← Back to the blog Guide 
Using ProxyAPI — targeting, sticky sessions, and API keys
A practical guide to the connection and the modifiers you can set per request.
· 6 min · ProxyAPI
01
Start with a regular CONNECT connection
Your API key is the username. For HTTPS, the client creates a CONNECT tunnel and the TLS session continues between your client and the destination.
curl -x 'https://sk_live_YOUR_KEY:@proxy.proxyapi.se:443' https://httpbin.org/ip02
Per-connection targeting
Combine country, proxy type, and provider in the username. Modifiers apply only to the current connection and do not change account defaults.
03
Use sticky sessions when the flow needs them
A session ID pins the flow to the same exit for the lifetime of the session. This fits multi-step flows involving cookies, baskets, or CSRF tokens.