How to Set Up Proxy with OpenClaw (Step-by-Step)

How to Set Up Proxy with OpenClaw

OpenClaw↗ runs as a self-hosted gateway that connects your chat apps to AI agents. When those agents use browser automation to scrape or browse at scale, they often need a proxy — especially a residential proxy — to avoid blocks. This guide walks through how to set up a proxy with OpenClaw so your agent’s traffic goes through rotating residential IPs.

Prerequisites

• OpenClaw installed and onboarded (see OpenClaw docs↗).
• A residential proxy provider with a gateway URL and credentials (e.g. Bytesflows residential proxies).
• Browser-based skills (Playwright or similar) that your OpenClaw agent uses for web tasks.

If you’re new to proxies, read What Is a Residential Proxy and Best Proxies for Web Scraping first.

Step 1: Get Proxy Credentials

Sign up with a provider that offers rotating residential proxies. You’ll get:

• Proxy server (host:port), e.g. p1.bytesflows.com:8001
• Username and password (or a single credential string)

Some providers use a single endpoint for all traffic; the gateway assigns a new IP per request (rotating) or per session (sticky). For OpenClaw workflows that hit many pages, rotating is usually better. See How Proxy Rotation Works and Proxy Rotation Strategies.

Validate your proxy with our Proxy Checker before wiring it into OpenClaw.

Step 2: Find Where OpenClaw Launches the Browser

OpenClaw uses skills that can run Playwright, Puppeteer, or other browser automation. Proxy configuration happens where the browser is launched, not in the Gateway itself. So you need to:

1. Identify which skill (or custom code) performs web scraping or browsing.
2. Locate the browser launch call (e.g. chromium.launch() in Playwright).
3. Add proxy options to that launch call.

If you use a community skill, check its config or docs for proxy support. If you’re writing a custom skill, use the same pattern as in Playwright Proxy Configuration Guide.

Step 3: Add Proxy to Playwright Launch

In Playwright (Node.js), pass proxy into launch():

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

const browser = await chromium.launch({
  headless: true,
  proxy: {
    server: 'http://p1.bytesflows.com:8001',
    username: 'your-username',
    password: 'your-password'
  }
});

Use https:// for the server if your provider requires it. For a single URL with embedded auth (e.g. http://user:pass@p1.bytesflows.com:8001), some runtimes let you pass that as server and omit username/password; check your provider’s docs. Full examples: Using Proxies with Playwright.

Step 4: Use Environment Variables (Optional)

To avoid hardcoding credentials, use environment variables:

export PROXY_SERVER="http://p1.bytesflows.com:8001"
export PROXY_USER="your-username"
export PROXY_PASS="your-password"

Then in your skill or script:

proxy: process.env.PROXY_SERVER ? {
  server: process.env.PROXY_SERVER,
  username: process.env.PROXY_USER,
  password: process.env.PROXY_PASS
} : undefined

This keeps credentials out of the repo and makes it easy to switch proxies per environment (e.g. local vs VPS). For VPS deployment, see Running OpenClaw on VPS with Proxies and Web Scraping at Scale: Best Practices.

Step 5: Test the Agent With Proxy

1. Run your OpenClaw agent and trigger a task that uses the browser (e.g. open a few pages).
2. Check that requests succeed and that the target site sees a residential IP (you can use a “what’s my IP” page in the agent’s browser session).
3. Use our Scraping Test from the same proxy to confirm the target URL allows the IP.

If you get CAPTCHA or 403, see Bypass Cloudflare for Web Scraping and How Websites Detect Scrapers. For rate limits, add delays and lower concurrency; Avoiding IP Bans in Web Scraping.

Sticky vs Rotating for OpenClaw

• Rotating (per-request): New IP each request. Best for broad scraping (many unrelated pages). Use this for most OpenClaw scraping workflows. Rotating Proxies for Web Scraping.
• Sticky (session): Same IP for a time window. Use when the agent must stay logged in or complete a multi-step flow. Proxy Rotation Strategies.

Configure rotation behavior in your proxy provider’s dashboard or via gateway parameters; OpenClaw just passes the proxy to the browser.

Troubleshooting

• Agent still blocked — Confirm the proxy is residential and rotating; run Proxy Checker and Scraping Test. Add realistic headers and consider Browser Stealth Techniques for Scraping.
• Connection errors — Check server URL, port, and credentials; ensure the machine running OpenClaw can reach the proxy gateway.
• Slow performance — Proxy latency adds up; choose a provider with low latency in your region and avoid unnecessary hops. Residential Proxies support geo-targeting so you can match the proxy region to your target.

Summary

To set up proxy with OpenClaw: (1) Get residential proxy credentials from a provider like Bytesflows. (2) Find where your OpenClaw skill launches the browser (Playwright/Puppeteer). (3) Add proxy to the launch options with server, username, and password. (4) Prefer env vars for credentials. (5) Test with a few requests and use Proxy Checker and Scraping Test to validate. For more, read Why OpenClaw Agents Need Residential Proxies and Playwright Proxy Configuration Guide.