> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.soax.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Quick Connect > Build SOAX connection strings without memorising the rules format. Quick Connect is the dashboard's connection-string builder for residential and mobile proxies. Quick Connect is the dashboard's connection-string builder. You pick what you want — country, session type, rotation, error handling — and the dashboard generates the connection string you paste into your code or HTTP client. It's also the name of the underlying mode. Putting rules directly into the connection string (`country-us-session-job1-rotate-timed_300:pk_abc123@proxy.soax.com:1337`) is "Quick Connect" no matter where you typed the string. The dashboard tool just makes building one easier. ## When to use Quick Connect Quick Connect covers everything most integrations need: * Rotating proxies (no session) and ephemeral sessions * Full filtering (country, region, city, ISP, ASN, zip, network) * Rotation (`rotate-timed_N`, `rotate-requests_N`) * Error handling (`onerror-replace`, `onerror-retry_N`, `onerror-fail`) * Routing preferences (`prefer-lookalike`) * Node binding (`bind-node`) * Unlimited concurrent sessions ## Opening Quick Connect In the dashboard, click [**Packages**](https://platform.soax.com/packages) in the sidebar and open the package you want to use. The Quick Connect panel is on the package page. ## Building a connection string Quick Connect walks you through four groups of options, which match the four categories of rules under the hood: ### 1. Filtering — which nodes are eligible | Setting | What it does | | --------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Country** | Limit to one country (lowercase ISO 3166-1 alpha-2, e.g. `us`, `gb`, `de`). Pick "any" for the full global pool. | | **Region / state** | Narrow to a region within the chosen country. | | **City** | Narrow further to a specific city. | | **ISP / Carrier** | Pick a specific ISP (residential) or mobile carrier. Available ISP/carrier names are listed in the package settings. | | **ASN** | Target a specific autonomous system number. | | **Zip / postal code** | Target a postal code (available on Scale and Enterprise plans). | | **Network** | Residential (`res`), mobile (`mob`), or a combination. Defaults to `res`. | The more specific your filter combination, the smaller the eligible pool. If you target a small city and a specific ISP, you may see slower allocation or `NODE_NOT_FOUND` errors. Start broad and narrow only when you need to. ### 2. Session — rotating or held | Setting | What it does | | ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Rotating** | No `session` parameter. Every request gets a new node. | | **Session** | Adds `session-{id}`. All requests with that session ID reuse the same node. | Session IDs are letters, digits, and underscores, up to 32 characters. Ephemeral sessions expire after **60 seconds of inactivity**. Rules are locked on the first request — sending the same session ID with different rules returns `409 SESSION_PARAMS_MISMATCH`. To change rules, use a new session ID. ### 3. Rotation — when the node is allowed to change Only meaningful with a session. | Setting | What it does | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Timed** | Rotate after N seconds. Accepts `s`, `m`, `h` suffixes. Max 1 week. | | **Request count** | Rotate after N requests. Max 1,000,000. | | **None** | Keep the same node until error, filter mismatch, or expiry. | ### 4. Error handling — what happens on node failure | Setting | What it does | | ----------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Replace** *(default)* | Get a new eligible node and continue. | | **Retry on same node** | `onerror-retry_N`, retries up to N times (max 10) on the current node before replacing. | | **Fail** | Return the error to your client. No retry, no replacement. | SOAX can only see infrastructure failures (node offline, connection refused, timeout). HTTP status codes from the target — 403, 429, CAPTCHA pages — are inside the HTTPS tunnel and aren't visible to SOAX. Detecting and responding to those is your application's job. See [CAPTCHA & ban rates](/troubleshooting/captcha-ban-rates). ### Routing and binding (optional) | Setting | What it does | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Prefer lookalike** | `prefer-lookalike`. On any node selection (allocation, rotation, replacement), prefer a node similar to the previous one. | | **Bind node** | `bind-node`. Lock the session to one node. Rotation is disabled; if the node fails, the request fails with `503 BOUND_NODE_FAILED` unless paired with `onerror-retry_N`. | `bind-node` requires a session and is incompatible with `rotate-timed_N`, `rotate-requests_N`, `onerror-replace`, and `prefer-lookalike`. ## Copy and test When your settings produce the connection string you want, click **Copy** to grab it. The format is: ``` {rules}:{package_key}@proxy.soax.com:1337 ``` Test it with one request: ```bash theme={null} curl -x proxy.soax.com:1337 -U "country-us-session-job1:pk_abc123" https://checker.soax.com/api/ipinfo ``` A successful response includes a JSON body with the exit IP and its geolocation. If you targeted a country, the `country_code` should match. ## Worked examples **Rotating US residential, no session:** ``` country-us:pk_abc123@proxy.soax.com:1337 ``` **Session in the UK, rotate IP every 5 minutes:** ``` country-gb-session-uk1-rotate-timed_300:pk_abc123@proxy.soax.com:1337 ``` **Mobile in New York, retry 3 times on error, prefer a similar replacement:** ``` network-mob-country-us-city-new_york-session-m1-onerror-retry_3-prefer-lookalike:pk_abc123@proxy.soax.com:1337 ``` **Lock to a single node:** ``` country-us-session-locked1-bind-node:pk_abc123@proxy.soax.com:1337 ``` ## Next steps Username/password and IP Auth, end-to-end. Full rule reference for residential configuration. Full rule reference for mobile configuration. What each SOAX-level error means and how to fix it.