PHP SSL Proxy Examples

What is an SSL Proxy?

An SSL proxy is a proxy server that handles encrypted HTTPS connections. When you make HTTP requests through an SSL proxy, the proxy terminates the SSL connection, processes the request, and establishes a new SSL connection to the target server.

Use Case: SSL proxies are commonly used for security compliance, IP whitelisting, and maintaining consistent IP addresses for API access.

PHP cURL (Built-in)

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

<?php
// Basic SSL proxy configuration using cURL
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Target URL
$url = 'https://httpbin.org/ip';

// Initialize cURL session
$ch = curl_init();

// Set cURL options
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);

// Set proxy
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxyHost . ':' . $proxyPort);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYTYPE, CURLPROXY_HTTP);

// Set proxy authentication
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyUser . ':' . $proxyPass);

// SSL settings (for development only - remove in production)
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, false);

// Timeouts
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 15);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);

// Execute request
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);

if (curl_errno($ch)) {
    echo 'cURL Error: ' . curl_error($ch);
} else {
    echo "HTTP Code: $httpCode\n";
    echo "Response: $response";
}

// Close cURL session
curl_close($ch);
?>

Advanced SSL Configuration

<?php
// Advanced SSL proxy configuration with proper certificate verification
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Target URL
$url = 'https://httpbin.org/ip';

// Initialize cURL session
$ch = curl_init();

// Set cURL options
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION, true);

// Set proxy
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXY, $proxyHost . ':' . $proxyPort);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYTYPE, CURLPROXY_HTTP);

// Set proxy authentication
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, $proxyUser . ':' . $proxyPass);

// SSL settings (production-ready)
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, 2);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSLVERSION, CURL_SSLVERSION_TLSv1_2);

// Set CA certificate path (adjust for your system)
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CAINFO, '/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt');

// Custom headers
$headers = [
    'User-Agent: MyPHPApp/1.0',
    'Accept: application/json',
    'Content-Type: application/json'
];
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, $headers);

// Timeouts
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 15);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);

// Execute request
$response = curl_exec($ch);
$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);

if (curl_errno($ch)) {
    echo 'cURL Error: ' . curl_error($ch);
} else {
    echo "HTTP Code: $httpCode\n";
    echo "Response: $response";
}

// Close cURL session
curl_close($ch);
?>

Guzzle HTTP Client

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

Composer Installation: Add Guzzle to your project

composer require guzzlehttp/guzzle

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

// Proxy configuration
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Create Guzzle client with proxy
$client = new Client([
    'proxy' => [
        'http'  => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
        'https' => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
    ],
    'verify' => false, // Only for development
    'timeout' => 30,
    'connect_timeout' => 15,
    'headers' => [
        'User-Agent' => 'MyPHPApp/1.0',
        'Accept' => 'application/json',
    ]
]);

try {
    // Make request
    $response = $client->get('https://httpbin.org/ip');

    echo "Status Code: " . $response->getStatusCode() . "\n";
    echo "Response Body: " . $response->getBody() . "\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    echo "Request failed: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";

    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "Response Body: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    }
}
?>

Advanced SSL Configuration

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;
use GuzzleHttp\HandlerStack;
use GuzzleHttp\Middleware;

// Proxy configuration
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Create handler stack with middleware
$stack = HandlerStack::create();

// Add retry middleware
$stack->push(Middleware::retry(function ($retries, $request, $response, $exception) {
    return $retries < 3 && ($exception || $response->getStatusCode() >= 500);
}, function ($delay) {
    return $delay * 1000; // Convert to milliseconds
}));

// Add logging middleware
$stack->push(Middleware::log(
    $logger,
    new \GuzzleHttp\MessageFormatter('{method} {uri} - {code} - {req_body}')
));

// Create Guzzle client with advanced configuration
$client = new Client([
    'handler' => $stack,
    'proxy' => [
        'http'  => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
        'https' => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
    ],
    'verify' => '/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt', // Production SSL verification
    'timeout' => 30,
    'connect_timeout' => 15,
    'headers' => [
        'User-Agent' => 'MyPHPApp/1.0',
        'Accept' => 'application/json',
    ],
    'allow_redirects' => [
        'max' => 5,
        'strict' => true,
        'referer' => true,
        'protocols' => ['https'],
        'track_redirects' => true
    ]
]);

try {
    // Make POST request with data
    $response = $client->post('https://httpbin.org/post', [
        'json' => [
            'message' => 'Hello from PHP with SSL proxy!',
            'timestamp' => date('c')
        ]
    ]);

    echo "Status Code: " . $response->getStatusCode() . "\n";
    echo "Response Body: " . $response->getBody() . "\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    echo "Request failed: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";

    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "Response Body: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    }
}
?>

Symfony HTTP Client

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

Composer Installation: Add Symfony HTTP Client to your project

composer require symfony/http-client nyholm/psr7

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use Symfony\Component\HttpClient\HttpClient;
use Symfony\Component\HttpClient\Exception\ClientException;

