diff --git a/dev-packages/cli/package.json b/dev-packages/cli/package.json
index 2bef9332c527c..d2a1554dce42d 100644
--- a/dev-packages/cli/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/cli/package.json
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
     "@theia/ffmpeg": "1.25.0",
     "@theia/localization-manager": "1.25.0",
     "@theia/ovsx-client": "1.25.0",
+    "@theia/request": "1.25.0",
     "@types/chai": "^4.2.7",
     "@types/mocha": "^5.2.7",
     "@types/node-fetch": "^2.5.7",
@@ -42,10 +43,7 @@
     "chai": "^4.2.0",
     "chalk": "4.0.0",
     "decompress": "^4.2.1",
-    "https-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0",
     "mocha": "^7.0.0",
-    "node-fetch": "^2.6.7",
-    "proxy-from-env": "^1.1.0",
     "puppeteer": "^2.0.0",
     "puppeteer-to-istanbul": "^1.2.2",
     "temp": "^0.9.1",
diff --git a/dev-packages/cli/src/download-plugins.ts b/dev-packages/cli/src/download-plugins.ts
index 4cfc228677666..9a0cee36b730c 100644
--- a/dev-packages/cli/src/download-plugins.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/cli/src/download-plugins.ts
@@ -26,17 +26,12 @@ declare global {
 import { OVSXClient } from '@theia/ovsx-client/lib/ovsx-client';
 import * as chalk from 'chalk';
 import * as decompress from 'decompress';
-import { createWriteStream, promises as fs } from 'fs';
-import { HttpsProxyAgent } from 'https-proxy-agent';
-import fetch, { RequestInit, Response } from 'node-fetch';
+import { promises as fs } from 'fs';
 import * as path from 'path';
-import { getProxyForUrl } from 'proxy-from-env';
-import * as stream from 'stream';
 import * as temp from 'temp';
-import { promisify } from 'util';
+import { NodeRequestService } from '@theia/request/lib/node-request-service';
 import { DEFAULT_SUPPORTED_API_VERSION } from '@theia/application-package/lib/api';
-
-const pipelineAsPromised = promisify(stream.pipeline);
+import { RequestContext } from '@theia/request';
 
 temp.track();
 
@@ -71,6 +66,10 @@ export interface DownloadPluginsOptions {
      * Fetch plugins in parallel
      */
     parallel?: boolean;
+
+    proxyUrl?: string;
+    proxyAuthorization?: string;
+    strictSsl?: boolean;
 }
 
 interface PluginDownload {
@@ -79,15 +78,26 @@ interface PluginDownload {
     version?: string | undefined
 }
 
+const requestService = new NodeRequestService();
+
 export default async function downloadPlugins(options: DownloadPluginsOptions = {}): Promise<void> {
     const {
         packed = false,
         ignoreErrors = false,
         apiVersion = DEFAULT_SUPPORTED_API_VERSION,
         apiUrl = 'https://open-vsx.org/api',
-        parallel = true
+        parallel = true,
+        proxyUrl,
+        proxyAuthorization,
+        strictSsl
     } = options;
 
+    requestService.configure({
+        proxyUrl,
+        proxyAuthorization,
+        strictSSL: strictSsl
+    });
+
     // Collect the list of failures to be appended at the end of the script.
     const failures: string[] = [];
 
@@ -133,7 +143,7 @@ export default async function downloadPlugins(options: DownloadPluginsOptions =
         await downloader(pluginsToDownload);
 
         const handleDependencyList = async (dependencies: Array<string | string[]>) => {
-            const client = new OVSXClient({ apiVersion, apiUrl });
+            const client = new OVSXClient({ apiVersion, apiUrl }, requestService);
             // De-duplicate extension ids to only download each once:
             const ids = new Set<string>(dependencies.flat());
             await parallelOrSequence(...Array.from(ids, id => async () => {
@@ -210,7 +220,7 @@ async function downloadPluginAsync(failures: string[], plugin: string, pluginUrl
 
     let attempts: number;
     let lastError: Error | undefined;
-    let response: Response | undefined;
+    let response: RequestContext | undefined;
 
     for (attempts = 0; attempts < maxAttempts; attempts++) {
         if (attempts > 0) {
@@ -218,12 +228,15 @@ async function downloadPluginAsync(failures: string[], plugin: string, pluginUrl
         }
         lastError = undefined;
         try {
-            response = await xfetch(pluginUrl);
+            response = await requestService.request({
+                url: pluginUrl
+            });
         } catch (error) {
             lastError = error;
             continue;
         }
-        const retry = response.status === 439 || response.status >= 500;
+        const status = response.res.statusCode;
+        const retry = status && (status === 439 || status >= 500);
         if (!retry) {
             break;
         }
@@ -236,20 +249,19 @@ async function downloadPluginAsync(failures: string[], plugin: string, pluginUrl
         failures.push(chalk.red(`x ${plugin}: failed to download (unknown reason)`));
         return;
     }
-    if (response.status !== 200) {
-        failures.push(chalk.red(`x ${plugin}: failed to download with: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`));
+    if (response.res.statusCode !== 200) {
+        failures.push(chalk.red(`x ${plugin}: failed to download with: ${response.res.statusCode}`));
         return;
     }
 
     if ((fileExt === '.vsix' || fileExt === '.theia') && packed === true) {
         // Download .vsix without decompressing.
-        const file = createWriteStream(targetPath);
-        await pipelineAsPromised(response.body, file);
+        await fs.writeFile(targetPath, response.buffer);
     } else {
         await fs.mkdir(targetPath, { recursive: true });
-        const tempFile = temp.createWriteStream('theia-plugin-download');
-        await pipelineAsPromised(response.body, tempFile);
-        await decompress(tempFile.path, targetPath);
+        const tempFile = temp.path('theia-plugin-download');
+        await fs.writeFile(tempFile, response.buffer);
+        await decompress(tempFile, targetPath);
     }
 
     console.warn(chalk.green(`+ ${plugin}${version ? `@${version}` : ''}: downloaded successfully ${attempts > 1 ? `(after ${attempts} attempts)` : ''}`));
@@ -265,18 +277,6 @@ async function isDownloaded(filePath: string): Promise<boolean> {
     return fs.stat(filePath).then(() => true, () => false);
 }
 
-/**
- * Follow HTTP(S)_PROXY, ALL_PROXY and NO_PROXY environment variables.
- */
-export function xfetch(url: string, options?: RequestInit): Promise<Response> {
-    const proxiedOptions: RequestInit = { ...options };
-    const proxy = getProxyForUrl(url);
-    if (!proxiedOptions.agent && proxy !== '') {
-        proxiedOptions.agent = new HttpsProxyAgent(proxy);
-    }
-    return fetch(url, proxiedOptions);
-}
-
 /**
  * Walk the plugin directory and collect available extension paths.
  * @param pluginDir the plugin directory.
diff --git a/dev-packages/cli/src/theia.ts b/dev-packages/cli/src/theia.ts
index d3507eea1e844..6d266c519fe8f 100644
--- a/dev-packages/cli/src/theia.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/cli/src/theia.ts
@@ -197,11 +197,14 @@ async function theiaCli(): Promise<void> {
             }
         })
         .command<{
-            packed: boolean,
-            ignoreErrors: boolean,
-            apiVersion: string,
-            apiUrl: string,
+            packed: boolean
+            ignoreErrors: boolean
+            apiVersion: string
+            apiUrl: string
             parallel: boolean
+            proxyUrl?: string
+            proxyAuthentification?: string
+            strictSsl: boolean
         }>({
             command: 'download:plugins',
             describe: 'Download defined external plugins',
@@ -232,10 +235,21 @@ async function theiaCli(): Promise<void> {
                     describe: 'Download in parallel',
                     boolean: true,
                     default: true
+                },
+                'proxy-url': {
+                    describe: 'Proxy URL'
+                },
+                'proxy-authentification': {
+                    describe: 'Proxy authentification information'
+                },
+                'strict-ssl': {
+                    describe: 'Whether to enable strict SSL mode',
+                    boolean: true,
+                    default: false
                 }
             },
-            handler: async ({ packed, ignoreErrors, apiVersion, apiUrl, parallel }) => {
-                await downloadPlugins({ packed, ignoreErrors, apiVersion, apiUrl, parallel });
+            handler: async args => {
+                await downloadPlugins(args);
             },
         })
         .command<{
diff --git a/dev-packages/cli/tsconfig.json b/dev-packages/cli/tsconfig.json
index 40b4dcb4a6cea..306d9ef99b167 100644
--- a/dev-packages/cli/tsconfig.json
+++ b/dev-packages/cli/tsconfig.json
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@
     },
     {
       "path": "../ovsx-client"
+    },
+    {
+      "path": "../request"
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/package.json b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/package.json
index 1d6c591c92379..9c5e1d90fd65d 100644
--- a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/package.json
+++ b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/package.json
@@ -29,8 +29,7 @@
     "watch": "theiaext watch"
   },
   "dependencies": {
-    "@types/bent": "^7.0.1",
-    "bent": "^7.1.0",
+    "@theia/request": "1.25.0",
     "semver": "^5.4.1"
   }
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.spec.ts b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.spec.ts
index 23acb6d8af2b5..8e49f6efba1f6 100644
--- a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.spec.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.spec.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import * as chai from 'chai';
 import { OVSXClient } from './ovsx-client';
+import { NodeRequestService } from '@theia/request/lib/node-request-service';
 import { VSXSearchParam } from './ovsx-types';
 
 const expect = chai.expect;
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ describe('OVSX Client', () => {
         client = new OVSXClient({
             apiVersion,
             apiUrl
-        });
+        }, new NodeRequestService());
     });
 
     describe('isEngineValid', () => {
diff --git a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.ts b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.ts
index c964fce383984..d625cd0477bf5 100644
--- a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.ts
+++ b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/src/ovsx-client.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
 // *****************************************************************************
 
