Quick start
Use the ProxyOnly API
Create an API key, list locations, create proxies and read usage from your own code.
This guide is part of the ProxyOnly quick-start series. It assumes nothing and takes a few minutes. Prices are live, and you can start with a balance of one US dollar in any of the 63 countries we stock.
- Guide
- Use the ProxyOnly API
- Series
- 13 quick-start guides
- Minimum balance
- US$1
What the API can do
The API lets you do from code what you do in the dashboard. You can list the locations that are available, list your proxies, create a new proxy and read your usage. It is meant for teams that create proxies as part of their own systems.
Create a key
Open the API page in the dashboard and create a key. The secret is shown once, so copy it into your secret store straight away. Only a short prefix stays visible later, so that you can tell keys apart. You can limit what a key may do, for example read-only, and revoke a key at any time.
Send the key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header on every request. Requests are rate limited, and a 429 response includes a Retry-After header that tells you how long to wait.
curl https://proxyonly.com/api/v1/locations \
-H "Authorization: Bearer po_live_your_key_here"Endpoints
The endpoints are small and all return JSON. Errors have a code and a message.
- GET /api/v1/locations lists the enabled countries and the proxy types available in each.
- GET /api/v1/proxies lists your proxies, newest first.
- POST /api/v1/proxies creates a proxy. Send the type, the country code and optionally the session mode and duration.
- GET /api/v1/proxies/{id} returns one proxy.
- GET /api/v1/usage returns your usage.
curl -X POST https://proxyonly.com/api/v1/proxies \
-H "Authorization: Bearer po_live_your_key_here" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"type":"residential","country":"us","session":"sticky"}'Handling errors
A 401 means the key is missing, wrong or revoked. A 400 means the body was not valid. A 422 means the request was valid but cannot be filled, for example a country that is not in stock or a balance that is too low. A 429 means slow down. Write your client to treat 429 and 5xx as retryable with backoff and everything else as final.
Which proxy type fits any country
The right type depends on how strict the destination is, how much traffic you will send and how long you need the address. A short comparison of the types we sell:
Datacenter IPv4. The default choice for most jobs. These are dedicated IPv4 addresses hosted in a datacenter, fast and inexpensive, and the best fit for high-volume reading of public pages, monitoring and automation. Some websites treat datacenter ranges more cautiously than consumer connections, so test your target before you commit to a long rental.
ISP proxies. Static addresses that are registered to an internet service provider rather than a hosting company. They keep the speed of datacenter hardware and look more like an ordinary home or office connection, which helps with destinations that are strict about hosting ranges.
Shared IPv4. A shared address is used by more than one customer and costs less. It suits light tasks, quick checks and testing where a clean, exclusive address is not essential.
IPv6. IPv6 addresses are very cheap and plentiful, and they work well with destinations that serve IPv6 traffic, such as many large search, video and social platforms. Many smaller sites are still IPv4 only, so check that your target supports IPv6 before you buy.
Mobile proxies. Addresses from mobile carrier networks. Many phones share the same carrier address, so websites tend to be tolerant of this traffic, which makes mobile proxies the right choice for testing mobile ads, apps and landing pages. They cost more than datacenter addresses.
Residential proxies. Addresses from home internet connections, billed by the amount of traffic you use and not by the IP. They suit light, bursty jobs on sites that block datacenter and ISP ranges. Heavy traffic gets expensive quickly, so estimate your monthly volume first.
If you are unsure, rent one address of the type you think you need, run your real task against it for a day, and look at the success rate. Because rental periods start at a few days, trying a type costs very little.
Using proxies responsibly in any country
A proxy is a networking tool and it is lawful in most places, but what you do with it still has to be lawful and fair. Follow the laws that apply to you and to the place you send traffic to, read the terms of the sites you visit, honour robots rules and rate limits, and never use an address to access accounts or data that are not yours. ProxyOnly cannot give legal advice, and our acceptable use policy applies to every order.
In practice that means reading public pages, checking your own sites and ads, and testing your own products. If a task would be unwelcome to the site owner when done by hand, it is unwelcome when done through a proxy too.
Frequently asked questions
How do I authenticate to the API?
Create a key in the dashboard and send it as a Bearer token in the Authorization header.
Is the key shown again?
No. Copy it when it is created. Only a prefix remains visible.
Are there rate limits?
Yes. A 429 response includes a Retry-After header.
Can I create proxies through the API?
Yes, with POST /api/v1/proxies, if your key has the permission and your balance covers it.
Ready to try it?
Create an account, add funds from US$1 and pick your country and proxy type.