> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.refractbot.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.refractbot.com/introduction-to-botting/proxies.md).

# Proxies

A proxy is an IP address your requests route through instead of your home connection. Bots use proxies to run many tasks at once without every request coming from the same IP.

{% hint style="info" %}
**This page is background, not a setup guide.** We do not sell proxies and we do not recommend providers. For provider recommendations and current proxy strategies, ask your cook group.
{% endhint %}

## Why bots use proxies

Retailers track how many requests come from each IP. Running many tasks through one IP is an easy way to get blocked. Proxies give each task its own IP, which lets you scale task count and reduces the chance one ban takes down your whole setup.

## The two main types

| Type               | How it works                                                                                    | How it is sold      |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Residential (resi) | Rotates through a large pool of real home IPs. Harder to detect and ban.                        | Per GB of bandwidth |
| ISP                | Static datacenter IPs that present as home connections. Faster, but a flagged IP stays flagged. | Per IP              |

## Which type for which site

Rough starting points, based on what has generally worked:

* Sites with aggressive anti-bot systems (Walmart, and Target when Shape security is high) tend to favor residential proxies.
* Sites where speed matters more than rotation (Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, and Target most of the time) tend to run fine on ISP proxies.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Treat this as a starting point, not gospel.** Anti-bot systems change, and what the community runs on each site shifts with them. Check what is currently working before you buy anything.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Start with your cook group.** Provider quality varies enormously and changes over time. Which providers are performing on which sites is exactly the kind of information cook groups track and we do not.
{% endhint %}

## Setting up proxies in Refract

Adding proxy lists and assigning them to monitors and tasks is covered in the setup guide:

{% content-ref url="/pages/4M1go6XVPpZ4rppwKCn6" %}
[Proxies](/general-setup/proxies.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

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