How to Set Up Sneaker Proxies: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you start

You'll need:

• Your sneaker bot installed, ideally on a server near your proxies. See sneaker bot server location.
• Proxies from your provider: ISP, residential, or both. See best proxies for sneaker bots.
• Your task plan: which sites, how many tasks.

For background on proxy types, read sneaker proxies.

Step 1: Understand the proxy format

Almost all sneaker bots accept proxies in this format, one per line:

ip:port:username:password

Some accept ip:port alone when you use IP whitelisting. A few also accept URL formats like http://user:pass@ip:port. Check your bot's documentation.

Step 2: Get your proxy list

ISP and datacenter proxies

Your provider gives you a list, usually in the dashboard or by email. Copy it exactly. Watch for stray spaces and line breaks.

Residential proxies

Residential providers give you a gateway plus parameters. Use their proxy generator to create a list where each line is a separate sticky session:

gate.example.com:7777:customer-USER-country-us-session-a1f3k9-sesstime-30:PASS
gate.example.com:7777:customer-USER-country-us-session-b7x2m4-sesstime-30:PASS

Set country, session type (sticky), session length and number of lines equal to your task count.

Step 3: Decide on authentication

• Username/password: works from anywhere; included in each line.
• IP whitelisting: add your bot server's public IP in the provider's dashboard and use ip:port lines. Cleaner, but only works from that server.

See proxy authentication methods.

Step 4: Create proxy groups

Organise proxies into groups by purpose and site:

• ISP-US-East-Footsites
• ISP-US-Shopify
• Resi-US-Raffles
• DC-Monitors

Never mix monitor and checkout proxies.

Step 5: Test against the right site

Use your bot's proxy tester, but test against the target retailer, not a generic site. A proxy that's fast to Google can be banned on the retailer. Look for:

• Response time (lower is better).
• Errors or bans (remove these).

Test the night before and again the morning of the release. See sneaker proxy speed.

Step 6: Assign groups to tasks

Assign each task group the appropriate proxy group. Make sure you have at least one proxy per task on strict sites. See how many proxies for a sneaker bot.

Step 7: Prepare backups

Keep a spare group from a different subnet or provider. If your main group gets banned during the release, switch quickly.

Troubleshooting

More: why sneaker proxies get banned.

Residential vs ISP list formats

ISP list (each line a different static IP):

203.0.113.11:8000:user:pass
203.0.113.12:8000:user:pass
198.51.100.31:8000:user:pass

Residential list (same gateway, different sticky sessions):

gate.example.com:7777:cust-USER-cc-us-sess-k3j9a1-time-30:pass
gate.example.com:7777:cust-USER-cc-us-sess-p0q2m8-time-30:pass

Both look like normal proxy lines to your bot. The difference is what's behind them. See backconnect proxies.

Converting formats

If your provider gives URL-style proxies and your bot wants colon format:

from urllib.parse import urlparse
for line in open("url_proxies.txt"):
    u = urlparse(line.strip())
    print(f"{u.hostname}:{u.port}:{u.username}:{u.password}")

Naming conventions that save time

Use names that encode region, type, site and date, for example ISP-USE-FTL-0412 for US East ISP proxies used on a footsite release on a given date. When something fails, you'll immediately know which batch it was.

Pre-release checklist

• [ ] Proxies loaded, no format errors
• [ ] Whitelist updated with server IP (if used)
• [ ] Groups separated: checkout, raffle, monitor
• [ ] Tested once against the target site
• [ ] Slow and banned proxies removed
• [ ] Backup group ready from a different subnet
• [ ] Tasks assigned at the right ratio

For proxy choice, see best proxies for sneaker bots and the sneaker proxies pillar.

Moving your setup to a new server

Changing servers is when working setups most often break. A short checklist avoids release-day surprises:

1. Note the new server's public IP before you do anything else.
2. Update provider whitelists. Add the new IP to every proxy provider that uses IP authorisation, and remove the old one once you've finished moving.
3. Check the server's location against your proxies. A move to a different region changes latency; see sneaker bot server location.
4. Sync the clock. Release timing depends on it; see sneaker proxy speed for how to check.
5. Copy lists and groups exactly, keeping your naming conventions, then re-test every group against its target site with light requests.
6. Re-bind your bot licence if your bot ties licences to a machine.
7. Run a dry run on a low-stakes release or restock before trusting the new server with a big one.
8. Shut down the old server only when everything works, and delete stored credentials from it.

Keep a short text file on each server listing its IP, region, start date and which provider whitelists include it. It turns the next move into a ten-minute job.

For authentication options that survive server changes, see proxy authentication methods.

Key takeaways

• Sneaker bots expect ip:port:user:pass lines; residential providers generate lists of sticky sessions on one gateway.
• Choose username/password or IP whitelisting deliberately; whitelist the bot server's IP, not your home IP.
• Organise proxy groups by role (checkout, raffle, monitor) and site, and never mix monitors with checkouts.
• Test against the actual retailer once the night before and once on release morning.
• Keep a backup group from a different subnet. See how many proxies for a sneaker bot.

FAQ

Can I use the same proxy list in multiple bots?

You can, but running two bots on the same proxies doubles the load per IP.

Do I need to restart tasks after replacing proxies?

Usually yes, so tasks pick up the new proxies.