How to tell Python to automatically use the proxy setting in Windows XP like R's internet2 option?

Question

I am not super technical person. But I know that in Windows if I install R using the internet2 option then I can download whatever package I want in it.

I install Python and everytime I try to download a package or install a package (e.g. using easy_install) it fails.

What can I do to make Python automatically detect my proxy settings and just install the packages?

Answer 1

Set up environment variable http_proxy / https_proxy to http://your-proxy-server-address:proxy-port

The urlopen() function works transparently with proxies which do not require authentication. In a Unix or Windows environment, set the http_proxy, or ftp_proxy environment variables to a URL that identifies the proxy server before starting the Python interpreter. For example (the '%' is the command prompt):

% http_proxy="http://www.someproxy.com:3128"
% export http_proxy
% python
...

The no_proxy environment variable can be used to specify hosts which shouldn’t be reached via proxy; if set, it should be a comma-separated list of hostname suffixes, optionally with :port appended, for example cern.ch,ncsa.uiuc.edu,some.host:8080.

Answer 2

Or use the HTTP_PROXY / HTTPS_PROXY setting instead.