Glossary · Core proxy

SOCKS proxy

Also calledsocks5 proxysocks proxy meaningwhat is socks5

Definition

A SOCKS proxy is a protocol-agnostic proxy — it forwards arbitrary TCP (and in SOCKS5, UDP) without understanding what it is forwarding.

Explanation

In depth

SOCKS grew out of firewall traversal for protocols other than HTTP — games, IRC, custom TCP services. Unlike an HTTP proxy that inspects headers, a SOCKS proxy just forwards bytes. SOCKS5 added authentication, UDP support, IPv6, and remote DNS resolution (the DNS lookup happens at the proxy, not on your device — useful for privacy). Chrome, Firefox, and most modern browsers support SOCKS5 in system proxy settings. Tor famously uses SOCKS5 as its client interface. SOCKS proxies do not cache and do not filter — the tradeoff for the protocol flexibility. For pure browser use, an HTTP proxy usually fits better. For games, custom apps, or anything non-HTTP, SOCKS is the answer.

See alsoHTTP vs SOCKS comparison

Related terms

HTTP proxyAn HTTP proxy is a proxy that understands HTTP and HTTPS traffic — it can read headers, cache responses, and rewrite requests.ProxyA proxy is a server that acts on your behalf — it makes network requests for you and hands the responses back to your device.TorTor is a free, open-source network that routes traffic through three volunteer-run relays with layered encryption — designed for anonymity, not speed.DNSDNS is the internet's address book — it translates human-readable domain names like anyproxy.site into IP addresses computers use to connect.

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