# ProxyBridge: a Proxifier alternative that redirects per-process TCP and UDP traffic

> ProxyBridge is an MIT-licensed C proxy client for Windows, macOS and Linux that sends traffic from chosen processes through SOCKS5 or HTTP proxies. Here is how its rule model works, how to install it, and where it stops being the right tool.

**InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge** — Proxifier Alternative to redirect any Windows/MacOS/Linux TCP and UDP traffic to HTTP/Socks5 proxy

- Repository: https://github.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge
- Website: https://interceptsuite.com/
- Stars: 6,548 · Forks: 394
- Language: C
- License: MIT
- Published: 2026-09-22 · Updated: 2026-09-22 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/interceptsuite-proxybridge

## The gap ProxyBridge fills: applications that never learned about proxies

Plenty of software has no proxy setting. Thick clients, database drivers, game clients and internal tools open a socket and expect the network to work. The usual workarounds are environment variables that only some libraries honour, or a system-wide VPN, which changes the route for everything at once. ProxyBridge takes a different position: interception happens at the system level, and the decision about what happens to a connection is made per process. The README describes it as a "lightweight, open-source universal proxy client (Proxifier alternative)" that redirects TCP and UDP traffic from specific processes through SOCKS5 or HTTP proxies. The audience is therefore the person who has to make one stubborn binary talk to a proxy without rewriting it, and who wants the rest of the machine left alone. Rules can route, block or allow traffic per application, so the same machine can send one tool through a proxy while another connects directly.

## How interception and per-process rules actually fit together

The repository is laid out by platform: Windows/, MacOS/ and Linux/ directories sit at the top level next to LICENSE and README.md. That matches the feature list, which says interception happens at "kernel/network extension level". In practice that means each platform gets its own capture mechanism rather than one portable userspace library, and the topics list names WinDivert for the Windows side. Linux requirements mention an x64 kernel with NFQUEUE support, which is the same idea expressed as a kernel facility. The data flow is: a process opens a TCP or UDP flow, the platform hook captures it, the rule engine matches it, and the connection is either proxied, passed through directly, or dropped. Matching can be narrowed by process, IP, port, protocol and hostname with wildcard support, and the README states full IPv4 and IPv6 support on Windows. Two details deserve attention. UDP is handled alongside TCP, which many proxy clients skip, and the feature list includes a process exclusion option specifically to prevent proxy loops by excluding proxy applications themselves. That exclusion is not a nicety; it is the mechanism that stops the client from proxying its own upstream connection back into itself.

## Installing ProxyBridge on Linux, macOS and Windows

The README points to an official download page for automated builds and platform detection, and lists release packages per platform: a .exe installer for Windows 10+ 64-bit with admin privileges, a universal .pkg for macOS 13.0 or later, and a .tar.gz for Linux on an x64 kernel with NFQUEUE support. Linux also has a one-command quick install, which downloads a deploy script and runs it as root. The same script name and path appear in the README, so copy them exactly:

```bash
curl -Lo deploy.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge/refs/heads/master/Linux/deploy.sh && sudo bash deploy.sh
```

On macOS the documented route is the official Homebrew cask:

```bash
brew install --cask proxybridge
```

Windows users can install through winget, but the README carries a warning that this package is community-maintained and not official, and may lag behind releases or be unverified. The command is:

```powershell
winget install InterceptSuite.ProxyBridge
```

For a first real use, the shape of the workflow is the same on every platform: start the GUI or CLI, point ProxyBridge at your SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy, then add a rule that targets the process you care about and set its action to proxy. The README describes the three actions as direct connection, proxy routing, or complete blocking per process. It also documents JSON-based import and export of rule sets, which is the part worth using early: build one rule that matches a single application, export it, and keep the file as the record of what you changed. The README does not document a rollback command, so removing a rule or restoring an exported set is the path back.

