# Proxy doesn't work **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796 "2025-03-20T20:22:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ibaikov](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/ibaikov/32/66478_2.png) [@ibaikov](https://community.n8n.io/u/ibaikov)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/1 "2025-03-20T20:22:18Z")
## Describe the problem/error/question Can’t figure out how to make proxy work. I use docker container and use this: `ALL_PROXY=socks5h://172.17.0.1:1080 HTTP_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:1080 HTTPS_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:1080 N8N_TLSSERVER=false NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0` Other containers work fine with this proxy. It is xray-core as a client outside of docker, n8n is inside docker. Http requests work fine in n8n through this proxy. Https doesn’t work. ## What is the error message (if any)? Bad request - please check your parameters 400 The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port 400 Bad Request The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port ## Please share your workflow I use a request node. I am making a https request ## Share the output returned by the last node ## Information on your n8n setup - **n8n version:** latest - **Database (default: SQLite):** SQLite - **n8n EXECUTIONS\_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):** - **Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):** Docker - **Operating system:** Ubuntu Server ---
**Author:** ![Miquel\_Colomer](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/miquel_colomer/32/18606_2.png) [@Miquel\_Colomer](https://community.n8n.io/u/Miquel_Colomer)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2025, 12:15pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/2 "2025-03-22T12:15:40Z")
Hi @ibaikov This issue is caused by **sending a plain HTTP request to a destination expecting HTTPS** , often due to misconfigured proxy handling in Docker or how the HTTP Request node handles the `HTTPS_PROXY` variable. * * * ### **Key Problem** The error: ```auto 400 Bad Request: The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port ``` means n8n (or the underlying `axios`/`node-fetch`) **did not properly upgrade the request to HTTPS** , even though the target is `https://`. * * * ### **Solution Options** #### ✅ **1. Use `http-proxy` to tunnel HTTPS via SOCKS5/HTTP proxy** Docker doesn’t natively support SOCKS5 proxy environment variables fully across all protocols. You can fix this by setting up a local forwarder. Use [proxychains-ng](https://github.com/rofl0r/proxychains-ng) or `tsocks` inside the container to wrap HTTPS requests, or use a **HTTP CONNECT tunnel**. Alternatively, if you’re using **xray-core** , configure it to expose a local HTTP proxy port that supports tunneling (CONNECT method), for example: ```auto "inbounds": [ { "port": 1080, "listen": "127.0.0.1", "protocol": "socks", "settings": { "udp": true } }, { "port": 8888, "listen": "127.0.0.1", "protocol": "http", "settings": { "allowTransparent": false } } ] ``` Then in Docker, use: ```auto HTTP_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:8888 HTTPS_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:8888 ``` > `8888` is the HTTP CONNECT-capable proxy, while `1080` is only for SOCKS5. #### ✅ **2. Use `curl` or `wget` in Execute Command node instead** If n8n’s internal node fails and you only need HTTPS access, use a shell node to run: ```auto curl -x http://172.17.0.1:8888 https://example.com ``` #### ✅ **3. Add Docker `--network host` (dev only)** This allows the container to use the host network directly, so `localhost:1080` resolves properly. Not secure for production. * * * ### **Recap** - Error happens because HTTPS isn’t properly tunneled via your proxy. - SOCKS5 (`socks5h://`) is not supported by all HTTP clients used inside n8n. - Expose an HTTP CONNECT proxy via xray (port 8888) and update your Docker `HTTPS_PROXY` accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![ibaikov](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/ibaikov/32/66478_2.png) [@ibaikov](https://community.n8n.io/u/ibaikov)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/3 "2025-03-23T21:05:14Z")
@Miquel_Colomer thanks for the options! I tried to remove socks5 and use ```auto HTTP_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:8888 HTTPS_PROXY=http://172.17.0.1:8888 ``` along with changing xray config, but it didn’t work. Not sure why. I will try other options later. ---
