---
title: "Safari can’t connect to the web proxy server on Mac: fix it · Kilobat Guides"
url: "https://kilobat.app/guides/safari-cant-connect-proxy-server.html"
description: "Safari can't connect to the web proxy server, HTTP or HTTPS. Find the proxy that macOS uses, then fix it or turn it off in Network settings."
---

Error messages

# “Safari can’t connect to the web proxy server” on Mac

A web proxy is set in the network settings, and Safari cannot reach it. Every web page then fails.

Applies to: Safari on macOS 13 Ventura and later. The text was checked on macOS 27.2. · Checked: 29 October 2026

## Symptoms

- Safari says: “Safari can’t open the page … because Safari can’t connect to the web proxy server (HTTP).”
- Or it says the same about the “secure web proxy server (HTTPS)”.
- Other browsers or apps that use the system proxy fail too.

## Likely causes

- **A proxy app that stopped.** A proxy or VPN app set a proxy on `127.0.0.1`, then quit or crashed.
- **An old company proxy.** The proxy works only on the company network or VPN.
- **A wrong address or port.** The proxy setting has a typing error.
- **A PAC file that points to a dead proxy.** Automatic proxy configuration can give a proxy that does not answer.

## How to check

1. Show the proxy configuration that macOS uses now.

   ```
   scutil --proxy
   ```
2. Show the HTTP and HTTPS proxy of the Wi-Fi service. Use your service name if it is not Wi-Fi.

   ```
   networksetup -getwebproxy Wi-Fi
   networksetup -getsecurewebproxy Wi-Fi
   ```
3. Show the PAC file setting.

   ```
   networksetup -getautoproxyurl Wi-Fi
   ```
4. If the proxy is on `127.0.0.1`, see if something listens on its port. Replace 7890 with the port.

   ```
   lsof -nP -iTCP:7890 -sTCP:LISTEN
   ```

## How to fix it

1. Safari's message says to open Safari Settings > Advanced and click Change Settings. This opens the network proxy settings.
2. Or choose Apple menu > System Settings > Network. Click the service, click Details, then click Proxies.
3. Turn off each proxy that you do not need. Click OK.
4. If a proxy app set the proxy, open the app again, or turn off its system proxy option.
5. On a company Mac, ask the administrator before you change the proxy.

## With Kilobat

1. Kilobat's connection doctor tests the site layer by layer: network, proxy, DNS, rules, IPv4, IPv6, TLS and the server. It names the layer that failed.

   ```
   kilobat why https://example.com
   ```
2. The doctor reports the system proxy and the PAC file, and it tests the direct path too.
3. These Kilobat checks are free. AI agents run them through MCP with `diagnose_connection` and `diagnose_network`. See [Find why one site or API won't connect](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/why-cant-it-connect.html).

## Questions

**Why do only browsers fail, while Terminal works?**

Most Terminal tools do not read the system proxy. They read proxy variables such as `https_proxy`. See [Proxy settings stop apps from connecting on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/proxy-settings-breaking-apps.html).

## Sources

- Error text in Safari.framework, macOS 27.2 (Localizable.strings)
- [Apple Support: Change proxy settings on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/change-proxy-settings-on-mac-mchlp2591/mac)
- scutil(8), networksetup(8) and lsof(8), man page installed with macOS 27.2

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with `man <name>` in Terminal.

## Related guides

- [Proxy settings stop apps from connecting on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/proxy-settings-breaking-apps.html): A proxy setting sends traffic through another server.
- [Corporate proxy certificates break Terminal tools on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/corporate-proxy-certificates.html): Some company networks inspect HTTPS traffic.
- [VPN connected but no internet on a Mac](https://kilobat.app/guides/vpn-connected-no-internet.html): A VPN sends traffic through a tunnel.
- [Find why one site or API won't connect](https://kilobat.app/guides/recipes/why-cant-it-connect.html): When the internet works but one address fails, Kilobat checks each layer in turn.