Proxy setup in Charles Proxy

### **Proxy in Charles: A Complete Guide to Setting Up Upstream Proxy for Debugging and Geo-Testing**

**Charles Proxy** is a real multi-tool in the arsenal of anyone who works with web traffic. It is a powerful debugging proxy that is installed on your computer and allows you to intercept, inspect, modify, and replay all HTTP/HTTPS traffic between your device and the internet. But what if, for debugging purposes, you need Charles to connect to the network not from your IP address, but from an IP address located, for example, in the US or Brazil?

This is exactly what the **External Proxy Settings** feature in Charles is for. It allows you to configure a so-called **Upstream Proxy** (higher-level proxy or gateway) through which all traffic intercepted by Charles will pass.

**Why would a professional need this?**

* **Geo-specific testing:** Check how your website or mobile app displays content, prices, and ads to users from a specific country.
* **Emulation of real users:** See which CDN servers and API endpoints are used when accessing from different geolocations.
* **Bypassing corporate restrictions:** Work from networks where all Internet access is only allowed through a specific gateway.
* **Security analysis:** Investigate application behavior when accessed from IP addresses with different trust levels.

In this guide, we will walk you through the steps of configuring Charles to work through an external proxy server so that you can take full control not only of the traffic itself, but also its source.

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### **Part 1: Step-by-step configuration of an external proxy in Charles**

The setup process is logical and won't take long. You will need your proxy server details: IP address, port, protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, or SOCKS), and, if required, login and password.

#### **Step 1: Collect proxy credentials**

The first and most important step is to make sure you have the complete set of authorization data. These “keys” will allow your application or browser to connect to the proxy server and route traffic through it.

Be sure to have the following data ready:

* **IP address** (host server)
* **Port** for connection
* **Login** and **password** for authorization
* **Protocol type** (HTTP/HTTPS or SOCKS5)

![](/media/mdeditor/proxies_info_en_20251007053220501564.png)
*Fig. 1. This screenshot shows where all the necessary fields for connecting to a proxy server are located in your **CyberYozh App** personal account.*

#### **Step 2: Accessing external proxy settings**

First, you need to open the appropriate settings window in Charles.

![](/media/mdeditor/1_20251014061821415840.png)
*Fig. 2. This screenshot shows the main Charles Proxy interface before configuration, displaying the session panel and the request details window.*

* In the top menu of the program, go to the **“Proxy”** section.

![](/media/mdeditor/2_20251014061907742812.png)
*Fig. 3. This screenshot shows the first step to access the settings, where the “Proxy” item is highlighted in the top menu of the program.*

* In the drop-down list, select **“External Proxy Settings...”**.

![](/media/mdeditor/3_20251014061941606243.png)
*Fig. 4. This screenshot shows the “Proxy” drop-down menu, where you need to select “External Proxy Settings...” to go to the external gateway configuration.*

#### **Step 3: Activation and protocol selection**

In the “External proxies settings” window that opens, you will see settings for different protocols.

* Check the box next to **“Use external proxy servers”** to activate the function.

![](/media/mdeditor/4_20251014062119810777.png)
*Fig. 5. This screenshot shows the “External proxies settings” window, where you need to check the box next to “Use external proxy servers” to activate the function.*

* Select the protocol you will be using. Charles allows you to configure different proxies for different protocols simultaneously.
  * **Web Proxy (HTTP):** For standard HTTP traffic.
  * **Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS):** For secure HTTPS traffic.
  * **SOCKS Proxy:** A universal protocol that is preferred for many tasks. We recommend using it if your proxy provider supports it.

![](/media/mdeditor/5_20251014062419015043.png)
*Fig. 6. This screenshot shows the process of setting up an HTTPS proxy: the “Secure Web Proxy (HTTPS)” protocol is selected, the server data is entered, and the “Proxy server requires a password” checkbox is activated.*

#### **Step 4: Enter proxy server data**

Now enter your proxy data. We will look at the configuration using **SOCKS Proxy** as the most versatile option.

