Multithreaded HTTP/HTTPS Proxy Server

A Python-based multithreaded proxy server that supports both HTTP and HTTPS traffic, implements caching, domain blocking, and provides a management console for runtime control and statistics.

The proxy listens locally and forwards browser traffic to destination servers while optionally caching responses and filtering requests.

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Features

1. HTTP and HTTPS Support

• Handles standard HTTP requests (GET, POST, etc.).
• Supports HTTPS tunneling using the CONNECT method.
• HTTPS traffic is securely forwarded between client and server.

2. Multithreaded Architecture

• Uses a thread pool to handle multiple clients concurrently.
• Default pool size: 20 worker threads.

3. Response Caching

The proxy caches HTTP responses to improve performance.

Cache properties:

Property	Value
TTL	60 seconds
Max cache entries	50
Max object size	1 MB

Cached responses are served instantly when valid.

4. Domain Blocking

A blocklist allows preventing access to specific hosts.

Example blocked response:

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden
Blocked by proxy.

5. Management Console

A built-in console allows live proxy control while the server is running.

Supported commands:

Command	Description
block <host>	Block a domain
unblock <host>	Remove domain from blocklist
show blocklist	Display blocked domains
show cache	List cached responses
clear cache	Clear all cached entries
stats	Show cache hit/miss statistics
help	Show all commands

6. Performance Logging

All HTTP requests are logged to:

timing_log.txt

Each entry records:

timestamp, HIT/MISS, response_time, url

Statistics can be viewed via the stats command.

Example metrics:

• Cache hit rate
• Average response time
• Speedup from caching

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Architecture Overview

The proxy consists of the following components:

Client Browser
      │
      ▼
 TCPServer
      │
      ▼
Request_Parser
      │
 ┌───────────────┐
 ▼               ▼
Http_Handler   Https_Handler
 │               │
 ▼               ▼
Cache         Tunnel traffic
 │
 ▼
Origin Server

Core Classes

Class	Responsibility
TCPServer	Accepts client connections and distributes them to worker threads
Request_Parser	Extracts method, host, port, and path from client requests
Http_Handler	Processes HTTP requests and manages caching
Https_Handler	Creates encrypted tunnels for HTTPS traffic
Management_Console	Provides runtime proxy management

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Installation

Requirements:

Python 3.8+

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/proxy-server
cd proxy-server

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Running the Proxy

Start the proxy server:

python proxy.py

Expected output:

[PROXY] Listening on 127.0.0.1:8888
[PROXY] Set your browser proxy to 127.0.0.1:8888
[CONSOLE] Management console ready. Type 'help' for commands.

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Configure Your Browser

Set your browser proxy settings to:

Host: 127.0.0.1
Port: 8888

Example locations:

Chrome / Edge

Settings → System → Open Proxy Settings

Firefox

Settings → Network Settings → Manual Proxy Configuration

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Example Proxy Output

[12:03:44] 127.0.0.1 — GET example.com/index.html
[CACHE MISS] example.com/index.html — fetched in 0.2443s (12438 bytes)

[12:03:50] 127.0.0.1 — GET example.com/index.html
[CACHE HIT ] example.com/index.html — served in 0.0002s (age 6s)

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Cache Statistics Example

── Cache Statistics ──────────────────────
Total requests  : 20
Cache hits      : 12  (60%)
Cache misses    : 8   (40%)
Avg HIT time    : 0.0003s
Avg MISS time   : 0.2011s
Cache is 670x faster than origin
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