# Make your first residential proxy request

> Connect to PacketStream, verify a residential exit, and choose the right targeting and session behavior for your application.

PacketStream works with standard proxy-capable HTTP clients and browsers. Start with the recommended HTTPS gateway, authenticate with your dashboard username and auth key, and verify the observed exit before connecting a larger workload.

## Before you begin

You need:

- a [PacketStream account](https://app.packetstream.io/signup);
- your proxy username and auth key from the dashboard;
- a client with HTTPS proxy support;
- `jq` if you want the formatted output used below.

Keep credentials out of source control, screenshots, and application logs. The shell prompts below keep the values out of the command itself.

## 1. Load your credentials

```bash
read -r -p 'PacketStream username: ' PACKETSTREAM_USER
read -r -s -p 'PacketStream auth key: ' PACKETSTREAM_AUTH_KEY
printf '\n'
export PACKETSTREAM_USER PACKETSTREAM_AUTH_KEY
```

These variables last for the current shell session unless you deliberately persist them.

## 2. Send a request through HTTPS

```bash
curl --silent --show-error --fail-with-body \
  --proxy 'https://proxy.packetstream.io:31111' \
  --proxy-user "${PACKETSTREAM_USER}:${PACKETSTREAM_AUTH_KEY}" \
  'https://ipinfo.io' \
  | jq '{ip, hostname, city, region, country, loc, org, postal, timezone}'
```

A successful response confirms that the client reached PacketStream, authenticated, connected to the destination, and returned data through a residential exit.

IP location data is approximate. Use it as a diagnostic signal rather than a precise physical location.

## 3. Choose request behavior

The default auth key uses automatic rotation: PacketStream selects a residential exit for each **new proxy connection**. Your HTTP client may reuse a connection for multiple requests.

Add modifiers to the auth key when a workflow needs more control:

```text
AUTH_KEY_country-US
AUTH_KEY_session-workflow42
AUTH_KEY_country-US_session-workflow42
```

- `_country-US` requests an exit in the United States using an ISO two-letter country code.
- `_session-workflow42` requests the same exit for a related workflow for up to 60 minutes.
- If a requested country has no available exits, the request fails instead of using another country.
- If the Packeter serving a sticky session disconnects, that session fails.

## 4. Move the configuration into your client

The endpoint and credentials stay the same across supported clients. See [language integrations](https://packetstream.io/docs/language-integrations/) for Python, Node.js, Go, and Playwright examples.

Related pages:

- [Endpoints & authentication](https://packetstream.io/docs/endpoints-authentication/): Choose HTTPS, SOCKS5, or compatibility HTTP.
- [Rotation & sticky sessions](https://packetstream.io/docs/rotation-sticky-sessions/): Align connections and sessions with your unit of work.
- [Country targeting](https://packetstream.io/docs/country-targeting/): Request a country and handle unavailable exits.
- [Troubleshooting](https://packetstream.io/docs/troubleshooting/): Diagnose authentication, targeting, and connection failures.

## Production checklist

Before scaling a workload:

1. keep credentials in a secret manager or protected environment variables;
2. set connection and overall request timeouts;
3. make retries bounded and observable;
4. verify country targeting when location affects the result;
5. understand whether the client pools proxy connections;
6. avoid logging proxy URLs that contain credentials;
7. test with a small, representative workload first.

PacketStream does not require inbound ports or port forwarding from proxy customers. Your application makes an outbound connection to the proxy gateway.