[Blog](https://scrapfly.io/blog) / [proxies](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/proxies) / [4 Best Open-Source Proxy Scrapers and Checkers in 2026](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/best-proxy-scrapers) # 4 Best Open-Source Proxy Scrapers and Checkers in 2026 by [Ziad Shamndy](https://scrapfly.io/blog/author/ziad) Aug 03, 2026 15 min read [\#proxies](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/proxies) [\#tools](https://scrapfly.io/blog/tag/tools) [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://x.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers&text=4%20Best%20Open-Source%20Proxy%20Scrapers%20and%20Checkers%20in%202026 "Share on X") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers "Share on Facebook") Summarize this article with [ ](https://chat.openai.com/?q=Summarize%20this%20article%20and%20explain%20how%20Scrapfly%20helps%20me%20scrape%20any%20website%20at%20scale%20and%20bypass%20anti-bot%20systems%20for%20my%20use%20case%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers) [ ](https://claude.ai/new?q=Summarize%20this%20article%20and%20explain%20how%20Scrapfly%20helps%20me%20scrape%20any%20website%20at%20scale%20and%20bypass%20anti-bot%20systems%20for%20my%20use%20case%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers) [ ](https://x.com/i/grok?text=Summarize%20this%20article%20and%20explain%20how%20Scrapfly%20helps%20me%20scrape%20any%20website%20at%20scale%20and%20bypass%20anti-bot%20systems%20for%20my%20use%20case%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers) [ ](https://www.perplexity.ai/search/new?q=Summarize%20this%20article%20and%20explain%20how%20Scrapfly%20helps%20me%20scrape%20any%20website%20at%20scale%20and%20bypass%20anti-bot%20systems%20for%20my%20use%20case%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers) [ ](https://www.google.com/search?udm=50&aep=11&q=Summarize%20this%20article%20and%20explain%20how%20Scrapfly%20helps%20me%20scrape%20any%20website%20at%20scale%20and%20bypass%20anti-bot%20systems%20for%20my%20use%20case%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fscrapfly.io%2Fblog%2Fposts%2Fbest-proxy-scrapers) **Proxy Saver**Optimize your existing proxies with bandwidth savings and fingerprint fortification. [ Learn More ](https://scrapfly.io/products/proxy-saver) [ Docs ](https://scrapfly.io/docs/proxy-saver/getting-started) A proxy scraper can return thousands of public IP addresses quickly. The useful list is much smaller after checking whether each address is still reachable, supports the required protocol, and works against the target you actually need to fetch. This article ranks the four open source proxy scrapers and checkers still worth running in 2026, judged first on whether anyone still maintains them. It then covers the stale tools to skip and why free proxies fail in production. ## Key Takeaways A quick summary before the full breakdown: - Only a handful of open source proxy scrapers and checkers are still actively maintained in 2026, and most of the popular repositories are years stale. - monosans/proxy-scraper-checker is the fastest maintained scrape and validate tool, and jhao104/proxy\_pool is the most popular self hosted proxy pool service. - A proxy checker matters more than the scraper, because harvesting addresses is easy while validating liveness and anonymity level is the hard part. - Public free proxy lists decay quickly, so validate every address against your actual target and treat the resulting list as disposable. - Free proxies suit learning and throwaway tasks, but short lifespans, blacklisted IPs, no uptime guarantee, and real security risk keep them out of production. **Get web scraping tips in your inbox**Trusted by 100K+ developers and 30K+ enterprises. Unsubscribe anytime. ## Which Open Source Proxy Scraper Is Best? For most people, monosans/proxy-scraper-checker is the best starting point, since it scrapes and validates HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies in one fast run. If you want a running pool with an API, use jhao104/proxy\_pool. The right pick depends on the job in front of you: - Fastest single run goes to monosans/proxy-scraper-checker. - A self hosted proxy pool with an HTTP API is jhao104/proxy\_pool. - An async finder plus a local proxy server is ProxyBroker2. - Pure high speed checking and proxy rotation is mubeng. The table below compares all four tools across the axes that decide which one fits your workflow: | Tool | Role | Language | Last default-branch commit | Stars | License | Validation | Output | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | monosans/proxy-scraper-checker | Scraper + checker | Rust | 2026-08-03 | ~1,305 | MIT | Yes | txt / JSON | | jhao104/proxy\_pool | Pool service | Python | 2026-06-15 | ~23,567 | MIT | Yes | JSON API + CLI | | ProxyBroker2 | Scraper, checker, server | Python | 2026-06-09 | ~1,020 | Apache-2.0 | Yes | CLI / local proxy server | | mubeng | Checker + rotator | Go | 2025-08-02 | ~2,126 | Apache-2.0 | Yes | CLI / local proxy server | The figures above are a 2026-08-03 snapshot from each repository's default branch. Recheck them before you depend on them, since repository activity and star counts change. Before the ranked entries, the criteria below explain why older high-star repositories were excluded. Every star count and license above reflects a 2026-07-17 repository snapshot, as do the commit dates in each section below, so check them again before you depend on them. The sections that follow explain each tool in ranked order. First, here is the standard every tool had to clear. ## How Did We Rank These? We ranked on one decisive axis first, maintenance, then on protocol coverage, validation quality, and how cleanly the tool fits a real workflow. A tool had to clear three bars to be ranked here: - The project is genuinely open source, meaning it ships a real license you can rely on. - The project is actively maintained, with a commit inside roughly the last year. - The project does real proxy scraping or proxy validation, not a static list or a clone chasing star counts. The list stays neutral in two ways. We rank independent open source projects only, so no commercial proxy providers appear here, and we do not list our own product as a free proxy tool, because it is not one. Maintenance decides the order, because several once popular proxy repositories are now years stale, so those repos drop to the avoid list rather than a ranking. This roundup also keeps proxy theory short on purpose. [The Complete Guide To Using Proxies For Web ScrapingIntroduction to proxy usage in web scraping. What types of proxies are there? How to evaluate proxy providers and avoid common issues.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/introduction-to-proxies-in-web-scraping) With the criteria set, the top pick is the tool that does the most in a single command. ## 1. monosans/proxy-scraper-checker: Best Scrape and Validate Run [monosans/proxy-scraper-checker](https://github.com/monosans/proxy-scraper-checker) is the best default, because one run scrapes and validates HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies from many sources, and it is the freshest maintained tool in the category. The tool is a Rust proxy scraper and checker, licensed under MIT, with roughly 1,305 stars and a last commit dated 2026-08-03 in the snapshot. Older tutorials may reference a Python version, so confirm the current stack on the repo. Where it wins is throughput. One command scrapes from multiple sources and checks liveness, the configuration is rich, and the Rust rewrite makes the whole run genuinely fast. The honest limit is source quality. The tool still produces free proxies, so the output is only ever as good as the public lists it scrapes, which is out of the tool's control. The tool is still the best fit for anyone who wants the cleanest single run path to a validated proxy list. The quickstart below sets the output folder, points the liveness check at a real target, and runs one scrape and validate pass: toml```toml # config.toml (only the keys worth setting to start) [output] path = "./out" [output.txt] enabled = true [checking] check_url = "https://web-scraping.dev/products" [scraping.http] enabled = true ``` bash```bash # Rust toolchain required: https://rustup.rs git clone https://github.com/monosans/proxy-scraper-checker cd proxy-scraper-checker cargo run --features tui --release --locked ``` The config enables the plain text export and points `check_url` at web-scraping.dev/products, so a proxy only counts as alive when it can fetch that real page. The cargo command builds the release binary and writes the validated list into `./out`. That single run model is ideal for a list you build once. When you need a proxy pool that keeps running and answers over an API, the next tool is built for exactly that. ## 2. jhao104/proxy\_pool: Best Self Hosted Proxy Pool Service [jhao104/proxy\_pool](https://github.com/jhao104/proxy_pool) is the best choice when you want a running service instead of a script you run once, because it exposes a continuously validated proxy pool over an HTTP API. The project is a Python proxy