How to Route aria2 Downloads Through an HTTP Proxy?

Configuring the aria2 download manager to route its traffic through an HTTP proxy ensures that all your file downloads are masked, secure, or redirected according to your network requirements. This guide will walk you through the precise command-line arguments and configuration file settings needed to establish a global HTTP proxy for your aria2 operations.

Using Command-Line Arguments

The quickest way to route your downloads through a proxy is by passing the --all-proxy option directly into your terminal command. This applies the proxy to all protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP.

aria2c --all-proxy="http://proxy_address:port" "https://example.com/file.zip"

If your HTTP proxy requires authentication, you can embed the username and password directly into the URL format:

aria2c --all-proxy="http://username:password@proxy_address:port" "https://example.com/file.zip"

Making the Proxy Persistent via Configuration File

If you use aria2 frequently, manually typing the proxy flag can become tedious. You can automate this by adding the setting to your aria2 configuration file (typically named aria2.conf).

  1. Locate or create your aria2.conf file (usually found in ~/.config/aria2/ on Linux/macOS or the execution directory on Windows).
  2. Open the file in a text editor and add the following line:
all-proxy=http://proxy_address:port
  1. If authentication is required, format the line like this:
all-proxy=http://username:password@proxy_address:port

Once saved, aria2 will automatically route all future download tasks through this proxy without requiring extra command-line flags.

Troubleshooting and Advanced Adjustments

If you notice that certain local or trusted downloads are failing or lagging due to the proxy, you can exclude specific domains or IP addresses.

To bypass the proxy for local traffic, use the --no-proxy flag in the command line or add it to your configuration file:

no-proxy="localhost,127.0.0.1,example.local"

Note: Ensure that your proxy server is configured to handle the high-bandwidth, multi-connection nature of aria2, as restrictive proxies may throttle your download speeds or drop active connections.