-import * as bent from 'bent';
 import * as semver from 'semver';
 import {
     VSXAllVersions,
@@ -26,9 +25,7 @@ import {
     VSXSearchParam,
     VSXSearchResult
 } from './ovsx-types';
-
-const fetchText = bent('GET', 'string', 200);
-const fetchJson = bent('GET', { 'Accept': 'application/json' }, 'json', 200);
+import { RequestContext, RequestService } from '@theia/request';
 
 export interface OVSXClientOptions {
     apiVersion: string
@@ -37,11 +34,19 @@ export interface OVSXClientOptions {
 
 export class OVSXClient {
 
-    constructor(readonly options: OVSXClientOptions) { }
+    constructor(readonly options: OVSXClientOptions, protected readonly request: RequestService) { }
 
     async search(param?: VSXSearchParam): Promise<VSXSearchResult> {
         const searchUri = await this.buildSearchUri(param);
-        return this.fetchJson<VSXSearchResult>(searchUri);
+        try {
+            return await this.fetchJson<VSXSearchResult>(searchUri);
+        } catch (err) {
+            return {
+                error: err?.message || String(err),
+                offset: 0,
+                extensions: []
+            };
+        }
     }
 
     protected async buildSearchUri(param?: VSXSearchParam): Promise<string> {
@@ -99,12 +104,17 @@ export class OVSXClient {
         throw new Error(`Extension with id ${id} not found at ${apiUri}`);
     }
 
-    protected fetchJson<R>(url: string): Promise<R> {
-        return fetchJson(url) as Promise<R>;
+    protected async fetchJson<R>(url: string): Promise<R> {
+        const requestContext = await this.request.request({
+            url,
+            headers: { 'Accept': 'application/json' }
+        });
+        return RequestContext.asJson<R>(requestContext);
     }
 
