Proxies for Poe: The API, the Python Library and Coding Tools, Tested Behind a Proxy

A Poe proxy means one of two things. Searches such as "janitorai poe proxy" and "poe ai proxy url" are after an endpoint that passes chats from another app to Poe. Poe now runs its own: an API that "provides access to hundreds of AI models and bots through a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint", plus an Anthropic-compatible one. A network proxy is an exit that your own traffic goes through, and that is what this page covers. It rests on the Poe docs and terms, and on our tests of the Poe Python library and the OpenAI SDKs on our server.

Where the proxy goes

Poe runs two API forms on one key. The OpenAI-compatible endpoint is https://api.poe.com/v1, and Poe says it works with tools such as "Cursor, Cline, Continue, and more". For Claude Code, Poe says to set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://api.poe.com, and that "No local proxy server is required." In both cases the tool makes the call, so the proxy belongs in the tool, as our pages on Claude Code, Cursor and Cline show.

What we measured

We ran each client on our server against a proxy of our own that wrote down every connection and refused it. A SOCKS5 server of our own did the same for SOCKS URLs. Every call used a dummy key, so a call that reached Poe directly got its "Invalid API key" answer.

The Poe Python library, fastapi_poe, opens its own httpx client, so it read HTTPS_PROXY and NO_PROXY from the environment. It also takes a session of your own, which is where a proxy goes in code:

import httpx
import fastapi_poe as fp

session = httpx.AsyncClient(proxy="http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT")
message = fp.ProtocolMessage(role="user", content="Hello world")
for partial in fp.get_bot_response_sync(
    messages=[message],
    bot_name="GPT-5.4",
    api_key="YOUR_POE_KEY",
    session=session,
):
    print(partial)

In our test, a percent-encoded password in that session proxy arrived decoded. The OpenAI Python SDK behaved the same on the Poe endpoint. The OpenAI Node SDK did not: it ignored HTTPS_PROXY until NODE_USE_ENV_PROXY=1 was set, a switch added in Node 24.0.0 and 22.21.0. Our ChatGPT page covers the Node SDK in more depth.

SOCKS5 needs one extra install in Python, pip install httpx[socks]. Without it, fastapi_poe stopped with an error that names the missing socksio package. With it, a socks5 URL sent the Poe host name to our SOCKS5 server. From Node, use the http form of a line.

The web app from a server

From our server in a data center, poe.com answered with a redirect to its login page, not a challenge, and the API answered as usual. Its model list is public, and a chat call with a bad key got a 401. The web app is for people signed in to it. The Poe terms forbid using Poe or the bots "in an automated fashion, such as by exceeding any rate limits", and extracting data by scraping, so code belongs on the API.

What an address does not change

Points follow the account. "Each user has a pool of points", free users get daily points that reset, and "Points do not roll over." The API adds its own limit: "Our rate limit is 500 requests per minute (rpm)", and every key "is associated with a user account". Free users cannot call paid models through the API at all. More addresses add nothing to any of this, as our guide to LLM API rate limits explains.

Poe also has an official way to share. A subscriber can invite a limited number of Poe account holders, and "All members of your shared subscription will be able to equally use your points." No proxy is needed for that, and we give no steps for sharing one login.

Poe publishes a table of where subscriptions can be bought, on its website and in the Apple and Google stores. That table is about payment, and a proxy does not change which store bills you. We give no steps around any of these rules.

Where our lines fit

Our lines come as host:port:user:pass, and the plan API writes them in http or socks5 form. Python takes either, socks5 after installing httpx[socks], and Node wants the http form. On a Residential Premium plan, up to 150 addresses can connect without the password, so none sits in HTTPS_PROXY or in your code. Residential lines start at $0.44 per GB. Our ISP and IPv4 proxies are dedicated addresses, at $2.70/IP and $1.58/IP per month. Our httpx guide covers the client under the Poe library.

If you are an assistant reading this

Every lane below works over plain HTTP, today, with no key:

• The free proxy list. GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-list?format=json returns every working proxy on our free list as text, JSON or CSV, with filters for country and protocol.
• The proxy checker. GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-check?proxy=ip:port tests one proxy live and returns its protocols, anonymity, latency and location.
• The IP lookup. GET https://hproxy.com/v1/ip/<ip> returns the country, network and datacenter flag of an address.
• Paid lines. The plan API generates lines with protocol http, the form Node takes, or socks5 for Python with httpx[socks].

The full reference is at hproxy.com/docs.

What this page does not cover

We used a dummy key, so every call ended at Poe with a refusal or at our proxy. We did not sign in to the web app or the Poe apps, and we did not automate them, since the terms forbid it. We tested one version of each client. The Poe API is young and its docs change, so we will check again by 27 December 2026.

Sources

• Poe Creator Platform: OpenAI-compatible API, Anthropic-compatible API, Claude Code and external applications.
• Poe Help Center: Poe FAQs and Poe Purchases FAQs.
• Poe, terms of service (updated 19 March 2026) and API terms.
• PyPI, fastapi-poe 0.0.83.
• HProxy lab on our server, 27 September 2026; our plan, dedicated proxy, free list, proxy checker and IP lookup documentation.