Amazon Scraper API vs Proxy: Choose a Product Data Source
Distinguish authorized Amazon APIs, licensed product data and proxy-based page checks by record quality and access rights.
Read guideGhost Browser applies a proxy through its Ghost Proxy Control extension. The important choice is scope: a proxy assigned to the active tab can override one assigned to an Identity or Workspace. Add your provider endpoint once, assign it at the level your workflow actually uses, reload, and test that exact tab or Identity.
Ghost Proxy Control does not include proxies. Bring an endpoint from a provider and keep its host, port, protocol, username, password, expected exit, and session instruction in a private connection record.
Add one proxy
- Open the Ghost Proxy Control extension from Ghost Browser’s extension bar.
- Select Add/Edit Proxies.
- Click Add a Single Proxy.
- Enter the provider values and click Add Proxy.
For HTTP or HTTPS, enter the host and port in the corresponding fields and add credentials when the endpoint requires them. For SOCKS5, Ghost’s support article requires the scheme in the Host field. Use a value shaped like socks5://192.0.2.10, then enter the port, username, and password in their own fields. The address is a documentation example; replace it with your provider host. Do not assume a bare hostname will be interpreted as SOCKS5.
If you have a list, use Add Bulk Proxies. First click Export Proxy List and preserve the CSV column names. Fill the exported file, keep the required Custom Name column, save it without changing the filename, then return to the Ghost Proxy Control settings and click Import Proxy List. Treat the CSV as a credential file while it is on disk.
Assign the proxy at the right level
Open the Ghost Proxy Control menu and choose the intended target: Active tab, Temporary Identity, or Workspace. Select the saved proxy and click Reload.
The assignment hierarchy determines what you will observe:
| Assignment | Effect |
|---|---|
| Active tab | Overrides a proxy assigned to its Temporary Identity or Workspace |
| Temporary Identity | Overrides a proxy assigned to its Workspace |
| Workspace | Applies at the workspace level unless a lower level overrides it |
| Direct (no proxy) | Sends the tab back through the direct connection |
| System Proxy | Uses the browser or operating system proxy configuration |
The Override connection for section also takes precedence over Auto-Assign Proxies. When a route appears wrong, inspect the active tab first, then the Identity, Workspace, and any override or auto-assignment setting. A correct proxy in the list is not evidence that this tab is using it.
Verify the exact route
- Open a fresh tab in the Identity or Workspace that will run the workflow.
- Apply the proxy to that same scope in Ghost Proxy Control.
- Click Reload.
- Check the observed IP using an endpoint you trust or operate. Ghost’s support article names Google’s “What is my IP”, whatismyipaddress.com, and whoer.net as options.
- Open one ordinary HTTPS page permitted for your workflow and validate an expected title, selector, or record field.
Record the scope, proxy label, observed exit, target final URL, validator result, and timestamp. Keep the password out of the record. The IP check proves the route seen by that tab at that moment; it does not prove target acceptance, login success, or content completeness. The proxy IP and browser diagnostics guide gives a compact evidence format.
Use automatic assignment carefully
Under Auto-Assign Proxies, enable assignment to each tab or Tmp. Identity, then choose random or in-order rotation. Use this only when rotation is part of the approved workflow. If you need to update open temporary identities, click Reassign Existing, then Reload.
For a single account or multi-step session, test the permanent or temporary Identity that will hold the session and keep the intended proxy at that scope. For independent tabs, test each assignment rule you rely on. A rotation setting can change the exit between tabs; it is not a promise of a specific country, session length, or target result.
Diagnose by phase
| Symptom | Check next |
|---|---|
| Proxy cannot be added | Confirm host, port, protocol, and credential fields. For SOCKS5, add the explicit socks5:// scheme in Host. |
| Added proxy but tab shows the local IP | Check whether the tab is set to Direct (no proxy), whether System Proxy is selected, and whether a lower-level assignment overrides Workspace. |
| Wrong proxy after auto-assignment | Inspect Auto-Assign Proxies and Override connection for, then apply the intended proxy and Reload. |
| Proxy connects but target returns 401, 403, 429, or a challenge | Diagnose the target response, account state, redirect, and request policy separately from the route. |
| HTTPS opens but expected content is missing | Check the final URL and validator. Transport success does not guarantee the expected page or record. |
After testing, use Clear Tab/Identity/Workspace at the scope you intend to remove and click Reload. Keep redacted run evidence and close the browser session according to your workflow. Use the HTTP vs SOCKS5 proxy guide when selecting a protocol and the proxy error 407 guide when the proxy requests authentication. Related setup references: antidetect browser proxy setup, /blog/http-vs-socks5-proxies, /blog/proxy-error-407, and proxy IP diagnostics. The related paths are also /blog/antidetect-browser-proxy-setup and /blog/proxy-ip-and-browser-diagnostics. This guide does not infer support for an API.