-    fetchText(url: string): Promise<string> {
-        return fetchText(url);
+    async fetchText(url: string): Promise<string> {
+        const requestContext = await this.request.request({ url });
+        return RequestContext.asText(requestContext);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/tsconfig.json b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/tsconfig.json
index b973ddbc673a2..1699f09aff7b5 100644
--- a/dev-packages/ovsx-client/tsconfig.json
+++ b/dev-packages/ovsx-client/tsconfig.json
@@ -8,5 +8,9 @@
   "include": [
     "src"
   ],
-  "references": []
+  "references": [
+    {
+      "path": "../request"
+    }
+  ]
 }
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/.eslintrc.js b/dev-packages/request/.eslintrc.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..13089943582b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/.eslintrc.js
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+/** @type {import('eslint').Linter.Config} */
+module.exports = {
+    extends: [
+        '../../configs/build.eslintrc.json'
+    ],
+    parserOptions: {
+        tsconfigRootDir: __dirname,
+        project: 'tsconfig.json'
+    }
+};
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/README.md b/dev-packages/request/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..bd9f1db2623c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+<div align='center'>
+
+<br />
+
+<img src='https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eclipse-theia/theia/master/logo/theia.svg?sanitize=true' alt='theia-ext-logo' width='100px' />
+
+<h2>ECLIPSE THEIA - REQUEST</h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+</div>
+
+## Description
+
+The `@theia/request` package is used to send proxy-aware http requests to other services.
+
+## Additional Information
+
+- [Theia - GitHub](https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia)
+- [Theia - Website](https://theia-ide.org/)
+
+## License
+
+- [Eclipse Public License 2.0](http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0/)
+- [一 (Secondary) GNU General Public License, version 2 with the GNU Classpath Exception](https://projects.eclipse.org/license/secondary-gpl-2.0-cp)
+
+## Trademark
+"Theia" is a trademark of the Eclipse Foundation
+https://www.eclipse.org/theia
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/package.json b/dev-packages/request/package.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1d31433bb3d2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/package.json
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+{
+  "name": "@theia/request",
+  "version": "1.25.0",
+  "description": "Theia Proxy-Aware Request Service",
+  "publishConfig": {
+    "access": "public"
+  },
+  "license": "EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0",
+  "repository": {
+    "type": "git",
+    "url": "https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia.git"
+  },
+  "bugs": {
+    "url": "https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia/issues"
+  },
+  "homepage": "https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia",
+  "files": [
+    "lib",
+    "src"
+  ],
+  "main": "lib/index.js",
+  "typings": "lib/index.d.ts",
+  "scripts": {
+    "build": "theiaext build",
+    "clean": "theiaext clean",
+    "compile": "theiaext compile",
+    "lint": "theiaext lint",
+    "test": "theiaext test",
+    "watch": "theiaext watch"
+  },
+  "dependencies": {
+    "http-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0",
+    "https-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/src/common-request-service.ts b/dev-packages/request/src/common-request-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e56c0a05f1b01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/src/common-request-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+const textDecoder = typeof TextDecoder !== 'undefined' ? new TextDecoder() : undefined;
+
+export interface Headers {
+    [header: string]: string;
+}
+
+export interface RequestOptions {
+    type?: string;
+    url: string;
+    user?: string;
+    password?: string;
+    headers?: Headers;
+    timeout?: number;
+    data?: string;
+    followRedirects?: number;
+    proxyAuthorization?: string;
+}
+
+export interface RequestContext {
+    url: string;
+    res: {
+        headers: Headers;
+        statusCode?: number;
+    };
+    /**
+     * Contains the data returned by the request.
+     *
+     * If the request was transferred from the backend to the frontend, the buffer has been compressed into a string. In every case the buffer is an {@link Uint8Array}.
+     */
+    buffer: Uint8Array | string;
+}
+
+export namespace RequestContext {
+    export function isSuccess(context: RequestContext): boolean {
+        return (context.res.statusCode && context.res.statusCode >= 200 && context.res.statusCode < 300) || context.res.statusCode === 1223;
+    }
+
+    function hasNoContent(context: RequestContext): boolean {
+        return context.res.statusCode === 204;
+    }
+
+    export function asText(context: RequestContext): string {
+        if (!isSuccess(context)) {
+            throw new Error(`Server returned code ${context.res.statusCode} for request to '${context.url}'`);
+        }
+        if (hasNoContent(context)) {
+            return '';
+        }
+        // Ensures that the buffer is an Uint8Array
+        context = decompress(context);
+        if (textDecoder) {
+            return textDecoder.decode(context.buffer as Uint8Array);
+        } else {
+            return context.buffer.toString();
+        }
+    }
+
+    export function asJson<T = {}>(context: RequestContext): T {
+        const str = asText(context);
+        try {
+            return JSON.parse(str);
+        } catch (err) {
+            err.message += ':\n' + str;
+            throw err;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Convert the buffer to base64 before sending it to the frontend.
+     * This reduces the amount of JSON data transferred massively.
+     * Does nothing if the buffer is already compressed.
+     */
+    export function compress(context: RequestContext): RequestContext {
+        if (context.buffer instanceof Uint8Array && Buffer !== undefined) {
+            context.buffer = Buffer.from(context.buffer).toString('base64');
+        }
+        return context;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Decompresses a base64 buffer into a normal array buffer
+     * Does nothing if the buffer is not compressed.
+     */
+    export function decompress(context: RequestContext): RequestContext {
+        const buffer = context.buffer;
+        if (typeof buffer === 'string' && typeof atob === 'function') {
+            context.buffer = Uint8Array.from(atob(buffer), c => c.charCodeAt(0));
+        }
+        return context;
+    }
+}
+
+export interface RequestConfiguration {
+    proxyUrl?: string;
+    proxyAuthorization?: string;
+    strictSSL?: boolean;
+}
+export interface RequestService {
+    configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void>;
+    request(options: RequestOptions, token?: CancellationToken): Promise<RequestContext>;
+    resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined>
+}
+
+export const RequestService = Symbol('RequestService');
+export const BackendRequestService = Symbol('BackendRequestService');
+export const REQUEST_SERVICE_PATH = '/services/request-service';
+
+export interface CancellationToken {
+    readonly isCancellationRequested: boolean;
+    readonly onCancellationRequested: (listener: () => void) => void;
+}
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/src/index.ts b/dev-packages/request/src/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d0518a4332d0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/src/index.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+export * from './common-request-service';
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/src/node-request-service.ts b/dev-packages/request/src/node-request-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..06a8ac6b0d5bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/src/node-request-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,157 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import * as http from 'http';
+import * as https from 'https';
+import { getProxyAgent, ProxyAgent } from './proxy';
+import { Headers, RequestConfiguration, RequestContext, RequestOptions, RequestService, CancellationToken } from './common-request-service';
+
+export interface RawRequestFunction {
+    (options: http.RequestOptions, callback?: (res: http.IncomingMessage) => void): http.ClientRequest;
+}
+
+export interface NodeRequestOptions extends RequestOptions {
+    agent?: ProxyAgent;
+    strictSSL?: boolean;
+    getRawRequest?(options: NodeRequestOptions): RawRequestFunction;
+};
+
+export class NodeRequestService implements RequestService {
+
+    protected proxyUrl?: string;
+    protected strictSSL?: boolean;
+    protected authorization?: string;
+
+    protected getNodeRequest(options: RequestOptions): RawRequestFunction {
+        const endpoint = new URL(options.url);
+        const module = endpoint.protocol === 'https:' ? https : http;
+        return module.request;
+    }
+
+    protected async getProxyUrl(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        return this.proxyUrl;
+    }
+
+    async configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void> {
+        if (config.proxyUrl !== undefined) {
+            this.proxyUrl = config.proxyUrl;
+        }
+        if (config.strictSSL !== undefined) {
+            this.strictSSL = config.strictSSL;
+        }
+        if (config.proxyAuthorization !== undefined) {
+            this.authorization = config.proxyAuthorization;
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected async processOptions(options: NodeRequestOptions): Promise<NodeRequestOptions> {
+        const { strictSSL } = this;
+        options.strictSSL = options.strictSSL ?? strictSSL;
+        const agent = options.agent ? options.agent : getProxyAgent(options.url || '', process.env, {
+            proxyUrl: await this.getProxyUrl(options.url),
+            strictSSL: options.strictSSL
+        });
+        options.agent = agent;
+
+        const authorization = options.proxyAuthorization || this.authorization;
+        if (authorization) {
+            options.headers = {
+                ...(options.headers || {}),
+                'Proxy-Authorization': authorization
+            };
+        }
+
+        return options;
+    }
+
+    request(options: NodeRequestOptions, token?: CancellationToken): Promise<RequestContext> {
+        return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
+            options = await this.processOptions(options);
+
+            const endpoint = new URL(options.url);
+            const rawRequest = options.getRawRequest
+                ? options.getRawRequest(options)
+                : this.getNodeRequest(options);
+
+            const opts: https.RequestOptions = {
+                hostname: endpoint.hostname,
+                port: endpoint.port ? parseInt(endpoint.port) : (endpoint.protocol === 'https:' ? 443 : 80),
+                protocol: endpoint.protocol,
+                path: endpoint.pathname + endpoint.search,
+                method: options.type || 'GET',
+                headers: options.headers,
+                agent: options.agent,
+                rejectUnauthorized: !!options.strictSSL
+            };
+
+            if (options.user && options.password) {
+                opts.auth = options.user + ':' + options.password;
+            }
+
+            const req = rawRequest(opts, async res => {
+                const followRedirects = options.followRedirects ?? 3;
+                if (res.statusCode && res.statusCode >= 300 && res.statusCode < 400 && followRedirects > 0 && res.headers.location) {
