How to Use Proxies in Ruby (With Real Code Examples)

Using a proxy server can make a big difference in how your Ruby applications connect to the internet. Knowing how to route traffic through a proxy server helps you stay anonymous, avoid IP bans, and control network requests.

You’ll learn how to configure and use a proxy setup and how to integrate IPRoyal’s residential proxy server network using Ruby’s Faraday HTTP client.

Setting Up Proxy Integration in Ruby With IPRoyal

Integrating a proxy server with Ruby isn’t tricky, but you need to know what to install, where to get credentials, and how to pass them into your code securely.

Install Required Ruby Libraries

First, you’ll need a Ruby HTTP client that supports proxy configurations. One of the most popular and developer-friendly libraries is Faraday. To install it, run this in your terminal:

gem install faraday dotenv

Faraday supports built-in proxy server options, which makes it ideal for handling network requests in Ruby applications. You can also install other tools like net/http or httparty, but we’ll stick to Faraday for simplicity and flexibility.

Get Your Proxy Credentials From IPRoyal

Log in to your IPRoyal dashboard to get your proxy server credentials. You’ll need:

• Proxy IP address
• Port number
• Proxy username
• Proxy password

These credentials will allow you to authenticate with the proxy server. If you’re using a rotating or residential proxy, make sure to select the right type and location inside the IPRoyal dashboard before copying the details.

You should store these securely using environmental variables so you don’t hardcode them into your script. Here’s an example .env setup:

PROXY_USER=your_username
PROXY_PASS=your_password
PROXY_HOST=geo.iproyal.com
PROXY_PORT=12345

Don’t forget to load these environment variables in your script. Use a gem like dotenv or load them manually with ENV.

Integrate a Proxy Using Ruby’s Faraday Library

Now, let’s write a script that connects through a proxy server using Faraday.

require 'faraday'
require 'dotenv/load'
require 'uri'

proxy_url = URI::HTTP.build(
  host: ENV['PROXY_HOST'],
  port: ENV['PROXY_PORT'].to_i,
  userinfo: "#{ENV['PROXY_USER']}:#{ENV['PROXY_PASS']}"
).to_s

conn = Faraday.new(proxy: proxy_url) do |f|
  f.adapter Faraday.default_adapter
end

response = conn.get('https://api.ipify.org?format=json')
puts "Your IP through proxy: #{response.body}"

It sets up Faraday to route traffic through your IPRoyal proxy server. It uses the loaded environment variables to keep things clean and safe.

Everything goes through the proxy server, and you don’t expose any sensitive details in your code.

Test the Connection

Once the code is ready, run it. You can use the IDE or open up the project terminal to run ruby [filename].

If all goes well, you should see a response like:

Your IP through proxy: {"ip":"208.32.131.142"}

That IP should match the one provided by your proxy provider. If it shows your local IP instead, double-check your environment variables and proxy credentials.

Testing with https://api.ipify.org or https://httpbin.org/ip helps confirm that the traffic is correctly routed. You can also try switching to a different proxy server in your IPRoyal dashboard and rerun the script.

Why Use IPRoyal Proxies for Ruby Projects?

IPRoyal offers reliable proxy servers that work well for both large and small Ruby apps. Having access to stable proxy servers makes any data-related job easier: SEO monitoring, web scraping, competitive research, and more.

Here’s what makes IPRoyal a strong choice:

• Fast residential proxy server access.
• Easy credential management.
• Affordable pay-as-you-go pricing.
• Flexible integrations for developers.

If your code runs in different environments, you can switch environment variables per deployment and keep things portable.

IPRoyal’s network gives you access to many types of proxy servers, including residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile proxies, and more. It gives your Ruby apps more power and flexibility.

Conclusion

Using a Ruby proxy setup with Faraday and IPRoyal is straightforward. You install the right libraries, load your proxy credentials from environment variables, and write clean, testable code.