Customers have asked us for more flexibility in how browser traffic is routed from the Kernel platform. Kernel Proxies delivers on these requests, letting you route your traffic through different regions and network types – all without managing proxy infrastructure yourself.
Choose from four proxy types: Datacenter, ISP, Residential, or Custom (bring your own proxy). Datacenter has the fastest speed, while residential is least detectable. ISP is a balance between the two options, with less-flexible geotargeting. Kernel recommends using the first option in the list that works for your use case.
Create a proxy once, attach it to any browser session, and let Kernel handle the rest.
Kernel Proxies unlock categories of web automations that used to require significant infrastructure. Some of the ways we envision developers using Proxies:
- Verify geographically restricted content is displaying correctly in different regions
- Test access to services from various countries for compliance and availability monitoring
- Monitor regional pricing and product catalogs across global markets
- Validate that localized features work properly for users in specific locations
- Access region-locked APIs and dashboards for testing and development
- Imitate human-driven traffic as closely as possible while accessing a site through Kernel
How It Works Under the Hood
Each Kernel browser instance runs with Envoy proxy as a sidecar to chromium. These Envoy proxies receive dynamic configuration based on your proxy settings, acting as a forward chained proxy to your configured destination.
For internal proxy types (Datacenter, ISP, and Residential), we configure connections to third-party proxy providers. For Custom proxies, the bring-your-own-proxy option, we configure the connection directly to your proxy infrastructure.
We evaluated several proxy solutions during development, including Squid Proxy, but ultimately chose Envoy for three key reasons: clearer documentation, easier extensibility, and better support for dynamic configuration. Our architecture supports live proxy updates, making the experience crazy fast.
Proxies are fully managed, scoped to your organization, and work seamlessly with Kernel's unikernel sandboxes for maximum isolation and security.
With Proxies, Kernel makes it easier for developers to build reliable, production-grade web agents that can access content anywhere. This is another step on our mission to provide the infrastructure layer for AI to safely interact with the Internet.
👉 Read the docs
💘 Sign up on Kernel to start using Proxies today
🖥️ Fork our demo repo on Github