+                    this.request({
+                        ...options,
+                        url: res.headers.location,
+                        followRedirects: followRedirects - 1
+                    }, token).then(resolve, reject);
+                } else {
+                    const chunks: Uint8Array[] = [];
+
+                    res.on('data', chunk => {
+                        chunks.push(chunk);
+                    });
+
+                    res.on('end', () => {
+                        const buffer = Buffer.concat(chunks);
+                        resolve({
+                            url: options.url,
+                            res: {
+                                headers: res.headers as Headers,
+                                statusCode: res.statusCode
+                            },
+                            buffer
+                        });
+                    });
+
+                    res.on('error', reject);
+                }
+            });
+
+            req.on('error', reject);
+
+            if (options.timeout) {
+                req.setTimeout(options.timeout);
+            }
+
+            if (options.data) {
+                req.write(options.data);
+            }
+
+            req.end();
+
+            token?.onCancellationRequested(() => {
+                req.abort();
+                reject();
+            });
+        });
+    }
+
+    async resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        return undefined;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/src/package.spec.ts b/dev-packages/request/src/package.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..8bdd97ff579bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/src/package.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+/* note: this bogus test file is required so that
+   we are able to run mocha unit tests on this
+   package, without having any actual unit tests in it.
+   This way a coverage report will be generated,
+   showing 0% coverage, instead of no report.
+   This file can be removed once we have real unit
+   tests in place. */
+
+describe('request package', () => {
+
+    it('should support code coverage statistics', () => true);
+});
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/src/proxy.ts b/dev-packages/request/src/proxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..5c4c496f16fc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/src/proxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { parse as parseUrl, Url } from 'url';
+import * as httpAgent from 'http-proxy-agent';
+import * as httpsAgent from 'https-proxy-agent';
+
+export type ProxyAgent = httpAgent.HttpProxyAgent | httpsAgent.HttpsProxyAgent;
+
+function getSystemProxyURI(requestURL: Url, env: typeof process.env): string | undefined {
+    if (requestURL.protocol === 'http:') {
+        return env.HTTP_PROXY || env.http_proxy;
+    } else if (requestURL.protocol === 'https:') {
+        return env.HTTPS_PROXY || env.https_proxy || env.HTTP_PROXY || env.http_proxy;
+    }
+
+    return undefined;
+}
+
+export interface ProxySettings {
+    proxyUrl?: string;
+    strictSSL?: boolean;
+}
+
+export function getProxyAgent(rawRequestURL: string, env: typeof process.env, options: ProxySettings = {}): ProxyAgent | undefined {
+    const requestURL = parseUrl(rawRequestURL);
+    const proxyURL = options.proxyUrl || getSystemProxyURI(requestURL, env);
+
+    if (!proxyURL) {
+        return undefined;
+    }
+
+    const proxyEndpoint = parseUrl(proxyURL);
+
+    if (!/^https?:$/.test(proxyEndpoint.protocol || '')) {
+        return undefined;
+    }
+
+    const opts = {
+        host: proxyEndpoint.hostname || '',
+        port: proxyEndpoint.port || (proxyEndpoint.protocol === 'https' ? '443' : '80'),
+        auth: proxyEndpoint.auth,
+        rejectUnauthorized: !!options.strictSSL,
+    };
+
+    const createAgent = requestURL.protocol === 'http:' ? httpAgent : httpsAgent;
+    return createAgent(opts);
+}
diff --git a/dev-packages/request/tsconfig.json b/dev-packages/request/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b973ddbc673a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/dev-packages/request/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+{
+  "extends": "../../configs/base.tsconfig",
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "composite": true,
+    "rootDir": "src",
+    "outDir": "lib"
+  },
+  "include": [
+    "src"
+  ],
+  "references": []
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/README.md b/packages/core/README.md
index 64537785cf2f5..0764fe91fd53f 100644
--- a/packages/core/README.md
+++ b/packages/core/README.md
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@ export class SomeClass {
     - `@theia/application-package` (from [`@theia/application-package@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/application-package/v/1.25.0))
     - `@theia/application-package/lib/api` (from [`@theia/application-package@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/application-package/v/1.25.0))
     - `@theia/application-package/lib/environment` (from [`@theia/application-package@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/application-package/v/1.25.0))
+    - `@theia/request` (from [`@theia/request@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/request/v/1.25.0))
+    - `@theia/request/lib/proxy` (from [`@theia/request@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/request/v/1.25.0))
+    - `@theia/request/lib/node-request-service` (from [`@theia/request@1.25.0`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@theia/request/v/1.25.0))
     - `fs-extra` (from [`fs-extra@^4.0.2`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/fs-extra))
     - `fuzzy` (from [`fuzzy@^0.1.3`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/fuzzy))
     - `inversify` (from [`inversify@^5.1.1`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/inversify))
diff --git a/packages/core/package.json b/packages/core/package.json
index 733a8b75400f9..b3b62b1e9ae17 100644
--- a/packages/core/package.json
+++ b/packages/core/package.json
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
     "@phosphor/virtualdom": "1",
     "@phosphor/widgets": "1",
     "@theia/application-package": "1.25.0",
+    "@theia/request": "1.25.0",
     "@types/body-parser": "^1.16.4",
     "@types/cookie": "^0.3.3",
     "@types/dompurify": "^2.2.2",
@@ -44,6 +45,8 @@
     "font-awesome": "^4.7.0",
     "fs-extra": "^4.0.2",
     "fuzzy": "^0.1.3",
+    "http-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0",
+    "https-proxy-agent": "^5.0.0",
     "iconv-lite": "^0.6.0",
     "inversify": "^5.1.1",
     "jschardet": "^2.1.1",
@@ -101,6 +104,9 @@
         "@theia/application-package",
         "@theia/application-package/lib/api",
         "@theia/application-package/lib/environment",
+        "@theia/request",
+        "@theia/request/lib/proxy",
+        "@theia/request/lib/node-request-service",
         "fs-extra",
         "fuzzy",
         "inversify",
@@ -148,6 +154,14 @@
     {
       "backend": "lib/node/hosting/backend-hosting-module",
       "backendElectron": "lib/electron-node/hosting/electron-backend-hosting-module"
+    },
+    {
+      "frontend": "lib/browser/request/browser-request-module",
+      "frontendElectron": "lib/electron-browser/request/electron-browser-request-module"
+    },
+    {
+      "backend": "lib/node/request/backend-request-module",
+      "backendElectron": "lib/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-module"
     }
   ],
   "keywords": [
diff --git a/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.d.ts b/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..3b1a868b68f48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export * from '@theia/request';
diff --git a/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.js b/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..1e4a387d72e64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/shared/@theia/request/index.js
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+module.exports = require('@theia/request');
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/core-preferences.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/core-preferences.ts
index 5ec1b9de1226b..8dc8ab4bb15fd 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/core-preferences.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/core-preferences.ts
@@ -75,6 +75,44 @@ export const corePreferenceSchema: PreferenceSchema = {
             markdownDescription: nls.localizeByDefault("Control the visibility of the menu bar. A setting of 'toggle' means that the menu bar is hidden and a single press of the Alt key will show it. By default, the menu bar will be visible, unless the window is full screen."),
             included: !isOSX
         },
+        'http.proxy': {
+            type: 'string',
+            pattern: '^https?://([^:]*(:[^@]*)?@)?([^:]+|\\[[:0-9a-fA-F]+\\])(:\\d+)?/?$|^$',
+            // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
+            markdownDescription: nls.localizeByDefault('The proxy setting to use. If not set, will be inherited from the `http_proxy` and `https_proxy` environment variables.'),
+            scope: 'application'
+        },
+        'http.proxyStrictSSL': {
+            type: 'boolean',
+            default: true,
+            description: nls.localizeByDefault('Controls whether the proxy server certificate should be verified against the list of supplied CAs.'),
+            scope: 'application'
+        },
+        'http.proxyAuthorization': {
+            type: 'string',
+            markdownDescription: nls.localizeByDefault('The value to send as the `Proxy-Authorization` header for every network request.'),
+            scope: 'application'
+        },
+        'http.proxySupport': {
+            type: 'string',
+            enum: ['off', 'on', 'fallback', 'override'],
+            enumDescriptions: [
+                nls.localizeByDefault('Disable proxy support for extensions.'),
+                nls.localizeByDefault('Enable proxy support for extensions.'),
+                nls.localize('theia/core/proxySupportFallback', 'Enable proxy support for extensions, fall back to request options, when no proxy found.'),
+                nls.localizeByDefault('Enable proxy support for extensions, override request options.'),
+            ],
+            default: 'override',
+            description: nls.localizeByDefault('Use the proxy support for extensions.'),
+            scope: 'application'
+        },
+        'http.systemCertificates': {
+            type: 'boolean',
+            default: true,
+            // eslint-disable-next-line max-len
+            description: nls.localizeByDefault('Controls whether CA certificates should be loaded from the OS. (On Windows and macOS a reload of the window is required after turning this off.)'),
+            scope: 'application'
+        },
         'workbench.list.openMode': {
             type: 'string',
             enum: [
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
index 55cfb684e7c48..667e52624aa94 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/frontend-application-module.ts
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ import {
 } from './breadcrumbs';
 import { RendererHost } from './widgets';
 import { TooltipService, TooltipServiceImpl } from './tooltip-service';
+import { BackendRequestService, RequestService, REQUEST_SERVICE_PATH } from '@theia/request';
 import { bindFrontendStopwatch, bindBackendStopwatch } from './performance';
 import { SaveResourceService } from './save-resource-service';
 import { UserWorkingDirectoryProvider } from './user-working-directory-provider';
@@ -407,6 +408,10 @@ export const frontendApplicationModule = new ContainerModule((bind, _unbind, _is
         return child.get(BreadcrumbPopupContainer);
     });
 
