NEED HELP: How to configure apt and synaptic under proxy

[sabya]

i have installed Ubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger) in my PC. please tell me how can i configure apt-get and synaptic for installing and downloading repositories under proxy.

please tell me in simple steps, so that i can understand (i am new in Linux )

waiting for ur reply.

[kubano]

http_proxy=http://proxy.server.name:port/
export $http_proxy

Regards

[lovingboth]

This is an annoyance I've just had.

When I first installed Ubuntu on a PC that used a proxy server for its internet access, finding what's now System / Preferences / Network proxy was easy. I could ping happily between the various machines on the network.

However it took some screaming 'But WHY won't you work?!?' at Firefox before I discovered (via google, I think) that it has separate proxy settings (why??) at Edit / Preferences / General / Connection.

This week, I discover that, again for some unknown reason, Synaptic has its own menu item for proxy settings. I would tell you exactly where (the first item on the Settings menu, I think) but it is currently downloading lots of packages over a dial-up connection and won't let me access the menus...

Why a) everything does not use the settings entered System / Preferences / Network proxy and b) how many other programs do not do so, I do not know.

But there should be something in big red letters telling you (and me) so.

Oh, I'm guessing that the magic recipe someone else has given needs to be typed at a terminal, possibly as the superuser. I may well be wrong, but it would have been helpful if it was clearer.

(Update: it's Synaptic's Settings / Preferences / Network menu item.)

[dlai]

yes i've been trying to find this general proxy for a while too... but I can't find it...

[public_void]

I'm behind a proxy as well. Have you editted the file /etc/apt/apt.conf, and add your proxy settings in there. If not heres how in the terminal

cd /etc/apt/ (Changes the directory to /etc/apt/)
cp /etc/apt/apt.conf /etc/apt/apt.conf_backup (Copies the file apt.conf to the same directory be renames it apt.conf_backup. This is incase you make a mistake, you don't have to do that command)
sudo gedit apt.conf (Opens apt.conf in a text editor and allows you to edit it)
Add the lines

ACQUIRE { 
http::proxy "http://[Username]:[Password]@[Address]:[Port]/" 
}

If you don't use a username and password then remove "[Username]:[Password]@". Once done, change the proxy server in Synaptic to "Direct connection to the internet". I don't know why but it worked for me.

This is the 3rd or 4th time I've posted this maybe they should add this somewhere like the Ubuntu Starter guide or something, somewhere easy to find.

[pcrage69]

I have done what's posted above with no luck. Any more ideas?

[SgtDude]

yes i've been trying to find this general proxy for a while too... but I can't find it...

This might not be the answer you're looking for, but if you're in a position to fiddle with the layout of your network, you might consider setting up what's known as a "Transparent Proxy". I won't get into the nitty gritty here (mainly because I've never actually set one up personally), but basically it's a combination of IPtables pulling NAT duty, and Squid running on a box acting as your default gateway.

What this does is allow you to configure all of your machines as if there was no proxy, but still get the proxy benefits. The possible downside to this is that if you have machines or applications that don't cooperate with NAT well, you'll have to set up annother path for them. But software that doesn't like NAT is increasingly uncommon these days.

[geog_eric]

I'm also a newbie to Ubuntu (not to Linux) and having trouble with proxy settings for Synaptic. I've figured out the following:

I've modified .bashrc to add http_proxy as described above. This allows me to run a Synaptic session via the command line, via "sudo synaptic" that will successfully get through the proxy server. Same holds for gnome-app-install. However, I still can't get Synaptic to see past the proxy server if I start it from the gnome GUI. I've added my proxy settings to Synaptic->Settings->Preferences->Network and the gnome System->Preferences->Network Proxy--I still get a "proxy authentication" error in Synaptic and from the Add/Remove Applications (gnome-app-install).

My goal was to install Ubuntu (Dapper Beta) without opening a terminal window. I didn't succeed.

Anyone have further advise? Particularly with successfully setting up a proxy server through the gnome GUI?

[shai1]

I'm running dapper and have been able to get synaptic running using
sudo synaptic
having configured bashrc with my proxy settings but I still can't get it to work through a proxy if I start it from the system menu.

I dont know if this is a bug but if there's anyone working on Ubunt here then this needs a fix now

[kettek]

I have had tons of proxy issues, being behind the corporate firewall and all. The last thing I tried was in System > Preferences > Network Proxy. We have a proxy script that we usually use, but ubuntu no likey that. So, in Network Proxy, I put the proxy info into each of the provided fields instead. Voila! It worked.

Something else I've noticed...I've seen the entry in /etc/apt/apt.conf listed two different ways. Don't know how much difference it makes, but I've seen it as:

Acquire::http:roxy "http://blah.blah.blah:8080";

That's how it looks in Dapper. I've also seen it kinda like this:

ACQUIRE {
http_proxy='http://blah.blah.blah:8080";
}

I'd be curious to see if using one or the other makes any difference.