# Datacenter proxy quickstart: buy, connect and test > Datacenter proxy quickstart: buy 1 IP, find it in your account, test HTTP and SOCKS5 with curl, set the allowlist, fix 407 errors. No KYC, crypto payment. - URL: https://rackproxies.com/docs/quickstart/ - Last updated: 2026-10-19 - Publisher: RackProxies (https://rackproxies.com) From an empty account to a working curl test over HTTP and SOCKS5, with the errors you are most likely to meet. **Quick answer — How do I start with a RackProxies datacenter proxy?** This datacenter proxy quickstart takes four steps: top up in crypto, buy a plan, copy an `IP:PORT:USERNAME:PASSWORD` line from your account, and run `curl -x http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@IP:PORT https://api.ipify.org`. If curl prints the proxy IP, it works. **RackProxies** plans start at $1.29 for one dedicated IPv4 for 30 days. No KYC. ## What you need | Attribute | Value | | --- | --- | | Account | Account-number login; email is optional | | Payment | A crypto balance: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC; minimum top-up $25 | | Smallest plan | 1 IP for $1.29 | | What you receive | Each IP is delivered as a line `IP:PORT:USERNAME:PASSWORD` in your account, exportable as TXT or CSV | | Protocols | HTTP, HTTPS (CONNECT) and SOCKS5 | | Authentication | Username and password, or an IP allowlist (up to 10 IPs) | | Test tool | curl, included in current Windows, macOS and most Linux distributions | ## How do I buy and find my IPs? 1. **Create an account** — You get an account number; it is your login. Your account number is your login: save it somewhere safe. Add an email (optional) if you want a way to recover it. Without an email, a lost account number cannot be recovered. 2. **Top up in crypto** — Choose a coin and network, send the exact amount shown, then click "I've sent the payment". The top-up is matched by its exact amount and credited once confirmed. Details on crypto payments. 3. **Buy a plan** — Pick a plan on pricing, the country and, where IPs are online, the datacenter city. Availability varies; the checkout shows what is online. 4. **Open your IP list** — After the plan is bought from your confirmed balance, the IPs are allocated and listed in your account with their country, port and end date. If we cannot deliver a rental within 24 hours, its full price goes back to your balance. ## How do I test the proxy over HTTP? Run one curl command with the proxy in URL form; if it prints the proxy's IP, the proxy works. Take the first line of your list, for example `203.0.113.24:8000:USERNAME:PASSWORD`, and rearrange it as `http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@203.0.113.24:8000`. The addresses on this page come from the 203.0.113.0/24 documentation range; use yours. *HTTP proxy test* ```bash curl -x http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@203.0.113.24:8000 https://api.ipify.org # expected output: 203.0.113.24 ``` `https://api.ipify.org` returns the IP address it sees, as plain text. Because the target is `https://`, curl opens a CONNECT tunnel through the proxy and the TLS session runs end to end. Add `-v` to see the tunnel: a line `CONNECT api.ipify.org:443` followed by a `200` answer from the proxy. If your password contains `@`, `:`, `/` or `#`, URL-encode it first; the [connection format](https://rackproxies.com/docs/connection-format/) page shows how. ## How do I test the proxy over SOCKS5? Use the same line with the `socks5h://` scheme. The "h" makes the proxy resolve the hostname, so no DNS query leaves your own network and a CDN answers for the proxy's region. Use the SOCKS5 port shown in your account. *SOCKS5 proxy test* ```bash curl -x socks5h://USERNAME:PASSWORD@203.0.113.24:PORT https://api.ipify.org # expected output: 203.0.113.24 ``` With `socks5://` (no h), curl resolves `api.ipify.org` on your machine and sends the proxy an IP address. Both work; `socks5h` is the better default. The [SOCKS5 vs HTTP guide](https://rackproxies.com/guides/socks5-vs-http-proxies/) explains the difference in detail. ## How do I use the IP allowlist instead of a password? Add your own public IP to the allowlist in your account, then connect without a username and password. Username and password, or an IP allowlist (up to 10 IPs). The allowlist suits servers with a fixed IP and tools that cannot send proxy credentials. First find the public IP of the machine that will use the proxy, without any proxy: *Allowlist flow* ```bash # 1. find the public IP of this machine (no proxy) curl https://api.ipify.org # 2. add that IP to the allowlist in your account, then connect without credentials curl -x http://203.0.113.24:8000 https://api.ipify.org ``` If the machine's own IP changes, for example on a home connection, the allowlist stops matching and the proxy refuses the connection. Use username and password on machines without a fixed IP. ## What do common proxy errors mean? curl exit codes from the libcurl error list, and HTTP status codes from RFC 9110 and RFC 6585. | What you see | Likely cause | What to check | | --- | --- | --- | | `407 Proxy Authentication Required`, or curl `(56) CONNECT tunnel failed, response 407` | The proxy rejected the credentials, or your IP is not on the allowlist | Username, password and port; URL-encode special characters; allowlist entry | | curl `(7)` Failed to connect | Nothing accepted the connection at that IP and port | The port for the protocol you use; typos in the IP; a firewall on your side blocking outgoing ports; the rental end date | | curl `(28)` Operation timeout | No answer in time, from the proxy or from the target | Test against `https://api.ipify.org` first; then your firewall; then the target | | curl `(97)` Proxy handshake error | The SOCKS5 login or request failed | Credentials, the SOCKS5 port, and the `socks5h://` scheme | | curl `(5)` Could not resolve proxy | The proxy host in the URL is wrong | Copy the IP again from your account | | `403` or `429 Too Many Requests` from the website | The website refused or limited the request; the proxy worked | Slow down and respect the site's rules; check the `Retry-After` header | | Connection fails only for some sites | Banking, government and payment-portal sites, plus SMTP (email-sending) ports 25, 465 and 587 are blocked on every IP | The [acceptable use policy](https://rackproxies.com/acceptable-use/) | ## What if the test still fails? Write to support with the IP (not the password), the exact command and the full output of `curl -v`. Email replies within 12 hours, 7 days a week. Email: support@rackproxies.com. If an IP does not work or is unusable for a lawful use, write to support: we fix it or replace it with an IP in the same country, subject to stock. Dedicated datacenter IPs: within 24 hours of delivery, a rental is credited back to your balance in full if its IPs do not work and we cannot fix or replace them. A rental we cannot deliver within 24 hours is credited back in full. If an IP stops working later and support cannot fix or replace it within 24 hours, the lost days are credited back. Top-ups are not paid back, except where the law requires it; the part added only to reach the minimum top-up is refundable on request within 30 days, in USDT or USDC, if unspent. The [refunds page](https://rackproxies.com/refunds/) has the full rules. ## Quickstart questions ### Why does api.ipify.org show a different IP than my proxy line? If the output is your own IP, the request did not go through the proxy: check that `-x` is in the command and that no setting overrides it. If it is another address, write to support with the line and the output. The proxy IP you rent should be the IP the website sees. ### Which test URL should I use? Use `https://api.ipify.org`, which returns the IP it sees as plain text, or `https://httpbin.org/ip`, which returns it as JSON. Both are public services built for this purpose. Test with them before testing your real target, so you can tell a proxy problem from a website problem. ### Does the proxy work in a browser? Yes. Set the IP and port as an HTTP proxy in the browser or system settings and enter the username and password when asked. Some browsers do not support SOCKS5 with a username and password; use HTTP or the IP allowlist for them. Test with api.ipify.org in the browser. ### How long does my IP stay active? Each rental lasts 30 days from delivery. Renew from your account before the end date; keeping the same IPs after a rental ends is not guaranteed. Your account shows the end date of each IP next to its country and port, and the CSV export includes it as well. ### Can I test before buying a larger plan? No free trial: test with the 1-IP plan; when it costs less than the minimum top-up, the part added only to reach the minimum is refundable on request within 30 days, in USDT or USDC, if unspent. Run every test on this page with that IP, then buy the plan that fits your job; the [sizing guide](https://rackproxies.com/guides/how-many-proxies-do-i-need/) helps. ### Do I need to give ID or an email to start? No. No KYC: no ID, no selfie, no documents to sign up, top up or buy. An email is optional and only used to recover your account if you lose the account number. You pay in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC. **Start with one IP** 1 IP for $1.29. No KYC, paid in crypto. [See pricing](https://rackproxies.com/pricing/) · [Code examples](https://rackproxies.com/docs/code-examples/) ## References 1. [curl man page (-x, --proxy)](https://curl.se/docs/manpage.html) — curl project (2026-10-19) 2. [libcurl error codes](https://curl.se/libcurl/c/libcurl-errors.html) — curl project (2026-10-19) 3. [407 Proxy Authentication Required](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Status/407) — MDN Web Docs (2026-10-19) 4. [429 Too Many Requests](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/Status/429) — MDN Web Docs (2026-10-19) 5. [RFC 5737: IPv4 Address Blocks Reserved for Documentation](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5737) — IETF (2026-10-19) --- RackProxies: RackProxies is a dedicated datacenter proxy provider: IPv4 addresses rented per IP for 30 days, paid in crypto with no ID upload. Pages cover 22 countries and 34 datacenter cities with public network data.