+    bind(BackendRequestService).toDynamicValue(ctx =>
+        WebSocketConnectionProvider.createProxy<RequestService>(ctx.container, REQUEST_SERVICE_PATH)
+    ).inSingletonScope();
+
     bindFrontendStopwatch(bind);
     bindBackendStopwatch(bind);
 
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/json-schema-store.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/json-schema-store.ts
index 994d9250f5542..06e30099453f7 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/browser/json-schema-store.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/json-schema-store.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { FrontendApplicationContribution } from './frontend-application';
 import { MaybePromise } from '../common';
 import { Endpoint } from './endpoint';
 import { timeout, Deferred } from '../common/promise-util';
+import { RequestContext, RequestService } from '@theia/request';
 
 export interface JsonSchemaConfiguration {
     fileMatch: string | string[];
@@ -95,10 +96,13 @@ export class JsonSchemaStore implements FrontendApplicationContribution {
 @injectable()
 export class DefaultJsonSchemaContribution implements JsonSchemaContribution {
 
+    @inject(RequestService)
+    protected readonly requestService: RequestService;
+
     async registerSchemas(context: JsonSchemaRegisterContext): Promise<void> {
         const url = `${new Endpoint().httpScheme}//schemastore.azurewebsites.net/api/json/catalog.json`;
-        const response = await fetch(url);
-        const schemas: DefaultJsonSchemaContribution.SchemaData[] = (await response.json()).schemas!;
+        const response = await this.requestService.request({ url });
+        const schemas = RequestContext.asJson<{ schemas: DefaultJsonSchemaContribution.SchemaData[] }>(response).schemas;
         for (const s of schemas) {
             if (s.fileMatch) {
                 context.registerSchema({
@@ -120,4 +124,3 @@ export namespace DefaultJsonSchemaContribution {
         schema: any;
     }
 }
-
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-module.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..836c80c8bbb02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { ContainerModule } from 'inversify';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+import { XHRBrowserRequestService } from './browser-request-service';
+
+export default new ContainerModule(bind => {
+    bind(RequestService).to(XHRBrowserRequestService).inSingletonScope();
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-service.ts b/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..78e9e26594d60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/browser/request/browser-request-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { inject, injectable, postConstruct } from 'inversify';
+import { BackendRequestService, RequestConfiguration, RequestContext, RequestOptions, RequestService, CancellationToken } from '@theia/request';
+import { PreferenceService } from '../preferences/preference-service';
+
+@injectable()
+export abstract class AbstractBrowserRequestService implements RequestService {
+
+    @inject(PreferenceService)
+    protected readonly preferenceService: PreferenceService;
+
+    protected configurePromise: Promise<void> = Promise.resolve();
+
+    @postConstruct()
+    protected init(): void {
+        this.configurePromise = this.preferenceService.ready.then(() => {
+            const proxyUrl = this.preferenceService.get('http.proxy') as string;
+            const proxyAuthorization = this.preferenceService.get('http.proxyAuthorization') as string;
+            const strictSSL = this.preferenceService.get('http.proxyStrictSSL') as boolean;
+            return this.configure({
+                proxyUrl,
+                proxyAuthorization,
+                strictSSL
+            });
+        });
+        this.preferenceService.onPreferencesChanged(e => {
+            this.configurePromise.then(() => this.configure({
+                proxyUrl: e['http.proxy']?.newValue,
+                proxyAuthorization: e['http.proxyAuthorization']?.newValue,
+                strictSSL: e['http.proxyStrictSSL']?.newValue
+            }));
+        });
+    }
+
+    abstract configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void>;
+    abstract request(options: RequestOptions, token?: CancellationToken): Promise<RequestContext>;
+    abstract resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined>;
+
+}
+
+@injectable()
+export class ProxyingBrowserRequestService extends AbstractBrowserRequestService {
+
+    @inject(BackendRequestService)
+    protected readonly backendRequestService: RequestService;
+
+    configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void> {
+        return this.backendRequestService.configure(config);
+    }
+
+    resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        return this.backendRequestService.resolveProxy(url);
+    }
+
+    async request(options: RequestOptions): Promise<RequestContext> {
+        // Wait for both the preferences and the configuration of the backend service
+        await this.configurePromise;
+        const backendResult = await this.backendRequestService.request(options);
+        return RequestContext.decompress(backendResult);
+    }
+}
+
+@injectable()
+export class XHRBrowserRequestService extends ProxyingBrowserRequestService {
+
+    protected authorization?: string;
+
+    override configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void> {
+        if (config.proxyAuthorization !== undefined) {
+            this.authorization = config.proxyAuthorization;
+        }
+        return super.configure(config);
+    }
+
+    override async request(options: RequestOptions, token?: CancellationToken): Promise<RequestContext> {
+        try {
+            const xhrResult = await this.xhrRequest(options, token);
+            const statusCode = xhrResult.res.statusCode ?? 200;
+            if (statusCode >= 400) {
+                // We might've been blocked by the firewall
+                // Try it through the backend request service
+                return super.request(options);
+            }
+            return xhrResult;
+        } catch {
+            return super.request(options);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected xhrRequest(options: RequestOptions, token?: CancellationToken): Promise<RequestContext> {
+        const authorization = this.authorization || options.proxyAuthorization;
+        if (authorization) {
+            options.headers = {
+                ...(options.headers || {}),
+                'Proxy-Authorization': authorization
+            };
+        }
+
+        const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
+        return new Promise<RequestContext>((resolve, reject) => {
+
+            xhr.open(options.type || 'GET', options.url || '', true, options.user, options.password);
+            this.setRequestHeaders(xhr, options);
+
+            xhr.responseType = 'arraybuffer';
+            xhr.onerror = () => reject(new Error(xhr.statusText && ('XHR failed: ' + xhr.statusText) || 'XHR failed'));
+            xhr.onload = () => {
+                resolve({
+                    url: options.url,
+                    res: {
+                        statusCode: xhr.status,
+                        headers: this.getResponseHeaders(xhr)
+                    },
+                    buffer: new Uint8Array(xhr.response)
+                });
+            };
+            xhr.ontimeout = e => reject(new Error(`XHR timeout: ${options.timeout}ms`));
+
+            if (options.timeout) {
+                xhr.timeout = options.timeout;
+            }
+
+            xhr.send(options.data);
+
+            token?.onCancellationRequested(() => {
+                xhr.abort();
+                reject();
+            });
+        });
+    }
+
+    protected setRequestHeaders(xhr: XMLHttpRequest, options: RequestOptions): void {
+        if (options.headers) {
+            for (const k of Object.keys(options.headers)) {
+                switch (k) {
+                    case 'User-Agent':
+                    case 'Accept-Encoding':
+                    case 'Content-Length':
+                        // unsafe headers
+                        continue;
+                }
+                xhr.setRequestHeader(k, options.headers[k]);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected getResponseHeaders(xhr: XMLHttpRequest): { [name: string]: string } {
+        const headers: { [name: string]: string } = {};
+        for (const line of xhr.getAllResponseHeaders().split(/\r\n|\n|\r/g)) {
+            if (line) {
+                const idx = line.indexOf(':');
+                headers[line.substring(0, idx).trim().toLowerCase()] = line.substring(idx + 1).trim();
+            }
+        }
+        return headers;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-browser/request/electron-browser-request-module.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-browser/request/electron-browser-request-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d64de16afbd06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-browser/request/electron-browser-request-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { ContainerModule } from 'inversify';
+import { ProxyingBrowserRequestService } from '../../browser/request/browser-request-service';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+
+export default new ContainerModule(bind => {
+    // This version of the request service will always proxy every request through the backend.
+    // We do this since the backend currently cannot automatically resolve proxies, but the frontend can.
+    // We try to avoid confusion with this where some (frontend) requests successfully go through the proxy, but some others (backend) don't.
+    bind(RequestService).to(ProxyingBrowserRequestService).inSingletonScope();
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-module.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..fce38d11cbeaa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { ContainerModule } from 'inversify';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+import { ElectronBackendRequestService } from './electron-backend-request-service';
+
+export default new ContainerModule(bind => {
+    bind(RequestService).to(ElectronBackendRequestService).inSingletonScope();
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-service.ts b/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..562f6b6d2b1cc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/electron-node/request/electron-backend-request-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { decorate, injectable } from 'inversify';
+import { NodeRequestService } from '@theia/request/lib/node-request-service';
+
+decorate(injectable(), NodeRequestService);
+
+@injectable()
+export class ElectronBackendRequestService extends NodeRequestService {
+
+    override async getProxyUrl(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        if (this.proxyUrl) {
+            return this.proxyUrl;
+        }
+        try {
+            const proxy = await this.resolveProxy(url);
+            if (proxy && proxy !== 'DIRECT') {
+                const proxyHost = proxy.split(' ')[1];
+                return this.buildProxyUrl(url, proxyHost);
+            }
+        } catch (e) {
+            console.error('Could not resolve electron proxy.', e);
+        }
+        return super.getProxyUrl(url);
+    }
+
+    override async resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        // TODO: Implement IPC to the backend to access the Electron proxy resolver
+        return undefined;
+    }
+
+    protected buildProxyUrl(url: string, proxyHost: string): string {
+        if (proxyHost.startsWith('http://') || proxyHost.startsWith('https://')) {
+            return proxyHost;
+        }
+        if (url.startsWith('http://')) {
+            return 'http://' + proxyHost;
+        } else if (url.startsWith('https://')) {
+            return 'https://' + proxyHost;
+        }
+        return proxyHost;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/backend-application-module.ts b/packages/core/src/node/backend-application-module.ts
index 9fe09a305b551..c463498902441 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/node/backend-application-module.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/backend-application-module.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import { ContainerModule, decorate, injectable } from 'inversify';
 import { ApplicationPackage } from '@theia/application-package';
+import { REQUEST_SERVICE_PATH } from '@theia/request';
 import {
     bindContributionProvider, MessageService, MessageClient, ConnectionHandler, JsonRpcConnectionHandler,
     CommandService, commandServicePath, messageServicePath
@@ -35,8 +36,10 @@ import { KeytarServiceImpl } from './keytar-server';
 import { ContributionFilterRegistry, ContributionFilterRegistryImpl } from '../common/contribution-filter';
 import { EnvironmentUtils } from './environment-utils';
 import { ProcessUtils } from './process-utils';
+import { ProxyCliContribution } from './request/proxy-cli-contribution';
 import { bindNodeStopwatch, bindBackendStopwatchServer } from './performance';
 import { OSBackendApplicationContribution } from './os-backend-application-contribution';
+import { BackendRequestFacade } from './request/backend-request-facade';
 
 decorate(injectable(), ApplicationPackage);
 
@@ -115,6 +118,14 @@ export const backendApplicationModule = new ContainerModule(bind => {
     bind(OSBackendApplicationContribution).toSelf().inSingletonScope();
     bind(BackendApplicationContribution).toService(OSBackendApplicationContribution);
 
