Runtime Client Setup
Point generic clients at Chain Engine or Rotation Engine local proxy endpoints.
Chain Engine and Rotation Engine both expose local proxy endpoints. The client does not need to know the whole policy story. It only needs the local host, the bound port, and whether it should send proxy credentials.
The runtime page is the source of truth. Copy the bound endpoint from the runtime snapshot after the runtime starts. Do not assume the requested port is the one you got. If that port was busy, ZeroTrace Proxy can bind another local port and record a notice.
http://127.0.0.1:<bound-port>Pick The Right Runtime
Use Chain Engine when traffic should follow a saved chain route. The policy controls health checks, fallback, retry behavior, optional local proxy auth, and bandwidth limits.
Use Rotation Engine when traffic should move across a source pool or inline source set. The policy controls session lifetime, sticky target-host behavior, status-triggered rotation, cooldown, quarantine, and per-proxy concurrency.
Configure A Generic Client
Most clients that support an HTTP proxy will ask for the same basic fields:
| Client field | Value |
|---|---|
| Proxy type | HTTP proxy |
| Host | 127.0.0.1 |
| Port | The runtime bound port |
| HTTPS support | Use the same endpoint if the client supports HTTP CONNECT |
| Username/password | Only set this when the Chain Engine policy requires local proxy auth |
After saving the client settings, send one small request and open the runtime traffic page. You should see request count, success or failure count, target host, status, duration, and bytes update. If nothing appears, the client is probably not using the proxy setting you just configured.
Troubleshooting The First Request
If the client cannot connect, check the endpoint first. The most common mistake is copying the requested port from memory instead of the bound endpoint from the runtime snapshot.
If the runtime sees traffic but the request fails, read the traffic entry. For Chain Engine, route health and fallback errors usually tell you whether the chain failed. For Rotation Engine, the decision and reason fields explain whether the proxy was cooling, quarantined, over concurrency limit, or rotated because of status/session rules.
These runtime endpoints are documented as local endpoints. Keep clients pointed at 127.0.0.1 unless the app explicitly supports a different deployment mode in your environment.