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You can run a Go-based CORS proxy with either the go install command or the project’s Docker image. This walkthrough uses the Go installation path for zachcheung/corsproxy and its documented localhost request format. The “60 seconds” in the original title is not a verified setup time: the project documentation does not establish how long a fresh installation takes.
A proxy does not remove the browser’s cross-origin security model. Instead, browser code requests a URL on the proxy’s origin, and the proxy makes the request to the target server and returns the response with CORS-related headers. That can help with a third-party API, but it also means the proxy can become a route to destinations you did not intend to expose.
Which Go CORS proxy this tutorial uses
“A Go alternative to cors-anywhere” is not a unique project name. This tutorial uses github.com/zachcheung/corsproxy, whose README documents both a Go installation command and a Docker image. It also documents private-network destination blocking by default and an allowlist option.
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A separate project, github.com/fourfs/corsproxy, describes itself as a zero-dependency Go version of CORS Anywhere. That is a distinct implementation; do not assume its commands, release, or behavior match zachcheung/corsproxy.
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Install and run the documented Go implementation
The project README gives this Go installation command:
go install github.com/zachcheung/corsproxy/cmd/corsproxy@latestThis installs the latest version available when you run the command; it does not pin a release. The project README also lists the container image ghcr.io/zachcheung/corsproxy, but the steps here follow the Go installation route. The README’s instructions are documented setup paths, not a guarantee of a particular completion time.
Restrict which destinations the proxy can reach
Use -allowedTargets to specify destination patterns. The README’s example permits HTTPS requests to subdomains of example.com and to ipinfo.io:
corsproxy -allowedTargets "https://*.example.com,https://ipinfo.io"The project says private network targets are disallowed by default. That is an important safety control: a proxy that can reach arbitrary destinations may be abused to access internal services or to make requests on behalf of strangers. Keep the allowlist limited to APIs your application needs, and check the project’s current documentation for the exact pattern-matching behavior before relying on it as a security boundary.
Make a request through the local proxy
The README shows this request shape for a locally running instance:
http://localhost:8000/https://ipinfo.io/jsonIn browser code, use the proxy URL in place of the direct third-party URL. For example:
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fetch("http://localhost:8000/https://ipinfo.io/json")
.then(response => {
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
return response.json();
})
.then(data => console.log(data))
.catch(error => console.error(error));This example assumes the proxy is running on the same machine and listening on port 8000, as in the README’s sample URL. For another host or port, use the corresponding proxy address. The target URL follows the proxy’s path; it is not a browser-side change to the third-party server’s CORS policy.
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CORS Anywhere is a Node.js reverse proxy. Its README describes taking the target URL from the request path, a request shape also shown by the Go project’s localhost example. Similar URL shapes do not establish feature parity.
Best Value
| Area | zachcheung/corsproxy | CORS Anywhere |
|---|---|---|
| Runtime | Go; README documents go install and the Docker image ghcr.io/zachcheung/corsproxy. |
Node.js reverse proxy, as described in its README. |
| Request URL | README example: http://localhost:8000/https://ipinfo.io/json. |
README says the target URL is taken from the request path. |
| Destination control | README says private network targets are blocked by default and documents -allowedTargets. |
README advises whitelisting the site for a heavily used instance so others cannot use it as an open proxy. |
| Credentials, cookies, and header behavior | Not established by the cited project details here; consult its current README and configuration documentation. | Consult the CORS Anywhere README for its documented request and configuration behavior; no feature-parity conclusion follows from the shared path pattern. |
| Inbound access, authentication, and rate limiting | The documented target restrictions concern destinations; they do not by themselves establish who may call a public instance or whether it has authentication or rate limiting. | Its README warns about open-proxy use; review its current configuration and deployment guidance before exposing an instance. |
For CORS-specific configuration, the Go project points users to rs/cors. Its documentation cautions against combining wildcard AllowedOrigins with AllowCredentials; do not use a broad credentialed-origin configuration without following that library’s guidance.
Before exposing the proxy publicly
A destination allowlist and control over who can call the service solve different problems. The former limits where requests can go; the latter limits who can consume the proxy. The documented target restriction does not, on its own, establish inbound authentication, site restrictions, or rate limiting for a public deployment.
- Allow only the destination hosts your application requires; retain the default block on private-network targets.
- Decide which websites or users may send requests to the instance, and configure an access control mechanism appropriate to the deployment.
- Set operational controls such as rate limits if the deployment needs them. A separate Go proxy’s README lists rate limiting and API keys as production considerations; those features should not be attributed to zachcheung/corsproxy unless its own documentation confirms them.
- Review the current project and
rs/corsdocumentation before configuring CORS headers, especially when credentials are involved.
The safest default is a proxy for a specific application and a narrow set of API destinations, not an unrestricted public relay.
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