+    bind(ProxyCliContribution).toSelf().inSingletonScope();
+    bind(CliContribution).toService(ProxyCliContribution);
+
+    bind(BackendRequestFacade).toSelf().inSingletonScope();
+    bind(ConnectionHandler).toDynamicValue(
+        ctx => new JsonRpcConnectionHandler(REQUEST_SERVICE_PATH, () => ctx.container.get(BackendRequestFacade))
+    ).inSingletonScope();
+
     bindNodeStopwatch(bind);
     bindBackendStopwatchServer(bind);
 });
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-facade.ts b/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-facade.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b212772b33489
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-facade.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { inject, injectable } from 'inversify';
+import { RequestConfiguration, RequestContext, RequestOptions, RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+
+@injectable()
+export class BackendRequestFacade implements RequestService {
+
+    @inject(RequestService)
+    protected readonly requestService: RequestService;
+
+    configure(config: RequestConfiguration): Promise<void> {
+        return this.requestService.configure(config);
+    }
+
+    async request(options: RequestOptions): Promise<RequestContext> {
+        const context = await this.requestService.request(options);
+        return RequestContext.compress(context);
+    }
+
+    resolveProxy(url: string): Promise<string | undefined> {
+        return this.requestService.resolveProxy(url);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-module.ts b/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-module.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..10397317ddd1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/request/backend-request-module.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { ContainerModule, decorate, injectable } from 'inversify';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+import { NodeRequestService } from '@theia/request/lib/node-request-service';
+
+decorate(injectable(), NodeRequestService);
+
+export default new ContainerModule(bind => {
+    bind(RequestService).to(NodeRequestService).inSingletonScope();
+});
diff --git a/packages/core/src/node/request/proxy-cli-contribution.ts b/packages/core/src/node/request/proxy-cli-contribution.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..4b034d4d14780
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/core/src/node/request/proxy-cli-contribution.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import { inject, injectable } from 'inversify';
+import { MaybePromise } from '../../common/types';
+import { RequestConfiguration, RequestService } from '@theia/request';
+import { Argv, Arguments } from 'yargs';
+import { CliContribution } from '../cli';
+
+export const ProxyUrl = 'proxy-url';
+export const ProxyAuthorization = 'proxy-authorization';
+export const StrictSSL = 'strict-ssl';
+
+@injectable()
+export class ProxyCliContribution implements CliContribution {
+
+    @inject(RequestService)
+    protected readonly requestService: RequestService;
+
+    configure(conf: Argv): void {
+        conf.option(ProxyUrl, {
+            description: 'Sets the proxy URL for outgoing requests.',
+            type: 'string'
+        });
+        conf.option(ProxyAuthorization, {
+            description: 'Sets the proxy authorization header for outgoing requests.',
+            type: 'string'
+        });
+        conf.option(StrictSSL, {
+            description: 'Detemines whether SSL is strictly set for outgoing requests.',
+            type: 'boolean'
+        });
+    }
+
+    setArguments(args: Arguments): MaybePromise<void> {
+        const proxyUrl = args[ProxyUrl];
+        const authorization = args[ProxyAuthorization];
+        const strictSSL = args[StrictSSL];
+        const config: RequestConfiguration = {};
+        if (typeof proxyUrl === 'string') {
+            config.proxyUrl = proxyUrl.trim();
+        }
+        if (typeof authorization === 'string') {
+            config.proxyAuthorization = authorization;
+        }
+        if (typeof strictSSL === 'boolean') {
+            config.strictSSL = strictSSL;
+        }
+        this.requestService.configure(config);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/packages/plugin-ext/package.json b/packages/plugin-ext/package.json
index b36217af489d0..03f78a838a1bf 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-ext/package.json
+++ b/packages/plugin-ext/package.json
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     "uuid": "^8.0.0",
     "vhost": "^3.0.2",
     "vscode-debugprotocol": "^1.32.0",
+    "vscode-proxy-agent": "^0.11.0",
     "vscode-textmate": "^4.0.1"
   },
   "publishConfig": {
diff --git a/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-proxy.ts b/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-proxy.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..02fb06d621dd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-proxy.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (C) 2022 TypeFox and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+
+import * as http from 'http';
+import * as https from 'https';
+import * as tls from 'tls';
+
+import { createHttpPatch, createProxyResolver, createTlsPatch, ProxySupportSetting } from 'vscode-proxy-agent';
+import { PreferenceRegistryExtImpl } from '../../plugin/preference-registry';
+
+export function connectProxyResolver(configProvider: PreferenceRegistryExtImpl): void {
+    const resolveProxy = createProxyResolver({
+        resolveProxy: async url => url,
+        getHttpProxySetting: () => configProvider.getConfiguration('http').get('proxy'),
+        log: () => { },
+        getLogLevel: () => 0,
+        proxyResolveTelemetry: () => { },
+        useHostProxy: true,
+        env: process.env,
+    });
+    const lookup = createPatchedModules(configProvider, resolveProxy);
+    configureModuleLoading(lookup);
+}
+
+interface PatchedModules {
+    http: typeof http;
+    https: typeof https;
+    tls: typeof tls;
+}
+
+function createPatchedModules(configProvider: PreferenceRegistryExtImpl, resolveProxy: ReturnType<typeof createProxyResolver>): PatchedModules {
+    const proxySetting = {
+        config: 'off' as ProxySupportSetting
+    };
+    const certSetting = {
+        config: false
+    };
+    configProvider.onDidChangeConfiguration(() => {
+        const httpConfig = configProvider.getConfiguration('http');
+        proxySetting.config = httpConfig?.get<ProxySupportSetting>('proxySupport') || 'off';
+        certSetting.config = !!httpConfig?.get<boolean>('systemCertificates');
+    });
+
+    return {
+        http: Object.assign(http, createHttpPatch(http, resolveProxy, proxySetting, certSetting, true)),
+        https: Object.assign(https, createHttpPatch(https, resolveProxy, proxySetting, certSetting, true)),
+        tls: Object.assign(tls, createTlsPatch(tls))
+    };
+}
+
+function configureModuleLoading(lookup: PatchedModules): void {
+    const node_module = require('module');
+    const original = node_module._load;
+    node_module._load = function (request: string): typeof tls | typeof http | typeof https {
+        if (request === 'tls') {
+            return lookup.tls;
+        }
+
+        if (request !== 'http' && request !== 'https') {
+            return original.apply(this, arguments);
+        }
+
+        // Create a shallow copy of the http(s) module to work around extensions that apply changes to the modules
+        // See for more info: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/93167
+        return { ...lookup[request] };
+    };
+}
diff --git a/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-rpc.ts b/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-rpc.ts
index 44a24aa0ef737..b1658b427b248 100644
--- a/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-rpc.ts
+++ b/packages/plugin-ext/src/hosted/node/plugin-host-rpc.ts
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import { WebviewsExtImpl } from '../../plugin/webviews';
 import { TerminalServiceExtImpl } from '../../plugin/terminal-ext';
 import { SecretsExtImpl } from '../../plugin/secrets-ext';
 import { BackendInitializationFn } from '../../common';
+import { connectProxyResolver } from './plugin-host-proxy';
 
 /**
  * Handle the RPC calls.
@@ -81,6 +82,7 @@ export class PluginHostRPC {
             clipboardExt,
             webviewExt
         );
+        connectProxyResolver(preferenceRegistryExt);
     }
 
     async terminate(): Promise<void> {
diff --git a/packages/preferences/src/browser/util/preference-tree-generator.ts b/packages/preferences/src/browser/util/preference-tree-generator.ts
index 3f3715cb3077d..7aa8f7ef120cf 100644
--- a/packages/preferences/src/browser/util/preference-tree-generator.ts
+++ b/packages/preferences/src/browser/util/preference-tree-generator.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ export class PreferenceTreeGenerator {
         ['extensions', 'features'],
         ['files', 'editor'],
         ['hosted-plugin', 'features'],
+        ['http', 'application'],
         ['keyboard', 'application'],
         ['output', 'features'],
         ['problems', 'features'],
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/package.json b/packages/vsx-registry/package.json
index b7a233cc27d76..d6c4ef522bff1 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/package.json
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
     "@theia/workspace": "1.25.0",
     "@types/showdown": "^1.7.1",
     "p-debounce": "^2.1.0",
-    "requestretry": "^7.0.0",
     "semver": "^5.4.1",
     "showdown": "^1.9.1",
     "uuid": "^8.0.0"
@@ -51,8 +50,7 @@
     "watch": "theiaext watch"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@theia/ext-scripts": "1.25.0",
-    "@types/requestretry": "^1.12.8"
+    "@theia/ext-scripts": "1.25.0"
   },
   "nyc": {
     "extends": "../../configs/nyc.json"
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-extensions-model.ts b/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-extensions-model.ts
index 6a73ca1c865e6..03fb0fefbe0e8 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-extensions-model.ts
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-extensions-model.ts
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ export class VSXExtensionsModel {
         return this._installed.has(id);
     }
 
+    protected _searchError?: string;
+    get searchError(): string | undefined {
+        return this._searchError;
+    }
+
     protected _searchResult = new Set<string>();
     get searchResult(): IterableIterator<string> {
         return this._searchResult.values();
@@ -173,6 +178,7 @@ export class VSXExtensionsModel {
             }
             const client = await this.clientProvider();
             const result = await client.search(param);
+            this._searchError = result.error;
             if (token.isCancellationRequested) {
                 return;
             }
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-registry-frontend-module.ts b/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-registry-frontend-module.ts
index b921ea2065e3b..4331e9c9a9f92 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-registry-frontend-module.ts
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/src/browser/vsx-registry-frontend-module.ts
@@ -35,10 +35,11 @@ import { bindExtensionPreferences } from './recommended-extensions/recommended-e
 import { bindPreferenceProviderOverrides } from './recommended-extensions/preference-provider-overrides';
 import { OVSXClientProvider, createOVSXClient } from '../common/ovsx-client-provider';
 import { VSXEnvironment, VSX_ENVIRONMENT_PATH } from '../common/vsx-environment';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/core/shared/@theia/request';
 
 export default new ContainerModule((bind, unbind) => {
     bind<OVSXClientProvider>(OVSXClientProvider).toDynamicValue(ctx => {
-        const clientPromise = createOVSXClient(ctx.container.get(VSXEnvironment));
+        const clientPromise = createOVSXClient(ctx.container.get(VSXEnvironment), ctx.container.get(RequestService));
         return () => clientPromise;
     }).inSingletonScope();
     bind(VSXEnvironment).toDynamicValue(
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/src/common/ovsx-client-provider.ts b/packages/vsx-registry/src/common/ovsx-client-provider.ts
index cc597bb8b0192..c7edb6454d953 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/src/common/ovsx-client-provider.ts
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/src/common/ovsx-client-provider.ts
@@ -14,16 +14,17 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
 // *****************************************************************************
 