pool that fetches free proxies on a schedule, validates them, and serves them through an HTTP API and a CLI. The pool is licensed under MIT and the most popular tool here at roughly 23,567 stars, with a last commit dated 2026-06-15 in the snapshot. Where the pool wins is the scheduled fetch and validate loop plus the API, which makes it easy to wire a live proxy pool into an existing scraper. Proxy sources are extensible too. The honest limits are worth knowing. Documentation is primarily in Chinese, the README carries third party sponsor links you can ignore, and the pool still depends on free proxy quality underneath. The pool is the best fit for anyone who wants a persistent, queryable proxy pool rather than a disposable text file. The commands below start Redis and the pool, then fetch one validated proxy and route a real request through it: bash```bash # Start Redis and the proxy pool on the same Docker network docker network create proxy_pool_net docker run -d --name redis --network proxy_pool_net redis:7 docker run -d --name proxy_pool --network proxy_pool_net -p 5010:5010 \ --env DB_CONN=redis://redis:6379/0 \ jhao104/proxy_pool:latest ``` python```python import requests # Pull one validated proxy from the local pool API proxy = requests.get("http://127.0.0.1:5010/get/?type=https").json()["proxy"] # Route a real request through the fetched proxy response = requests.get( "https://web-scraping.dev/products", proxies={"https": f"http://{proxy}"}, timeout=15, ) print(response.status_code, len(response.text)) ``` The Docker block runs the pool against a local Redis instance and exposes the API on port 5010. The Python block calls the `/get/` endpoint with the [requests](https://requests.readthedocs.io/) library, then routes a request to web-scraping.dev/products through the returned proxy. The pool answers over an API, but it does not act as a proxy server itself. The next tool finds, checks, and serves proxies from one async package. ## 3. ProxyBroker2: Best Async Finder, Checker, and Local Proxy Server [ProxyBroker2](https://github.com/bluet/proxybroker2) is the best pick when you want to find, validate, and serve proxies from a single async Python tool, including running your own rotating local proxy server. ProxyBroker2 is the maintained community fork of the popular but stale original ProxyBroker. The fork is Apache-2.0 licensed, with roughly 1,020 stars and a latest default-branch commit dated 2026-06-09 in the 2026-08-03 snapshot. The fork finds proxies from around 50 sources, validates them against judge servers, and supports HTTP proxies as well as SOCKS4 and SOCKS5. Running asynchronously, the fork can also act as a local proxy server that distributes and rotates requests across the validated pool. The honest caveat is lineage. ProxyBroker2 is a fork carrying a legacy codebase, and the widely linked original, constverum/ProxyBroker, is effectively abandoned, so use the fork rather than the repo most tutorials still point to. The fork is the best fit for anyone who wants find, check, and serve behavior in one async Python package. The commands below install the fork, find ten live proxies, and run a rotating proxy server you can route a real request through: bash```bash # Install the maintained fork (works on Python 3.10 through 3.14) pip install -U git+https://github.com/bluet/proxybroker2.git@v2.0.0b1 # Find 10 live, high anonymity HTTP/HTTPS proxies and print them python -m proxybroker find --types HTTP HTTPS --lvl High --limit 10 # Or run a rotating local proxy server on port 8888 python -m proxybroker serve --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8888 --types HTTP HTTPS ``` bash```bash # Route a real request through the local rotating server curl -x http://127.0.0.1:8888 https://web-scraping.dev/products ``` The `find` command harvests and validates proxies, printing the working ones at the requested anonymity level. The `serve` command turns ProxyBroker2 into a rotating proxy on port 8888, so the curl request to web-scraping.dev/products exits through a different validated proxy. ProxyBroker2 does everything at a moderate pace. When speed on a list you already have is the priority, a specialized checker written in Go pulls ahead. Scrapfly #### Scale your web scraping effortlessly Scrapfly handles proxies, browsers, and anti-bot bypass — so you can focus on data. [Try Free →](https://scrapfly.io/register)## 4. mubeng: Best High Speed Proxy Checker and Rotator [mubeng](https://github.com/mubeng/mubeng) is the best pick when you already have a proxy list and want an extremely fast proxy checker plus