**Author:** ![Miquel\_Colomer](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/miquel_colomer/32/18606_2.png) [@Miquel\_Colomer](https://community.n8n.io/u/Miquel_Colomer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/4 "2025-03-23T22:07:39Z")
You’re definitely on the right path — the issue you’re hitting is a classic one when dealing with proxies and Docker. That 400 error (`plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port`) tells us the proxy didn’t tunnel the request correctly. Even though you switched from SOCKS5 to HTTP proxy (on `8888`), it seems something’s still off in how the container routes requests. Here are a few quick things to double-check based on your setup: * * * ### 1. Is your proxy (xray) **actually listening** on 172.17.0.1:8888? From inside the container, try: ```bash curl -x http://172.17.0.1:8888 https://google.com ``` If that fails or hangs, it means either: - xray isn’t exposing the proxy on Docker’s internal bridge - OR Docker isn’t resolving 172.17.0.1 the way you expect Try replacing `172.17.0.1` with your actual host IP (run `ip a` on the host) or use `host.docker.internal` (works on Mac and Windows, and with `--add-host=host.docker.internal:host-gateway` on Linux). * * * ### 2. Confirm xray is handling **HTTP CONNECT** Make sure your `inbounds` config for the HTTP proxy (`port 8888`) includes support for tunneling. Axios (which n8n uses) needs that to send HTTPS traffic. You can test it with: ```bash curl -x http://:8888 -v https://example.com ``` If the proxy returns a `400` or `405`, it’s not handling `CONNECT` properly. * * * ### 3. Try using `Execute Command` temporarily As a quick workaround, the `Execute Command` node can run `curl` successfully even if the HTTP Request node fails: ```bash curl -x http://172.17.0.1:8888 https://example.com ``` Just pass the response into n8n using stdout. * * * ### 4. In case nothing works — try `--network host` (only for testing) If you’re still stuck, try: ```bash docker run --network host ... ``` This allows your container to access the exact network interfaces your host sees — useful to rule out Docker bridge issues. Don’t use this in production, but it’s good for debugging. ---
**Author:** ![Jon](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/jon/32/40174_2.png) [@Jon](https://community.n8n.io/u/Jon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2025, 9:35am UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/5 "2025-03-25T09:35:11Z")
Hey @ibaikov, We have a long standing issue with Axios where it doesn’t fully support HTTPS traffic being sent to an HTTP Proxy so you would need to configure your proxy to have an https listener as well so `https_proxy` would be `https://172.17.0.1.1443` instead of `http://`. ---
**Author:** ![ibaikov](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/ibaikov/32/66478_2.png) [@ibaikov](https://community.n8n.io/u/ibaikov)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2025, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/6 "2025-03-29T14:40:33Z")
Yeah I tried that before posting, but for some reason it didn’t work, don’t know why. Yes, xray’s config is correct, it did use https, etc. In the end I solved this by using openwrt and a homeproxy package (sing-box) on my router, so n8n that is connected to this router can always access something blocked. This was easier to do than to debug the n8n/docker proxy issue. Thanks anyway folks! ---
**Author:** ![misto](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/misto/32/58676_2.png) [@misto](https://community.n8n.io/u/misto)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 6:16am UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/7 "2025-05-18T06:16:48Z")
Hi. I am very glad that I found your answer. It helped me understand why third-party proxies (e.g. [http://user:pass@proxy](http://user:pass@proxy):port) do not work in n8n (Self-hosting version 1.91.3). Unfortunately, I was unable to solve the problem with HTTPS requests via http proxy (400 Bad Request). I tried several different proxy providers, but it does not work. All proxy providers I contacted say that their proxies handle HTTPS via CONNECT. Unfortunately, I was unable to find an HTTPS proxy provider that worked in n8n. Please tell me where I can find proxies that are guaranteed to work with HTTPS requests via proxy in n8n? Perhaps you can suggest other alternative solutions to this problem using proxies in n8n? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/n8n/user_avatar/community.n8n.io/system/32/195824_2.png) [@system](https://community.n8n.io/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2025, 6:17am UTC](https://community.n8n.io/t/proxy-doesnt-work/90796/8 "2025-08-16T06:17:49Z")
Closed on August 16, 2025, 6:17am UTC This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.