## Where ProxyBridge is the wrong tool

ProxyBridge moves traffic. It does not inspect it. The README's own tip draws that line: the same team sells InterceptSuite for MITM proxying with SSL/TLS inspection, live request editing and scripting. If your task is to read the contents of a TLS session or rewrite a request in flight, ProxyBridge is a routing layer underneath that job, not a substitute for it. The second boundary is privilege and platform. Windows requires admin rights, and the Linux package expects an x64 kernel with NFQUEUE support, so a locked-down endpoint, a container without the needed kernel facilities, or an ARM Linux host is a poor fit. Third, the interception model is inherently invasive: a driver or network extension sits between applications and the network stack, which is exactly why it works with proxy-unaware software and exactly why it can break connectivity if a rule is wrong. The blocking feature can cut an application off from the internet, the LAN or localhost, so a mis-scoped rule is not a cosmetic problem. Finally, the README warns that fake ProxyBridge download sources have been identified distributing unwanted binaries, and names only the GitHub repository and the official site as legitimate sources. That warning is a real operational constraint on how you distribute the installer inside a company.

## ProxyBridge versus Proxifier, and what the difference means day to day

Proxifier is the reference point the README itself chooses, and the comparison is not about which one supports SOCKS5. It is about provenance and control. ProxyBridge is MIT-licensed C source with per-platform directories in the repository, so a team that needs to audit or modify the interception path can do so, and the build workflows for Windows, macOS and Linux are visible in the repository. A closed commercial client offers support and a longer track record but no source to read. The second difference is scope: ProxyBridge documents UDP handling next to TCP, which matters for DNS, DTLS, HTTP/3 and game traffic, and it documents rule matching by process, IP, port, protocol and hostname with wildcards. The third is that ProxyBridge is one layer in a small product family. If you later need to see inside the connections, the README directs you to a separate tool from the same author rather than to a feature flag. That is a clean separation, but it also means the free project stays a router by design.

## Maintenance, licence and the cost of upgrading

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-13, so the codebase is current. Releases are frequent enough to plan around: v3.1.0 in January 2026, v3.2.0 in February 2026, and v4.0.0 in June 2026, with the v4.0.0 release titled "Windows and MacOS". Treat that title as a signal to check platform coverage in the release notes before assuming a version applies to Linux. The licence is MIT, which permits commercial and closed-source use and modification, provided the copyright notice and permission notice are preserved; the LICENSE file is at the top level. That is a permissive posture, and it is also the reason the project can be embedded in internal tooling without a procurement conversation. This is not legal advice, and if you redistribute the binaries you should read LICENSE and SECURITY.md yourself. The real upgrade cost is operational, not financial: rule sets are exported as JSON, so a version change that alters matching behaviour shows up as a diff in that file rather than as a silent change. Keep the exports in version control. The README does not document a migration path between major versions, so pin the release you validated and re-test the exclusion list after any upgrade.

## Conclusion

ProxyBridge fits engineers who need proxy-unaware desktop or thick-client applications to reach the network through a SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy, and who can accept kernel-level interception with administrative rights. It is the wrong tool if you need TLS inspection or request editing, which the README points to the separate InterceptSuite product for, or if you cannot run a network extension or driver on the target machine. Before rolling it out, verify the rule export format, the process exclusion list you will need to avoid proxy loops, and whether the community-maintained winget package matches the current release, since the README states it may lag.

## FAQ

### How do I use ProxyBridge?

Install it for your platform, point it at a SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy, then create a rule that targets a process and set the action to proxy, direct or block. Rules can be exported and imported as JSON so the same set can be reused on another machine.

### Is ProxyBridge safe?

The README states the only official sources are the GitHub repository and the official download page, and warns that fake download sources distributing unwanted binaries have been identified. The project is MIT-licensed C with per-platform source directories, so the code can be reviewed, but the winget package is described as community-maintained and not official.

### ProxyBridge vs Proxifier: what is the difference?

Both redirect application traffic through a proxy. ProxyBridge is open source under MIT with visible per-platform build workflows and documented UDP support alongside TCP, while Proxifier is the closed commercial tool the README names as the alternative it replaces. ProxyBridge routes traffic only; the README points to a separate InterceptSuite product for TLS inspection and request editing.

## Sources

- [InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge on GitHub](https://github.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge)
- [License: MIT](https://github.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://interceptsuite.com/)
- [README](https://github.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/InterceptSuite/ProxyBridge/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/interceptsuite-proxybridge