How to Set Up a Proxy in Firefox (2026): Settings, Login and FoxyProxy

Setup guide · Last reviewed 28 September 2026 · 11 min read

Firefox is one of the few browsers with its own proxy settings, separate from your operating system, so you can set up a proxy in Firefox without changing anything for other apps. The catch is that Mozilla has moved the Firefox proxy settings in recent versions, the dialog has no fields for a username and password, and SOCKS5 with a login does not work at all without an extension. This guide shows where the settings are now, the exact values to enter, how the sign-in works, how to check the result, and how to switch proxies quickly with FoxyProxy, profiles or a policy file.

Before You Set Up a Proxy in Firefox

You need four values: the proxy host, the port, a username and a password. In the ProxyEmpire dashboard, open Proxy Manager and then Connection Builder, choose Residential or Mobile, pick the country and, under Advanced settings, the region, city or ISP if you need them. Then choose the IP rotation: Same IP keeps one address while you browse, which is what you want in a browser; Every request changes it constantly and can log you out of sites.

The location and session settings live inside the username. Change the country or city in the dashboard and the username changes with it, so copy it again after every change. ProxyEmpire authenticates with a username and password only, so there is no IP allowlist to set up.

How to Set Up a Proxy in Firefox, Step by Step

1. Open Settings. Click the menu button (three lines, top right) and select Settings. You can also type about:preferences in the address bar.
2. Find the proxy settings. In current versions, select Privacy and security on the left, go to Connection and software security, click Advanced settings, find Proxy settings and click Configure proxy. In older versions, stay on General, scroll to Network Settings at the bottom and click Settings. The fastest route in any version: type “proxy” into the search box at the top of the Settings page.
3. Choose Manual proxy configuration. The Connection Settings dialog opens with four options: No proxy, Auto-detect, Use system proxy settings and Manual proxy configuration.
4. Enter the proxy. In HTTP Proxy, type v2.proxyempire.io; in Port, type 5000.
5. Tick “Also use this proxy for HTTPS”. Without it, secure sites, which is almost all of them, bypass the proxy.
6. Leave the SOCKS fields empty. Firefox has no username and password fields for SOCKS and never asks for them, so an authenticated SOCKS5 proxy fails here.
7. Check “No proxy for”. Local addresses such as localhost and 127.0.0.1 are excluded automatically; add your own intranet hosts if needed.
8. Click OK. The setting applies immediately to Firefox only; other browsers and apps keep their own connection.

Chrome and Edge have no proxy dialog of their own and use the system settings instead; our guide to Chrome proxy settings covers them. If you prefer one setting for every app on the machine, choose Use system proxy settings in Firefox and configure the proxy in Windows or macOS.

Sign In to the Proxy and Save the Password

Open any website after saving the settings. Firefox shows an authentication dialog asking for the username and password of the proxy at v2.proxyempire.io. Paste the username and password from Connection Builder and confirm. Tick the option to save the login in Firefox’s password manager if you do not want to type it every time you start the browser.

There is also a checkbox in the Connection Settings dialog, “Do not prompt for authentication if password is saved”. With a saved login and this option ticked, Firefox signs in to the proxy silently when it starts. It is convenient on a personal computer; on a shared machine, leave it off so nobody else browses on your plan.

If the prompt appears again and again, the credentials are being rejected. The usual cause is a username copied before you changed the location in the dashboard; copy it again and replace the saved login on the Passwords page (type about:logins in the address bar).

Check That Your Firefox Proxy Works

Open an IP lookup page, such as whatismyipaddress.com or ipinfo.io. The address and location shown should be those of the proxy, in the country or city you chose, and the network should be a consumer internet provider rather than your own. If you see your normal IP, the HTTPS tick box is probably unchecked or the settings did not save.

Two more checks are worth a minute. First, DNS: with an HTTP proxy, Firefox passes the site’s name to the proxy, which looks it up, so websites do not see your own DNS resolver. Second, WebRTC: sites that request it can see local network details through WebRTC, which can reveal more than the proxy’s IP. If that matters for your use, a WebRTC leak test will show it, and you can turn WebRTC off by setting media.peerconnection.enabled to false in about:config. Remember that this also disables video calls in the browser.

A proxy changes your IP, not your cookies. Sites you are already logged in to still know who you are; use a private window or a separate profile for a clean start.

Switch Proxies in Firefox with FoxyProxy

The built-in dialog holds one proxy at a time, and turning it on and off means several clicks. FoxyProxy, a free proxy-management add-on, is the most common alternative. It stores several proxies, switches between them from the toolbar, and can send only chosen websites through a proxy with URL patterns while everything else goes direct. Because an add-on can pass credentials to Firefox directly, it also works with SOCKS5 proxies that need a username and password.

1. Install FoxyProxy from Firefox Add-ons and open its options.
2. Add a proxy: type HTTP (or SOCKS5), hostname v2.proxyempire.io, port 5000, plus your username and password.
3. Add one entry per location you use, for example one sticky US string and one German string, each with its own username.
4. Choose the proxy from the toolbar icon, or set patterns so that only specific sites use it.

When an add-on controls the proxy, the Connection Settings dialog says so and offers to disable the extension. If your manual settings seem to be ignored, that notice is the first thing to look for.

Firefox Profiles, Team Setups and Android

Profiles for separate identities. Each Firefox profile has its own settings, cookies, logins and proxy. Create one per project or location with the profile manager (type about:profiles in the address bar), give each its own sticky proxy username, and you can run several profiles side by side, each appearing from a different IP. For managing many accounts, profiles are a start but share the same browser fingerprint; dedicated anti-detect browsers isolate fingerprints as well as cookies and proxies.

Enterprise policy for teams. If you manage Firefox for a team, set the proxy centrally with Mozilla’s Proxy policy in a policies.json file or Windows Group Policy. It takes the same fields as the dialog and can lock them so users cannot change them. Credentials are not part of the policy; users sign in at the first prompt, and AutoLogin skips the prompt once a password is saved.

{
  "policies": {
    "Proxy": {
      "Mode": "manual",
      "HTTPProxy": "v2.proxyempire.io:5000",
      "UseHTTPProxyForAllProtocols": true,
      "Passthrough": "localhost, 127.0.0.1",
      "AutoLogin": true,
      "Locked": false
    }
  }
}

Firefox on Android. The Android version of Firefox has no proxy settings, and Android’s own Wi-Fi proxy has no field for a password. The simplest route is ProxyEmpire’s free ProxyEmpire Proxy Manager app: sign in once with your proxy username and password, choose the location and a sticky session, and route all apps or only Firefox through the proxy. Our Android proxy guide walks through it.

Firefox Proxy Troubleshooting

To stop using the proxy, open the same dialog and choose No proxy, or Use system proxy settings if your company requires a proxy. If you are stuck, ProxyEmpire’s support team is available 24/7, staffed by real people, and can test your connection with you. New to proxies? Our comparison of proxies and VPNs explains what a browser proxy does and does not protect.

ProxyEmpire proxies are for lawful use. Some site categories, such as banking, payment and government websites, are blocked by default on all products.

Firefox Proxy FAQ

References

1. Mozilla Support: Connection settings in FirefoxWhere the proxy settings are and what each option does
2. Mozilla Support: Profile ManagerCreate and switch Firefox profiles
3. Mozilla policy templates: ProxyCentral proxy configuration for managed Firefox
4. Firefox Add-ons: FoxyProxy StandardSwitch proxies and use URL patterns