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Aluvia Client

Understanding the Aluvia client​

This Node.js SDK makes it simple to integrate Aluvia into your agent workflow. There are two key components:

  1. AluviaClient - a local client for connecting to Aluvia.
  2. AluviaApi - a lightweight JavaScript/TypeScript wrapper for the Aluvia REST API.

Aluvia client​

The Aluvia client runs a local rules-based proxy server on your agent's host, handles authentication and connection management, and provides ready-to-use adapters for popular tools like Playwright, Puppeteer, and Axios.

Simply point your automation tool at the local proxy address (127.0.0.1) and the client handles the rest. For each request, the client checks the destination hostname against user-defined (or agent-defined) routing rules and decides whether to send it through Aluvia's mobile IPs or directly to the destination.

┌──────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────────┐      ┌──────────────────────┐
│                  │      │                          │      │                      │
│    Your Agent    │─────▶     Aluvia Client         ─────▶  gateway.aluvia.io    │
│                  │      │     127.0.0.1:port       │      │    (Mobile IPs)      │
│                  │      │                          │      │                      │
└──────────────────┘      │  Per-request routing:    │      └──────────────────────┘
                          │                          │
                          │  not-blocked.com ──────────────▶ Direct
                          │  blocked-site.com ─────────────▶ Via Aluvia
                          │                          │
                          └──────────────────────────┘

Benefits:

  • Avoid blocks: Websites flag datacenter IPs as bot traffic, leading to 403s, CAPTCHAs, and rate limits. Mobile IPs appear as real users, so requests pass through.
  • Reduce costs and latency: Hostname-based routing rules let you proxy only the sites that need it. Traffic to non-blocked sites goes directly, saving money and reducing latency.
  • Unblock without restarts: Rules update at runtime. When a site blocks your agent, add it to the proxy rules and retry—no need to restart workers or redeploy.
  • Simplify integration: One SDK with ready-to-use adapters for Playwright, Puppeteer, Selenium, Axios, got, and Node's fetch.

Quick start​

Understand the basics​

Get Aluvia API key​

  1. Create an account at dashboard.aluvia.io
  2. Go to Settings > API Keys and create an Account API Key

Install the SDK​

npm install @aluvia/sdk

Requirements: Node.js 18 or later

Example: Dynamic unblocking with Playwright​

This example shows how an agent can use the Aluvia client to dynamically unblock websites. It demonstrates starting the client, using the Playwright integration adapter, configuring geo targeting and session ID, detecting blocks, and updating routing rules on the fly.

import { chromium } from 'playwright';
import { AluviaClient } from '@aluvia/sdk';

// Initialize the Aluvia client with your API key
const client = new AluviaClient({ apiKey: process.env.ALUVIA_API_KEY! });

// Start the client (launches local proxy, fetches connection config)
const connection = await client.start();

// Configure geo targeting (use California IPs)
await client.updateTargetGeo('us_ca');

// Set session ID (requests with the same session ID use the same IP)
await client.updateSessionId('agentsession1');

// Launch browser using the Playwright integration adapter
// The adapter returns proxy settings in Playwright's expected format
const browser = await chromium.launch({ proxy: connection.asPlaywright() });

// Track hostnames we've added to proxy rules
const proxiedHosts = new Set<string>();

async function visitWithRetry(url: string): Promise<string> {
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  try {
    const response = await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
    const hostname = new URL(url).hostname;

    // Detect if the site blocked us (403, 429, or challenge page)
    const status = response?.status() ?? 0;
    const isBlocked =
      status === 403 ||
      status === 429 ||
      (await page.title()).toLowerCase().includes('blocked');

    if (isBlocked && !proxiedHosts.has(hostname)) {
      console.log(`Blocked by ${hostname} — adding to proxy rules`);

      // Update routing rules to proxy this hostname through Aluvia
      // Rules update at runtime—no need to restart the browser
      proxiedHosts.add(hostname);
      await client.updateRules([...proxiedHosts]);

      // Rotate to a fresh IP by changing the session ID
      await client.updateSessionId(`retry-${Date.now()}`);

      await page.close();
      return visitWithRetry(url);
    }

    return await page.content();
  } finally {
    await page.close();
  }
}

try {
  // First attempt goes direct; if blocked, retries through Aluvia
  const html = await visitWithRetry('https://example.com/data');
  console.log('Success:', html.slice(0, 200));
} finally {
  // Always close the browser and connection when done
  await browser.close();
  await connection.close();
}

Integration guides​

The Aluvia client provides ready-to-use adapters for popular automation and HTTP tools:

Architecture​

The client is split into two independent planes:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                        AluviaClient                             │
├─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────┤
│       Control Plane         │          Data Plane               │
│       (ConfigManager)       │          (ProxyServer)            │
├─────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Fetches/creates config    │ • Local HTTP proxy (proxy-chain)  │
│ • Polls for updates (ETag)  │ • Per-request routing decisions   │
│ • PATCH updates (rules,     │ • Uses rules engine to decide:    │
│   session, geo)             │   direct vs gateway               │
└─────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┘

Control Plane (ConfigManager)​

  • Communicates with the Aluvia REST API (/account/connections/...)
  • Fetches proxy credentials and routing rules
  • Polls for configuration updates
  • Pushes updates (rules, session ID, geo)

Data Plane (ProxyServer)​

  • Runs a local HTTP proxy on 127.0.0.1
  • For each request, uses the rules engine to decide whether to route direct or via Aluvia.
  • Because the proxy reads the latest config per-request, rule updates take effect immediately

Operating modes​

The Aluvia client has two operating modes: Client Proxy Mode (default) and Gateway Mode.

