What <local> Means in a WinHTTP Bypass List

Treat WinHTTP's local-host bypass token as a hostname rule, not a universal test for private network addresses.

WinHTTP's bypass list can contain the special token <local>. In this context, local means a server name without a period. It is not a general classification of every private IP address or every device on your Wi-Fi.

That makes a short hostname and a dotted hostname different inputs. An application requesting http://intranet/ can match the token, while http://intranet.example.internal/ needs the applicable explicit rule.

Read the configured exceptions

For an intended WinHTTP configuration, a static example is:

netsh winhttp set proxy `
  proxy-server="203.0.113.10:8080" `
  bypass-list="<local>;*.example.internal"

The endpoint is illustrative. This command changes WinHTTP configuration and should not be used as a generic browser repair. Record the prior configuration and confirm that the target application actually uses it before making that change.

The wildcard rule and the local token do separate jobs. A dotted IP literal such as 192.168.1.10 is not a no-period hostname. If such an address should be direct, use an appropriately supported explicit exception rather than assuming the word local covers it.

Check the request's actual host

A service can use a short name while a browser bookmark uses a fully qualified name. The resulting route can differ even when both names eventually identify the same server.

A request can also be governed by application-specific proxy information or PAC evaluation instead of the static default you inspected. Identify the source used by the failing application before changing a bypass list elsewhere.

To compare behavior, record the URL hostname and selected proxy policy for the same client. Do not replace a working public proxy merely because a deliberately excluded host remains direct.

Keep this distinction separate from DNS and kernel routing: a bypass rule chooses whether to use a proxy for a request. It does not make an otherwise unreachable destination reachable.

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