Not everyone wants to write code to scrape data. Helium Scraper is a visual web scraping tool that lets you point, click, and extract — no Python, no JavaScript, no terminal.
But even visual scrapers need good proxies. Here's how to configure Snowpad's SOCKS5 gateway in Helium Scraper.
Step-by-Step Proxy Configuration
- Open Helium Scraper
- Go to Tools → Options → Proxy
- Select SOCKS5 as the proxy type
- Enter the server:
gw.snowpad.io - Enter the port:
9999 - Check Authentication required
- Enter your Snowpad username and password
- Click Test Connection
If the test succeeds, you're all set. Every extraction you run will route through Snowpad's Indian mobile IPs.
How It Works
Once configured, Helium Scraper uses the proxy for all HTTP requests made during extraction. The browser instance embedded in Helium connects through Snowpad's SOCKS5 gateway, so every page load, every click, every data extraction comes from a real Indian mobile IP.
This is especially useful for scraping sites that block non-Indian traffic or datacenter IPs. Snowpad's proxies come from Jio, Airtel, and BSNL networks — the same carriers used by real Indian mobile users.
Why Use Snowpad with Helium Scraper?
- No coding required: Configure once in the GUI, scrape forever
- Mobile IPs: Target websites see genuine Indian mobile traffic
- Reliable: Snowpad's gateway has 99.9% uptime for consistent extraction
- Simple pricing: Pay per GB, not per IP
For more on why mobile IPs matter, read why Indian mobile proxies are the gold standard and the mobile proxy vs residential proxy comparison.
Limitations
Helium Scraper supports one proxy at a time in the GUI. For rotation, use Snowpad's built-in rotating proxy mode — the gateway automatically cycles IPs between requests. This gives you IP diversity without managing multiple proxy entries in Helium.
For more advanced scraping needs, check out the Scrapy proxy setup or Apify proxy setup guides.
