How to Build a Super Simple HTTP Proxy in C++ in just 30 lines of code

Here is how we can build a basic HTTP proxy in C++ in 30 lines of code:

First include the required headers:

#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <string>

Next, create a listening socket:

int server_fd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);

struct sockaddr_in address;
address.sin_family = AF_INET;
address.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
address.sin_port = htons(8080);

bind(server_fd, (struct sockaddr *)&address, sizeof(address));

listen(server_fd, 3);

In a loop, accept a connection:

int client_fd = accept(server_fd, (struct sockaddr *)&address, sizeof(address));

Receive the HTTP request:

char buffer[4096];
recv(client_fd, buffer, 4096, 0);

Extract the URL to proxy:

std::string url = std::string(strtok(buffer, " "));

Make the proxied request:

std::string response = makeRequest(url);

Send back the response:

send(client_fd, response.c_str(), response.size(), 0 );

This implements a basic HTTP proxy in C++ in under 30 lines.

Here is the full code

#include <unistd.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <stdlib.h> 
#include <netinet/in.h>
#include <string>

int main() {

  int server_fd = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, 0);

  struct sockaddr_in address;
  address.sin_family = AF_INET;
  address.sin_addr.s_addr = INADDR_ANY;
  address.sin_port = htons(8080);

  bind(server_fd, (struct sockaddr *)&address, sizeof(address));

  listen(server_fd, 3);
  
  while(true) {
    int client_fd = accept(server_fd, (struct sockaddr *)&address, sizeof(address));
    
    char buffer[4096];
    recv(client_fd, buffer, 4096, 0);
    
    std::string url = std::string(strtok(buffer, " "));

    std::string response = makeRequest(url);
    
    send(client_fd, response.c_str(), response.size(), 0 );
  }

}

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How to Build a Super Simple HTTP Proxy in C++ in just 30 lines of code

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