a rotating proxy front end, rather than a scraper. mubeng is a Go proxy checker and IP rotator shipped as a single fast binary. The project is Apache-2.0 licensed with roughly 2,126 stars and a latest default-branch commit dated 2025-08-02 in the 2026-08-03 snapshot. Where mubeng wins is raw speed and simplicity for checking large lists and standing up a rotating proxy on a local port. mubeng also works well as the validation and rotation layer downstream of a scraper. The honest limit is scope. mubeng checks and rotates but does not harvest proxies itself, so pair it with a scraper, and verify the release cadence given the gap of roughly eleven months since the last commit. mubeng is the best fit for anyone who wants a fast, standalone proxy checker and rotator sitting in front of an existing list. bash```bash # Check an existing list and save the live proxies mubeng -f proxies.txt --check --output live.txt # Serve that validated list through a local rotating proxy mubeng -f live.txt --address 127.0.0.1:8080 --rotate 1 ``` mubeng and the tools above all assume a supply of raw proxies to check. That supply almost always traces back to a small set of public list repositories. ## Where Do Free Proxy Lists Actually Come From? Most free proxies originate from a handful of automatically updated public list repositories that the scrapers above harvest. These repos publish raw IP and port files refreshed on a schedule, and they are lists, not tools. The commonly harvested sources, listed here as data feeds rather than ranked tools, include a few repositories: - [proxifly/free-proxy-list](https://github.com/proxifly/free-proxy-list), around 6,250 stars, GPL-3.0, updated frequently. - [TheSpeedX/PROXY-List](https://github.com/TheSpeedX/PROXY-List), around 5,699 stars, no license, updated frequently. - [clarketm/proxy-list](https://github.com/clarketm/proxy-list), around 2,387 stars, MIT, though the "updated daily" claim looked several months stale at the 2026-03-01 snapshot. The catch is that these feeds hand you raw IP addresses with zero proxy validation. That gap is exactly why a proxy checker stays the more valuable half of any free proxy workflow. Knowing where the lists come from also explains which tools you can safely ignore. Several popular repositories look active in search results but have quietly stopped moving. ## Which Proxy Tools Should You Avoid in 2026? Several proxy tools that still top search results and tutorials are stale or abandoned, and choosing one of them wastes a day. A short dated audit sorts the risky picks from the maintained ones: - constverum/ProxyBroker, the original, has about 4,154 stars but its latest default-branch commit is dated 2019-03-13, so use the maintained ProxyBroker2 fork instead. - Scylla, now under MikeChongCan/scylla, has about 4,017 stars and a latest default-branch commit dated 2024-08-31, so verify compatibility before adopting it. - iw4p/proxy-scraper has about 596 stars and a last commit around 2024-08, and pairs scraping with weak validation, so the project is long stale. One newcomer is worth watching but not depending on yet. [Skillter/ProxyGather](https://github.com/Skillter/ProxyGather) is actively maintained and does scrape and check work, yet it ships with no license, so it is not legally open source and is risky to reuse. Check the latest default-branch commit, release history, and license before adopting any repository from an older roundup. Even with the best maintained tool and a fresh list, though, free proxies hit a hard ceiling. The reason is structural, and the failure shows up fast in production. ## Why Do Free Proxies Fail in Production? Free proxies fail in production because their liveness changes quickly, many addresses are already blocked by target sites, and there is no operator accountable for availability or traffic handling. For production web scraping, a managed scraping API avoids the public-list maintenance loop while treating proxy selection and rotation as implementation details. Harvesting and checking free proxies is a legitimate learning exercise and fine for throwaway tasks. The approach simply does not hold up once reliability at scale starts to matter. Four failure modes cause the collapse: - Liveness changes continuously, so validation results are only a point-in-time snapshot. - An address can pass a generic liveness check and still be blocked by the target site, so validate against the destination and response conditions your scraper actually needs. - No uptime or SLA means nobody guarantees availability, so production jobs fail unpredictably. - The