Choose the Proxychains Config for This Command

proxychains4 -f /home/alex/proxy-lab.conf curl https://example.com/

The -f argument selects a readable configuration for this proxychains-ng invocation. Replace the example's full path with the file you intend to maintain and check the loaded path in startup output. An error still naming another file explains why editing your expected proxychains4.conf had no effect.

Without that explicit selection, the search includes PROXYCHAINS_CONF_FILE, a configuration in the working directory, a per-user file and installed system locations. Package and wrapper versions can differ in their defaults. A project-local proxychains.conf, another account's home, or a different executable in PATH can therefore change the input.

If the selected file reports no valid proxy

Check parsing before connectivity. Entries belong below [ProxyList] and need the protocol and fields expected by the installed release. Check comments, section placement and syntax. For a permitted public endpoint, the free proxy list offers candidates to enter with the selected protocol's required fields. An HTTP listener described as SOCKS remains wrong even when the intended file was loaded.

A parsed-config error differs from a timeout after a connection attempt. Once the intended endpoint parses, follow the next failed stage: library loading, proxy negotiation, authentication, destination connection or application response. Renaming a system file cannot repair those stages.

For separate commands needing separate exits, choose their files explicitly rather than rewriting a shared configuration while processes start. There is no need to overwrite another system-wide file merely to reproduce a filename from an old guide.