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/core/shared/@theia/request';
 import { OVSXClient } from '@theia/ovsx-client';
 import { VSXEnvironment } from './vsx-environment';
 
 export const OVSXClientProvider = Symbol('OVSXClientProvider');
 export type OVSXClientProvider = () => Promise<OVSXClient>;
 
-export async function createOVSXClient(vsxEnvironment: VSXEnvironment): Promise<OVSXClient> {
+export async function createOVSXClient(vsxEnvironment: VSXEnvironment, requestService: RequestService): Promise<OVSXClient> {
     const [apiVersion, apiUrl] = await Promise.all([
         vsxEnvironment.getVscodeApiVersion(),
         vsxEnvironment.getRegistryApiUri()
     ]);
-    return new OVSXClient({ apiVersion, apiUrl: apiUrl.toString() });
+    return new OVSXClient({ apiVersion, apiUrl: apiUrl.toString() }, requestService);
 }
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-extension-resolver.ts b/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-extension-resolver.ts
index 3b8e06f0ebb0d..8d4e7b42ede83 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-extension-resolver.ts
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-extension-resolver.ts
@@ -19,13 +19,13 @@ import * as path from 'path';
 import * as semver from 'semver';
 import * as fs from '@theia/core/shared/fs-extra';
 import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
-import * as requestretry from 'requestretry';
 import { injectable, inject } from '@theia/core/shared/inversify';
 import URI from '@theia/core/lib/common/uri';
 import { PluginDeployerHandler, PluginDeployerResolver, PluginDeployerResolverContext } from '@theia/plugin-ext/lib/common/plugin-protocol';
 import { VSXExtensionUri } from '../common/vsx-extension-uri';
 import { OVSXClientProvider } from '../common/ovsx-client-provider';
 import { VSXExtensionRaw } from '@theia/ovsx-client';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/core/shared/@theia/request';
 
 @injectable()
 export class VSXExtensionResolver implements PluginDeployerResolver {
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ export class VSXExtensionResolver implements PluginDeployerResolver {
     @inject(PluginDeployerHandler)
     protected pluginDeployerHandler: PluginDeployerHandler;
 
+    @inject(RequestService)
+    protected requestService: RequestService;
+
     protected readonly downloadPath: string;
 
     constructor() {
@@ -95,23 +98,14 @@ export class VSXExtensionResolver implements PluginDeployerResolver {
     }
 
     protected async download(downloadUrl: string, downloadPath: string): Promise<boolean> {
-        return new Promise<boolean>((resolve, reject) => {
-            requestretry(downloadUrl, {
-                method: 'GET',
-                maxAttempts: 5,
-                retryDelay: 2000,
-                retryStrategy: requestretry.RetryStrategies.HTTPOrNetworkError
-            }, (err, response) => {
-                if (err) {
-                    reject(err);
-                } else if (response && response.statusCode === 404) {
-                    resolve(false);
-                } else if (response && response.statusCode !== 200) {
-                    reject(new Error(response.statusMessage));
-                }
-            }).pipe(fs.createWriteStream(downloadPath))
-                .on('error', reject)
-                .on('close', () => resolve(true));
-        });
+        const context = await this.requestService.request({ url: downloadUrl });
+        if (context.res.statusCode === 404) {
+            return false;
+        } else if (context.res.statusCode !== 200) {
+            throw new Error('Request returned status code: ' + context.res.statusCode);
+        } else {
+            await fs.writeFile(downloadPath, context.buffer);
+            return true;
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-registry-backend-module.ts b/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-registry-backend-module.ts
index 9e9c19e2477b6..3b1908d23d39f 100644
--- a/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-registry-backend-module.ts
+++ b/packages/vsx-registry/src/node/vsx-registry-backend-module.ts
@@ -21,10 +21,11 @@ import { OVSXClientProvider, createOVSXClient } from '../common/ovsx-client-prov
 import { VSXEnvironment, VSX_ENVIRONMENT_PATH } from '../common/vsx-environment';
 import { VSXEnvironmentImpl } from './vsx-environment-impl';
 import { ConnectionHandler, JsonRpcConnectionHandler } from '@theia/core';
+import { RequestService } from '@theia/core/shared/@theia/request';
 
 export default new ContainerModule(bind => {
     bind<OVSXClientProvider>(OVSXClientProvider).toDynamicValue(ctx => {
-        const clientPromise = createOVSXClient(ctx.container.get(VSXEnvironment));
+        const clientPromise = createOVSXClient(ctx.container.get(VSXEnvironment), ctx.container.get(RequestService));
         return () => clientPromise;
     }).inSingletonScope();
     bind(VSXEnvironment).to(VSXEnvironmentImpl).inSingletonScope();
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index b9997bb80a9d2..0662e48a95f62 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@
     {
       "path": "dev-packages/private-re-exports"
     },
+    {
+      "path": "dev-packages/request"
+    },
     {
       "path": "examples/api-samples"
     },
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 52802cb3c200a..f44ba5149dd53 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -2142,11 +2142,16 @@
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@theia/monaco-editor-core/-/monaco-editor-core-1.65.2.tgz#91bc9ce2afe1b6011789ce83a5bee898f0153430"
   integrity sha512-2UmGjcEW/YpZ2DsFuVevKR3CBMe44Rd6DgwP/5s4pyOe6K/s6TKY7Sh24lO0BXetQKofAEx3zh+ldEvjwhNwDw==
 
-"@tootallnate/once@1":
+"@tootallnate/once@1", "@tootallnate/once@^1.1.2":
   version "1.1.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@tootallnate/once/-/once-1.1.2.tgz#ccb91445360179a04e7fe6aff78c00ffc1eeaf82"
   integrity sha512-RbzJvlNzmRq5c3O09UipeuXno4tA1FE6ikOjxZK0tuxVv3412l64l5t1W5pj4+rJq9vpkm/kwiR07aZXnsKPxw==
 
+"@tootallnate/once@2":
+  version "2.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@tootallnate/once/-/once-2.0.0.tgz#f544a148d3ab35801c1f633a7441fd87c2e484bf"
+  integrity sha512-XCuKFP5PS55gnMVu3dty8KPatLqUoy/ZYzDzAGCQ8JNFCkLXzmI7vNHCR+XpbZaMWQK/vQubr7PkYq8g470J/A==
+
 "@types/bent@^7.0.1":
   version "7.3.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/bent/-/bent-7.3.2.tgz#07b4f7bcec577be27cdb9e9034eb0de0242481a7"
@@ -2563,7 +2568,7 @@
     "@types/scheduler" "*"
     csstype "^3.0.2"
 
-"@types/request@*", "@types/request@^2.0.3":
+"@types/request@^2.0.3":
   version "2.48.8"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/request/-/request-2.48.8.tgz#0b90fde3b655ab50976cb8c5ac00faca22f5a82c"
   integrity sha512-whjk1EDJPcAR2kYHRbFl/lKeeKYTi05A15K9bnLInCVroNDCtXce57xKdI0/rQaA3K+6q0eFyUBPmqfSndUZdQ==
@@ -2573,14 +2578,6 @@
     "@types/tough-cookie" "*"
     form-data "^2.5.0"
 
-"@types/requestretry@^1.12.8":
-  version "1.12.8"
-  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/requestretry/-/requestretry-1.12.8.tgz#d3f02ee0b4d18e1cee15324506704052a25e1ebd"
-  integrity sha512-NKdv2WmEe6/V1PmJrflfvGVN9bvuOsnHmNRC4m8TFXPMQnRFKvnnkFN4I6AxAtw4hUi2h3A+z/aH+ir2HYTNOg==
-  dependencies:
-    "@types/node" "*"
-    "@types/request" "*"
-
 "@types/responselike@*", "@types/responselike@^1.0.0":
   version "1.0.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/@types/responselike/-/responselike-1.0.0.tgz#251f4fe7d154d2bad125abe1b429b23afd262e29"
@@ -4538,6 +4535,11 @@ dashdash@^1.12.0:
   dependencies:
     assert-plus "^1.0.0"
 