* Check the **“SOCKS Proxy”** box.
* Enter your server's **IP address** and **port** in the appropriate fields.
* If your proxy requires authorization (and high-quality proxies always do), check the box next to **“Proxy server requires a password”**.
* Fill in the **“Username”** and **“Password”** fields.

![](/media/mdeditor/6_20251014062735330659.png)
*Fig. 7. This screenshot shows an alternative configuration using the SOCKS protocol: the “SOCKS Proxy” option is selected and the corresponding fields for authorization are filled in.*

* After filling in all the fields, click **“Done”**.

![](/media/mdeditor/7_20251014062821443480.png)
*Fig. 8. This screenshot shows the final stage of saving the configuration, where after entering all the data, you need to click the “Done” button.*

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### **Part 2: Checking for correct operation**

The configuration is complete. Now you need to make sure that Charles is actually routing traffic through the gateway you specified.

#### **Step 5: Analyzing traffic in Charles**

* Make sure that traffic recording in Charles is active (the button with a red circle on the toolbar).
* Open any website in your browser. On the left side of the Charles interface, you will see new hosts appear.
* Find any request in the list, for example, to `app.cyberyozh.com`. On the **“Overview”** tab, you will see technical information about the connection. This proves that Charles is intercepting traffic.

![](/media/mdeditor/8_20251014062926817955.png)
*Fig. 9. This screenshot shows the Charles interface after configuration, where active traffic is visible in the session list, confirming that the program is intercepting network requests.*

#### **Step 6: Final check of the external IP address**

The most reliable way to make sure that you are accessing the Internet from the proxy IP address is to check it on an external service.

* Open any IP checker website in your browser (whose traffic goes through Charles), such as **browserleaks.com/ip**.
* You should see the IP address and geolocation that belong to your proxy server, not your internet service provider.

![](/media/mdeditor/9_20251014063014793974.png)
*Fig. 10. This screenshot shows the result of a successful configuration. In a browser whose traffic passes through Charles, the browserleaks.com website displays the IP address and geolocation of the external proxy server.*

**Done!** You have successfully configured Charles to work through an external proxy.

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### **Important detail: Decrypting HTTPS traffic**

By default, Charles does not decrypt the contents of HTTPS requests, but only redirects them (you only see `CONNECT` requests). To see the contents (headers, JSON, HTML), you need to:

1. Go to **“Proxy” -> “SSL Proxying Settings...”**.

![](/media/mdeditor/10_20251014063115123322.png)
*Fig. 11. This screenshot shows how to find and select “SSL Proxying Settings...” in the “Proxy” menu to go to the HTTPS traffic decryption settings.*

2. Enable **“Enable SSL Proxying”** and add the hosts you want to decrypt (for example, `*:443` for all).

![](/media/mdeditor/11_20251014063220953956.png)
*Fig. 12. In the SSL Proxying Settings window that opens, the first thing you need to do is activate the function itself by checking the box next to Enable SSL proxying, as highlighted in the image.*

![](/media/mdeditor/12_20251014063318467126.png)
*Fig. 13. To add a new traffic decryption rule at this step, click the “+” (Add) button located below the “Include” field.*

![](/media/mdeditor/13_20251014063401232139.png)
*Fig. 14. This shows the final stage of host configuration: the universal address *:443 has been added to the list to intercept all HTTPS traffic. After that, click the “Done” button to save the settings.*

3. Install the Charles root certificate on your operating system and browser by following the instructions in the **“Help” -> “SSL Proxying” -> “Install Charles Root Certificate”** menu.

![](/media/mdeditor/15_20251014063504926660.png)
*Fig. 15. In the “Help” drop-down menu, hover over “SSL Proxying” and then select “Install Charles Root Certificate” to start installing the root certificate in your operating system.*

### **Conclusion**

The combination of Charles and an external proxy is a powerful tool in the hands of a professional. It allows you to perform in-depth analysis and debugging of applications in conditions that are as close as possible to the real conditions of users from anywhere in the world. This approach is indispensable for geo-dependent testing, advertising traffic analysis, and ensuring anonymity in the process of researching network interactions.

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