Sticky Sessions & Manual Rotation

What Are Sticky Sessions?

When you use the proxy rotator normally, each request may exit through a different proxy IP. This is called rotation - your traffic appears to come from different locations.

Sticky sessions let you "stick" to the same exit IP across multiple requests. Think of it like reserving a specific proxy just for your session.

Normal rotation (default):
    Request 1 → Proxy A → Exit IP: 1.2.3.4
    Request 2 → Proxy C → Exit IP: 5.6.7.8
    Request 3 → Proxy B → Exit IP: 9.10.11.12

  With sticky session:
    Request 1 → Proxy A → Exit IP: 1.2.3.4
    Request 2 → Proxy A → Exit IP: 1.2.3.4  ← same IP
    Request 3 → Proxy A → Exit IP: 1.2.3.4  ← same IP

When Do You Need Sticky Sessions?

• Login sessions - Websites that check if your IP changes mid-session
• Multi-step workflows - Shopping carts, form submissions, checkout flows
• API rate limits - When you need consistent identity for rate limit tracking
• Scraping sequences - When you need to maintain state across page navigations

How to Use Sticky Sessions

Option 1: Add a Session ID to Your Username

Simply add -session- followed by any identifier to your username:

# Format: username-session-YOURID:password

  # Example: Create a session called "mysession"
  curl -x "john-session-mysession:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com

  # Every request with "john-session-mysession" uses the same exit IP
  curl -x "john-session-mysession:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com
  curl -x "john-session-mysession:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com

Option 2: Use the X-Proxy-Session Header

If you can't modify your username, use a header instead:

curl -x "john:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" \
       --proxy-header "X-Proxy-Session: mysession" \
       https://checkip.amazonaws.com

This also works with IP-based authentication (no username needed):

curl -x "cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" \
       --proxy-header "X-Proxy-Session: mysession" \
       https://checkip.amazonaws.com

What Is Manual Rotation?

Manual rotation means you control when to get a new IP, rather than getting a random one each request.

With sticky sessions, you keep the same IP until you decide to change it. To rotate (get a new IP), simply use a different session ID:

# Session "v1" - assigned to Proxy A (1.2.3.4)
  curl -x "john-session-task1-v1:pass@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com
  # Output: 1.2.3.4

  # Still using "v1" - same IP
  curl -x "john-session-task1-v1:pass@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com
  # Output: 1.2.3.4

  # NOW ROTATE: Switch to "v2" - gets assigned to different proxy
  curl -x "john-session-task1-v2:pass@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" https://checkip.amazonaws.com
  # Output: 5.6.7.8 ← new IP!

💡 Key insight: The session ID is just a string you control. Change the string, get a new IP assignment.

Session Expiration

Sessions automatically expire after 24 hours of inactivity.

• Inactivity means no requests using that session ID
• Each request resets the 24-hour timer
• Active sessions never expire

10:00 - Create session "mysession" (expires tomorrow at 10:00)
  14:00 - Make a request (timer resets, now expires tomorrow at 14:00)
  14:01 - Make another request (timer resets again)
  ...
  If you stop making requests for 24 hours → session expires

Keeping Sessions Alive

If you need a session to last longer than 24 hours, just make periodic requests:

# Simple keepalive - run every few hours
  curl -x "john-session-mysession:pass@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80" -s https://checkip.amazonaws.com > /dev/null

Quick Reference

Examples

Python

import requests

  PROXY = "http://john-session-mysession:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80"

  # All requests use the same exit IP
  for i in range(5):
      response = requests.get("https://checkip.amazonaws.com", proxies={"http": PROXY, "https": PROXY})
      print(f"Request {i+1}: {response.text}")

Node.js

const axios = require("axios");
  const HttpsProxyAgent = require("https-proxy-agent");

  const agent = new HttpsProxyAgent(
    "http://john-session-mysession:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80"
  );

  // All requests use the same exit IP
  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    const response = await axios.get("https://checkip.amazonaws.com", {
      httpsAgent: agent,
    });
    console.log(`Request ${i + 1}: ${response.data}`);
  }

Manual Rotation Example

import requests

  def get_proxy(session_id):
      return f"http://john-session-{session_id}:password123@cld-us-xxxx.tp-ns.com:80"

  # Use session v1
  proxy_v1 = get_proxy("task-v1")
  print(requests.get("https://checkip.amazonaws.com", proxies={"http": proxy_v1, "https": proxy_v1}).text)
  # Output: 1.2.3.4

  # Rotate to v2 when needed
  proxy_v2 = get_proxy("task-v2")
  print(requests.get("https://checkip.amazonaws.com", proxies={"http": proxy_v2, "https": proxy_v2}).text)
  # Output: 5.6.7.8

Common Questions