diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a874eaba0..717763d78 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Changed `TavusVideoService` to send audio or video frames only after the
   transport is ready, preventing warning messages at startup.
 
+- The development runner now strips any provided protocol (e.g. https://) from
+  the proxy address and issues a warning. It also strips trailing `/`.
+
 ### Fixed
 
 - Fixed an issue in `LiveKitTransport` where empty `AudioRawFrame`s were pushed
diff --git a/src/pipecat/runner/run.py b/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
index 3d75b563e..9bdf2286a 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
@@ -357,6 +357,27 @@ async def _run_daily_direct():
         await bot_module.bot(runner_args)
 
 
+def _validate_and_clean_proxy(proxy: str) -> str:
+    """Validate and clean proxy hostname, removing protocol if present."""
+    if not proxy:
+        return proxy
+
+    original_proxy = proxy
+
+    # Strip common protocols
+    if proxy.startswith(("http://", "https://")):
+        proxy = proxy.split("://", 1)[1]
+        logger.warning(
+            f"Removed protocol from proxy URL. Using '{proxy}' instead of '{original_proxy}'. "
+            f"The --proxy argument expects only the hostname (e.g., 'mybot.ngrok.io')."
+        )
+
+    # Remove trailing slashes
+    proxy = proxy.rstrip("/")
+
+    return proxy
+
+
 def main():
     """Start the Pipecat development runner.
 
@@ -408,6 +429,10 @@ def main():
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
+    # Validate and clean proxy hostname
+    if args.proxy:
+        args.proxy = _validate_and_clean_proxy(args.proxy)
+
     # Auto-set transport to daily if --direct is used without explicit transport
     if args.direct and args.transport == "webrtc":  # webrtc is the default
         args.transport = "daily"