Using Proxy in Delphi/Pascal

Proxies in Delphi/Pascal

Delphi and Free Pascal remain popular for developing Windows applications. Working with proxies is done through the Indy (Delphi standard), Synapse, and WinINet API libraries.

Indy (Internet Direct)

Indy is Delphi's built-in library for network programming.

HTTP Proxy

uses IdHTTP, IdSSLOpenSSL;

procedure FetchViaProxy;
var
  HTTP: TIdHTTP;
  SSL: TIdSSLIOHandlerSocketOpenSSL;
begin
  HTTP := TIdHTTP.Create(nil);
  SSL := TIdSSLIOHandlerSocketOpenSSL.Create(nil);
  try
    HTTP.IOHandler := SSL;

    // Proxy configuration
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyServer := 'proxy_ip';
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyPort := 8080;
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyUsername := 'username';
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyPassword := 'password';
    HTTP.ProxyParams.BasicAuthentication := True;

    WriteLn(HTTP.Get('https://httpbin.org/ip'));
  finally
    SSL.Free;
    HTTP.Free;
  end;
end;

SOCKS5 Proxy via Indy

uses IdHTTP, IdSocks, IdSSLOpenSSL;

procedure FetchViaSocks5;
var
  HTTP: TIdHTTP;
  SSL: TIdSSLIOHandlerSocketOpenSSL;
  Socks: TIdSocksInfo;
begin
  HTTP := TIdHTTP.Create(nil);
  SSL := TIdSSLIOHandlerSocketOpenSSL.Create(nil);
  Socks := TIdSocksInfo.Create(nil);
  try
    // SOCKS5 configuration
    Socks.Host := 'proxy_ip';
    Socks.Port := 1080;
    Socks.Version := svSocks5;
    Socks.Username := 'username';
    Socks.Password := 'password';
    Socks.Authentication := saUsernamePassword;

    SSL.TransparentProxy := Socks;
    HTTP.IOHandler := SSL;

    WriteLn(HTTP.Get('https://httpbin.org/ip'));
  finally
    Socks.Free;
    SSL.Free;
    HTTP.Free;
  end;
end;

SOCKS4

Socks.Version := svSocks4;
// SOCKS4 does not support authentication
Socks.Authentication := saNoAuthentication;

Synapse

Synapse is an alternative network library for Free Pascal and Delphi.

Installation

Download from synapse.ararat.cz and add to your project.

HTTP Proxy

uses httpsend;

procedure FetchViaSynapseProxy;
var
  HTTP: THTTPSend;
begin
  HTTP := THTTPSend.Create;
  try
    HTTP.ProxyHost := 'proxy_ip';
    HTTP.ProxyPort := '8080';
    HTTP.ProxyUser := 'username';
    HTTP.ProxyPass := 'password';

    if HTTP.HTTPMethod('GET', 'https://httpbin.org/ip') then
      WriteLn(HTTP.Document.DataString)
    else
      WriteLn('Error: ', HTTP.ResultCode);
  finally
    HTTP.Free;
  end;
end;

SOCKS via Synapse

uses blcksock;

procedure FetchViaSynapseSocks;
var
  Sock: TTCPBlockSocket;
begin
  Sock := TTCPBlockSocket.Create;
  try
    Sock.SocksIP := 'proxy_ip';
    Sock.SocksPort := '1080';
    Sock.SocksUsername := 'username';
    Sock.SocksPassword := 'password';
    Sock.SocksType := ST_Socks5;

    Sock.Connect('httpbin.org', '80');
    if Sock.LastError = 0 then begin
      Sock.SendString('GET /ip HTTP/1.1' + #13#10 +
                      'Host: httpbin.org' + #13#10 +
                      #13#10);
      WriteLn(Sock.RecvString(10000));
    end;
  finally
    Sock.Free;
  end;
end;

WinINet API (Windows)

Using the system Windows API:

uses WinInet;

procedure FetchViaWinINet;
var
  hInternet, hConnect: HINTERNET;
  Buffer: array[0..4095] of Char;
  BytesRead: DWORD;
begin
  // Open with proxy
  hInternet := InternetOpen(
    'MyApp',
    INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PROXY,
    PChar('http://proxy_ip:8080'),
    nil,
    0
  );

  if hInternet <> nil then begin
    // Set proxy authentication
    InternetSetOption(hInternet, INTERNET_OPTION_PROXY_USERNAME,
      PChar('username'), Length('username'));
    InternetSetOption(hInternet, INTERNET_OPTION_PROXY_PASSWORD,
      PChar('password'), Length('password'));

    hConnect := InternetOpenUrl(hInternet,
      'https://httpbin.org/ip', nil, 0,
      INTERNET_FLAG_RELOAD, 0);

    if hConnect <> nil then begin
      InternetReadFile(hConnect, @Buffer, SizeOf(Buffer), BytesRead);
      WriteLn(Copy(Buffer, 1, BytesRead));
      InternetCloseHandle(hConnect);
    end;

    InternetCloseHandle(hInternet);
  end;
end;

Using System Proxies

hInternet := InternetOpen(
  'MyApp',
  INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PRECONFIG,  // use system settings
  nil,
  nil,
  0
);

Proxy Rotation

type
  TProxyInfo = record
    Host: string;
    Port: Integer;
    Username: string;
    Password: string;
  end;

var
  Proxies: array of TProxyInfo;
  ProxyIndex: Integer = 0;

function GetNextProxy: TProxyInfo;
begin
  Result := Proxies[ProxyIndex mod Length(Proxies)];
  Inc(ProxyIndex);
end;

procedure FetchWithRotation(const URL: string);
var
  HTTP: TIdHTTP;
  Proxy: TProxyInfo;
begin
  Proxy := GetNextProxy;
  HTTP := TIdHTTP.Create(nil);
  try
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyServer := Proxy.Host;
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyPort := Proxy.Port;
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyUsername := Proxy.Username;
    HTTP.ProxyParams.ProxyPassword := Proxy.Password;

    try
      WriteLn(HTTP.Get(URL));
    except
      on E: Exception do
        WriteLn('Error with proxy ', Proxy.Host, ': ', E.Message);
    end;
  finally
    HTTP.Free;
  end;
end;

Tips

1. Indy is the standard choice for Delphi, shipped with the IDE
2. Synapse is for Free Pascal and cross-platform projects
3. WinINet is for Windows-only applications, using the system stack
4. For SOCKS, use Indy TIdSocksInfo or Synapse SocksType
5. OpenSSL DLL — don't forget to place libeay32.dll and ssleay32.dll next to your exe for HTTPS

Conclusion

Delphi/Pascal provide mature tools for working with proxies. Indy is the most comprehensive solution, supporting HTTP, SOCKS4, SOCKS5, and authentication. For simple tasks on Windows, the WinINet API is a quick option with no external dependencies.