from a free SOCKS5 proxy list.