// Proxy configuration
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Create HTTP client with proxy
$client = HttpClient::create([
    'proxy' => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
    'verify_peer' => false, // Only for development
    'verify_host' => false, // Only for development
    'timeout' => 30,
    'max_redirects' => 5,
    'headers' => [
        'User-Agent' => 'MyPHPApp/1.0',
        'Accept' => 'application/json',
    ]
]);

try {
    // Make GET request
    $response = $client->request('GET', 'https://httpbin.org/ip');

    echo "Status Code: " . $response->getStatusCode() . "\n";
    echo "Content Type: " . $response->getHeaders()['content-type'][0] . "\n";
    echo "Response Body: " . $response->getContent() . "\n";

    // Make POST request
    $postResponse = $client->request('POST', 'https://httpbin.org/post', [
        'json' => [
            'message' => 'Hello from Symfony HTTP Client!',
            'timestamp' => date('c')
        ]
    ]);

    echo "POST Status Code: " . $postResponse->getStatusCode() . "\n";
    echo "POST Response: " . $postResponse->getContent() . "\n";

} catch (ClientException $e) {
    echo "Client Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    echo "Response: " . $e->getResponse()->getContent(false) . "\n";
} catch (\Exception $e) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}
?>

Async Requests

<?php
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use Symfony\Component\HttpClient\HttpClient;
use Symfony\Component\HttpClient\AsyncResponse;
use Symfony\Contracts\HttpClient\Exception\TransportExceptionInterface;

// Proxy configuration
$proxyHost = 'proxy.outboundgateway.com';
$proxyPort = 443;
$proxyUser = 'your_username';
$proxyPass = 'your_password';

// Create HTTP client
$client = HttpClient::create([
    'proxy' => "http://$proxyUser:$proxyPass@$proxyHost:$proxyPort",
    'verify_peer' => false, // Only for development
    'verify_host' => false, // Only for development
    'timeout' => 30,
]);

try {
    // Create multiple concurrent requests
    $responses = [
        'ip' => $client->request('GET', 'https://httpbin.org/ip'),
        'user-agent' => $client->request('GET', 'https://httpbin.org/user-agent'),
        'headers' => $client->request('GET', 'https://httpbin.org/headers'),
    ];

    // Process responses
    foreach ($responses as $name => $response) {
        echo "$name:\n";
        echo "Status: " . $response->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Content: " . $response->getContent() . "\n\n";
    }

    // Use async streams for better performance
    $stream = $client->stream($responses);

    foreach ($stream as $response => $chunk) {
        if ($chunk->isLast()) {
            echo "Completed: " . $response->getInfo('url') . "\n";
        }
    }

} catch (TransportExceptionInterface $e) {
    echo "Transport Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
}
?>

SSL Proxy Best Practices

1. Always Use HTTPS

Never send credentials or sensitive data over unencrypted connections when using proxies.

2. Verify SSL Certificates

Always verify SSL certificates in production. Disable verification only for development environments.

3. Use Connection Timeouts

Set appropriate connection and read timeouts to prevent hanging connections.

4. Handle Errors Gracefully

Implement proper error handling for proxy authentication failures, SSL errors, and connection timeouts.

5. Use Modern HTTP Clients

Prefer Guzzle or Symfony HTTP Client over raw cURL for better features and easier handling.

Common Issues and Solutions

SSL Certificate Verification Failed

Solution: Update CA certificates or use proper certificate bundle. For development only, disable verification.

407 Proxy Authentication Required

Solution: Verify proxy credentials and ensure proper authentication format (username:password).

Connection Timeout

Solution: Increase timeout values or check network connectivity to proxy server.

Memory Issues with Large Responses

Solution: Use streaming for large responses or increase PHP memory limits.

Related SSL Proxy Guides

Python SSL Proxy

Complete Python examples using requests, urllib3, and aiohttp libraries.

View Python Guide →

Node.js SSL Proxy

JavaScript/Node.js implementation with axios, fetch, and undici libraries.

View Node.js Guide →

Java SSL Proxy

Enterprise-grade proxy setup with Apache HttpClient and OkHttp.

View Java Guide →

cURL SSL Proxy

Command-line and shell script examples for automation and testing.

View cURL Guide →

📖 Language Comparison: Looking for the best approach? Python offers excellent libraries like requests and aiohttp, while Node.js provides native async support. Java is ideal for enterprise applications, PHP works well for web applications, and cURL is perfect for shell scripting.

What is an SSL Proxy?

PHP cURL (Built-in)

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

Advanced SSL Configuration

Guzzle HTTP Client

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

Advanced SSL Configuration

Symfony HTTP Client

Basic SSL Proxy Configuration

Async Requests

SSL Proxy Best Practices

1. Always Use HTTPS

2. Verify SSL Certificates

3. Use Connection Timeouts

4. Handle Errors Gracefully

5. Use Modern HTTP Clients

Common Issues and Solutions

SSL Certificate Verification Failed

407 Proxy Authentication Required

Connection Timeout

Memory Issues with Large Responses

Ready to Use SSL Proxy in PHP?

Related SSL Proxy Guides

Python SSL Proxy

Node.js SSL Proxy

Java SSL Proxy

cURL SSL Proxy