+data-uri-to-buffer@3:
+  version "3.0.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/data-uri-to-buffer/-/data-uri-to-buffer-3.0.1.tgz#594b8973938c5bc2c33046535785341abc4f3636"
+  integrity sha512-WboRycPNsVw3B3TL559F7kuBUM4d8CgMEvk6xEJlOp7OBPjt6G7z8WMWlD2rOFZLk6OYfFIUGsCOWzcQH9K2og==
+
 data-urls@^1.0.0:
   version "1.1.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/data-urls/-/data-urls-1.1.0.tgz#15ee0582baa5e22bb59c77140da8f9c76963bbfe"
@@ -5704,6 +5706,11 @@ file-uri-to-path@1.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/file-uri-to-path/-/file-uri-to-path-1.0.0.tgz#553a7b8446ff6f684359c445f1e37a05dacc33dd"
   integrity sha512-0Zt+s3L7Vf1biwWZ29aARiVYLx7iMGnEUl9x33fbB/j3jR81u/O2LbqK+Bm1CDSNDKVtJ/YjwY7TUd5SkeLQLw==
 
+file-uri-to-path@2:
+  version "2.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/file-uri-to-path/-/file-uri-to-path-2.0.0.tgz#7b415aeba227d575851e0a5b0c640d7656403fba"
+  integrity sha512-hjPFI8oE/2iQPVe4gbrJ73Pp+Xfub2+WI2LlXDbsaJBwT5wuMh35WNWVYYTpnz895shtwfyutMFLFywpQAFdLg==
+
 filename-reserved-regex@^2.0.0:
   version "2.0.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/filename-reserved-regex/-/filename-reserved-regex-2.0.0.tgz#abf73dfab735d045440abfea2d91f389ebbfa229"
@@ -5963,6 +5970,14 @@ fstream@^1.0.12:
     mkdirp ">=0.5 0"
     rimraf "2"
 
+ftp@^0.3.10:
+  version "0.3.10"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/ftp/-/ftp-0.3.10.tgz#9197d861ad8142f3e63d5a83bfe4c59f7330885d"
+  integrity sha1-kZfYYa2BQvPmPVqDv+TFn3MwiF0=
+  dependencies:
+    readable-stream "1.1.x"
+    xregexp "2.0.0"
+
 function-bind@^1.1.1:
   version "1.1.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/function-bind/-/function-bind-1.1.1.tgz#a56899d3ea3c9bab874bb9773b7c5ede92f4895d"
@@ -6090,6 +6105,18 @@ get-symbol-description@^1.0.0:
     call-bind "^1.0.2"
     get-intrinsic "^1.1.1"
 
+get-uri@^3.0.2:
+  version "3.0.2"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/get-uri/-/get-uri-3.0.2.tgz#f0ef1356faabc70e1f9404fa3b66b2ba9bfc725c"
+  integrity sha512-+5s0SJbGoyiJTZZ2JTpFPLMPSch72KEqGOTvQsBqg0RBWvwhWUSYZFAtz3TPW0GXJuLBJPts1E241iHg+VRfhg==
+  dependencies:
+    "@tootallnate/once" "1"
+    data-uri-to-buffer "3"
+    debug "4"
+    file-uri-to-path "2"
+    fs-extra "^8.1.0"
+    ftp "^0.3.10"
+
 getpass@^0.1.1:
   version "0.1.7"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/getpass/-/getpass-0.1.7.tgz#5eff8e3e684d569ae4cb2b1282604e8ba62149fa"
@@ -6465,6 +6492,15 @@ http-proxy-agent@^4.0.1:
     agent-base "6"
     debug "4"
 
+http-proxy-agent@^5.0.0:
+  version "5.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/http-proxy-agent/-/http-proxy-agent-5.0.0.tgz#5129800203520d434f142bc78ff3c170800f2b43"
+  integrity sha512-n2hY8YdoRE1i7r6M0w9DIw5GgZN0G25P8zLCRQ8rjXtTU3vsNFBI/vWK/UIeE6g5MUUz6avwAPXmL6Fy9D/90w==
+  dependencies:
+    "@tootallnate/once" "2"
+    agent-base "6"
+    debug "4"
+
 http-signature@~1.2.0:
   version "1.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/http-signature/-/http-signature-1.2.0.tgz#9aecd925114772f3d95b65a60abb8f7c18fbace1"
@@ -8214,7 +8250,7 @@ node-addon-api@*:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/node-addon-api/-/node-addon-api-4.3.0.tgz#52a1a0b475193e0928e98e0426a0d1254782b77f"
   integrity sha512-73sE9+3UaLYYFmDsFZnqCInzPyh3MqIwZO9cw58yIqAZhONrrabrYyYe3TuIqtIiOuTXVhsGau8hcrhhwSsDIQ==
 
-node-addon-api@^3.0.0, node-addon-api@^3.1.0:
+node-addon-api@^3.0.0, node-addon-api@^3.0.2, node-addon-api@^3.1.0:
   version "3.2.1"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/node-addon-api/-/node-addon-api-3.2.1.tgz#81325e0a2117789c0128dab65e7e38f07ceba161"
   integrity sha512-mmcei9JghVNDYydghQmeDX8KoAm0FAiYyIcUt/N4nhyAipB17pllZQDOJD2fotxABnt4Mdz+dKTO7eftLg4d0A==
@@ -11627,6 +11663,21 @@ vscode-oniguruma@^1.6.1:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-oniguruma/-/vscode-oniguruma-1.6.2.tgz#aeb9771a2f1dbfc9083c8a7fdd9cccaa3f386607"
   integrity sha512-KH8+KKov5eS/9WhofZR8M8dMHWN2gTxjMsG4jd04YhpbPR91fUj7rYQ2/XjeHCJWbg7X++ApRIU9NUwM2vTvLA==
 
+vscode-proxy-agent@^0.11.0:
+  version "0.11.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-proxy-agent/-/vscode-proxy-agent-0.11.0.tgz#9dc8d2bb9d448f1e33bb1caef97a741289660f2f"
+  integrity sha512-Y5mHjDGq/OKOvKG0IwCYfj25cvQ2cLEil8ce8n55IZHRAP9RF3e1sKU4ZUNDB8X2NIpKwyltrWpK9tFFE/kc3g==
+  dependencies:
+    "@tootallnate/once" "^1.1.2"
+    agent-base "^6.0.2"
+    debug "^4.3.1"
+    get-uri "^3.0.2"
+    http-proxy-agent "^4.0.1"
+    https-proxy-agent "^5.0.0"
+    socks-proxy-agent "^5.0.0"
+  optionalDependencies:
+    vscode-windows-ca-certs "^0.3.0"
+
 vscode-ripgrep@^1.2.4:
   version "1.13.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-ripgrep/-/vscode-ripgrep-1.13.2.tgz#8ccebc33f14d54442c4b11962aead163c55b506e"
@@ -11652,6 +11703,13 @@ vscode-uri@^2.1.1:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-uri/-/vscode-uri-2.1.2.tgz#c8d40de93eb57af31f3c715dd650e2ca2c096f1c"
   integrity sha512-8TEXQxlldWAuIODdukIb+TR5s+9Ds40eSJrw+1iDDA9IFORPjMELarNQE3myz5XIkWWpdprmJjm1/SxMlWOC8A==
 
+vscode-windows-ca-certs@^0.3.0:
+  version "0.3.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-windows-ca-certs/-/vscode-windows-ca-certs-0.3.0.tgz#324e1f8ba842bbf048a39e7c0ee8fe655e9adfcc"
+  integrity sha512-CYrpCEKmAFQJoZNReOrelNL+VKyebOVRCqL9evrBlVcpWQDliliJgU5RggGS8FPGtQ3jAKLQt9frF0qlxYYPKA==
+  dependencies:
+    node-addon-api "^3.0.2"
+
 vscode-ws-jsonrpc@^0.2.0:
   version "0.2.0"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/vscode-ws-jsonrpc/-/vscode-ws-jsonrpc-0.2.0.tgz#5e9c26e10da54a1a235da7d59e74508bbcb8edd9"
@@ -12030,6 +12088,11 @@ xmlhttprequest-ssl@~2.0.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/xmlhttprequest-ssl/-/xmlhttprequest-ssl-2.0.0.tgz#91360c86b914e67f44dce769180027c0da618c67"
   integrity sha512-QKxVRxiRACQcVuQEYFsI1hhkrMlrXHPegbbd1yn9UHOmRxY+si12nQYzri3vbzt8VdTTRviqcKxcyllFas5z2A==
 
+xregexp@2.0.0:
+  version "2.0.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/xregexp/-/xregexp-2.0.0.tgz#52a63e56ca0b84a7f3a5f3d61872f126ad7a5943"
+  integrity sha1-UqY+VsoLhKfzpfPWGHLxJq16WUM=
+
 xtend@^4.0.0, xtend@~4.0.1:
   version "4.0.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/xtend/-/xtend-4.0.2.tgz#bb72779f5fa465186b1f438f674fa347fdb5db54"