Getting Steam.exe to run through a http proxy

Question

I'm sitting behind an http proxy which Steam refuses to go through. Trying Proxifier to fix the solution rendered an error about having to use an https proxy, though research shows that it shouldn't need one.

Is it possible to make a target parameter in a shortcut?

ie. "C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" --http-proxy=myusername:mypassword@SERVERNAME:8080

I have the server name and port number, though I'm yet to understand the relevance of 'myusername:mypassword', or infact which username and password these instructions were referring to.

Of course, if a target parameter wouldn't work, would there be another way to get Steam to work?

Answer 1

The Steam client uses UDP by default. Use -tcp launch option at Steam launch to force the Steam client to only establish TCP connections. This will make the Steam client compatible with the most SOCKS and SSH servers if used in a combination with a proxifier.

Many of the Steam games use UDP and cannot be forced to use TCP instead. Proxifier doesn't support UDP, it will simply ignore UDP traffic. In order to run these games from behind a proxy, you will need an alternative to Proxifier that supports UDP, such as ProxyCap:

ProxyCap can redirect UDP through a SOCKS5 proxy or a chain of SOCKS5 proxies. The required condition is that UDP relay must be enabled on the proxy server. Also, if you want to run streaming software or online games from behind SOCKS you need to ensure that the connection to the proxy is fast enough.

Answer 2

I think I tried to achieve this once before, the main issue is whether or not your HTTP proxy supports traversing of UDP, which is unlikely. UDP are necessary for almost any game you might want to play but because it's not used in the HTTP, I don't think you're going to find your proxy will forward them.

Update to above: SOCKS proxies can forward UDP traffic and work in reverse: HTTP proxies cannot.

This is the reason why Steam doesn't make it easy to configure an HTTP proxy. You need to bypass your proxy by opening up port forwards for Steam to get out on. If you don't have control of the proxy server, I'm afraid you're out of luck.