operator of a public proxy is unknown, so treat it as untrusted infrastructure and never send credentials or sensitive data through it. For production scraping, Scrapfly's [Web Scraping API](https://scrapfly.io/products/web-scraping-api) is an escape hatch rather than a proxy-provider recommendation. ASP combines proxy selection and rotation with fingerprinting and challenge handling, while geographic targeting is available when a target requires it. Failed challenge retries do not consume credits. [How to Rotate Proxies in Web ScrapingIn this article we explore proxy rotation. How does it affect web scraping success and blocking rates and how can we smartly distribute our traffic through a pool of proxies for the best results.](https://scrapfly.io/blog/posts/how-to-rotate-proxies-in-web-scraping) ## FAQ Are free proxies legal to use?Legality depends on the jurisdiction, the target, and what you do through the proxy. A public listing does not establish permission or trustworthiness, so review the target's terms and treat free proxies as untrusted infrastructure. What is the difference between a proxy scraper and a proxy checker?A proxy scraper harvests candidate IP and port entries from public sources, while a proxy checker validates which entries are alive, fast enough, and at the anonymity level you need. Harvesting is easy, and validation is the valuable part. How many free proxies actually work?There is no stable universal percentage. Results depend on when the list was checked, the protocol, the destination, and what counts as success, so validate every address against your own target. Can I use free proxies for a production scraper?Not reliably. For anything beyond learning or a throwaway task, use infrastructure designed for production web scraping, where proxy selection and rotation are handled alongside retries, fingerprinting, and anti-bot challenges. ## Conclusion A small number of open source proxy scrapers and checkers are worth running in 2026. monosans/proxy-scraper-checker, jhao104/proxy\_pool, ProxyBroker2, and mubeng each cover a different job, and all four teach how proxy harvesting and validation actually work. The moment reliability, uptime, or security starts to matter, maintaining public proxy lists stops being worth the effort. At that point, Scrapfly's [Web Scraping API](https://scrapfly.io/products/web-scraping-api) is a production escape hatch: ASP handles proxy selection and rotation as part of the wider anti-bot stack, rather than asking you to source and maintain proxy inventory. Legal Disclaimer and PrecautionsThis tutorial covers popular web scraping techniques for education. Interacting with public servers requires diligence and respect: - Do not scrape at rates that could damage the website. - Do not scrape data that's not available publicly. - Do not store PII of EU citizens protected by GDPR. - Do not repurpose *entire* public datasets which can be illegal in some countries. Scrapfly does not offer legal advice but these are good general rules to follow. For more you should consult a lawyer. [ Add as a preferred source ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=scrapfly.io) Table of Contents Table of Contents- [Key Takeaways](#key-takeaways) - [Which Open Source Proxy Scraper Is Best?](#which-open-source-proxy-scraper-is-best) - [How Did We Rank These?](#how-did-we-rank-these) - [1. monosans/proxy-scraper-checker: Best Scrape and Validate Run](#1-monosans-proxy-scraper-checker-best-scrape-and-validate-run) - [2. jhao104/proxy\_pool: Best Self Hosted Proxy Pool Service](#2-jhao104-proxy-pool-best-self-hosted-proxy-pool-service) - [3. ProxyBroker2: Best Async Finder, Checker, and Local Proxy Server](#3-proxybroker2-best-async-finder-checker-and-local-proxy-server) - [4. mubeng: Best High Speed Proxy Checker and Rotator](#4-mubeng-best-high-speed-proxy-checker-and-rotator) - [Where Do Free Proxy Lists Actually Come From?](#where-do-free-proxy-lists-actually-come-from) - [Which Proxy Tools Should You Avoid in 2026?](#which-proxy-tools-should-you-avoid-in-2026) - [Why Do Free Proxies Fail in Production?](#why-do-free-proxies-fail-in-production) - [FAQ](#faq) - [Conclusion](#conclusion) Join the Newsletter Get monthly web scraping insights Scale Your Web Scraping Anti-bot bypass, browser rendering, and rotating proxies, all in one API. Start with 1,000 free credits. No credit card required 1,000 free API credits Anti-bot bypass included [Start Free](https://scrapfly.io/register) [View Docs](https://scrapfly.io/docs/onboarding) Not ready? 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