Client Proxy Mode​

How it works: The SDK runs a local proxy on 127.0.0.1. For each request, it checks your routing rules and sends traffic either direct or through Aluvia.

Why use it:

  • Selective routing reduces cost and latency (only proxy what you need)
  • Credentials stay inside the SDK (nothing secret in your config)
  • Rule changes apply immediately (no restarts)

Best for: Using per-hostname routing rules.

Gateway Mode​

Set localProxy: false to enable.

How it works: No local proxy. Your tools connect directly to gateway.aluvia.io and ALL traffic goes through Aluvia.

Why use it:

  • No local process to manage
  • Simpler setup for tools with native proxy auth support

Best for: When you want all traffic proxied without selective routing.

Using Aluvia client​

1. Create a client​

new AluviaClient({
  apiKey: string, // required
  connectionId?: string, // optional
  localProxy?: boolean, // optional, default true
  strict?: boolean, // optional, default true (fail fast if config can't be loaded/created)
  apiBaseUrl?: string, // optional, default https://api.aluvia.io/v1
  pollIntervalMs?: number, // optional, default 5000
  timeoutMs?: number, // optional, default 30000 (API wrapper HTTP only)
  gatewayProtocol?: 'http' | 'https', // optional, default http
  gatewayPort?: number, // optional, default 8080 or 8443 depending on protocol
  localPort?: number, // optional; only relevant when localProxy true
  logLevel?: 'silent' | 'info' | 'debug', // optional, default info
});

2. Start the client and get a connection​

const connection = await client.start();

This starts the local proxy and returns a connection object you'll use with your tools. Understanding the connection object

3. Use the connection with your tools​

Pass the connection to your automation tool using the appropriate adapter:

const browser = await chromium.launch({ proxy: connection.asPlaywright() });

4. Update routing as necessary​

While your agent is running, you can update routing rules, rotate IPs, or change geo targeting—no restart needed:

await client.updateRules(['blocked-site.com']);    // Add hostname to proxy rules
await client.updateSessionId('newsession');       // Rotate to a new IP
await client.updateTargetGeo('us_ca');             // Target California IPs

5. Clean up when done​

await connection.close();  // Stops proxy, polling, and releases resources

Routing rules​

The Aluvia Client starts a local proxy server that routes each request based on hostname rules that you (or our agent) set. Rules can be updated at runtime without restarting the agent.

Traffic can be sent either:

  • direct (using the agent's datacenter/cloud IP) or,
  • through Aluvia's mobile proxy IPs,

Benefits​

Cost savings​

Selectively routing traffic to mobile proxies reduces proxy costs

Reduced latency​

Proxied connections inherently add latency. Selectively proxying some requests while sending others direct reduces the overall latency of a session.

Dynamic unblocking​

With routing rules, your agent can unblock itself. When a request fails with a 403 or 429, your agent adds that hostname to its routing rules and retries. The update takes effect immediately—no restart, no redeployment, no lost state.

Example rules​

await client.updateRules(['*']);                              // Proxy all traffic
await client.updateRules(['target-site.com', '*.google.com']); // Proxy specific hosts
await client.updateRules(['*', '-api.stripe.com']);           // Proxy all except specified
await client.updateRules([]);                                 // Route all traffic direct

Supported routing rule patterns:​

PatternMatches
*All hostnames
example.comExact match
*.example.comSubdomains of example.com
google.*google.com, google.co.uk, and similar
-example.comExclude from proxying

Dynamic unblocking​

Most proxy solutions require you to decide upfront which sites to proxy. If a site blocks you later, you're stuck—restart your workers, redeploy your fleet, or lose the workflow.

With Aluvia, your agent can unblock itself. When a request fails with a 403 or 429, your agent adds that hostname to its routing rules and retries. The update takes effect immediately—no restart, no redeployment, no lost state.

This turns blocking from a workflow-ending failure into a minor speed bump.

const response = await page.goto(url);

if (response?.status() === 403) {
  // Blocked! Add this hostname to proxy rules and retry
  await client.updateRules([...currentRules, new URL(url).hostname]);
  await page.goto(url);  // This request goes through Aluvia
}

Your agent learns which sites need proxying as it runs. Sites that don't block you stay direct (faster, cheaper). Sites that do block you get routed through mobile IPs automatically.

Tool integration adapters​

Every tool has its own way of configuring proxies—Playwright wants { server, username, password }, Puppeteer wants CLI args, Axios wants agents, and Node's native fetch doesn't support proxies at all. The SDK handles all of this for you:

ToolMethodReturns
Playwrightconnection.asPlaywright(){ server, username?, password? }
Puppeteerconnection.asPuppeteer()['--proxy-server=...']
Seleniumconnection.asSelenium()'--proxy-server=...'
Axiosconnection.asAxiosConfig(){ proxy: false, httpAgent, httpsAgent }
gotconnection.asGotOptions(){ agent: { http, https } }
fetchconnection.asUndiciFetch()Proxy-enabled fetch function
Node.js httpconnection.asNodeAgents(){ http: Agent, https: Agent }

For more details on integration adapters, see the Adapters guide.