This guide uses the terminology of Clash Verge Rev on desktop and Clash Plus on mobile. Menu naming varies across clients — "Profiles" is sometimes called "Subscriptions," and "Proxies" may appear as "Proxy Groups" — but the overall structure and step order stay the same. Match each step's description to the equivalent option in your own client. For a breakdown of feature differences and recommendations, see Client Comparison.
Before You Start: Two Things You'll Need
Make sure both of the following are ready before starting. Without them, you won't be able to complete the steps below.
- A working, installed client. Installers and setup notes for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux are all on the Downloads page — just pick your platform. Installation is successful once the main window (or tray icon on desktop) opens, or the home screen loads on mobile.
- A subscription URL. This is a long link starting with
https://, provided by your proxy service (often called a "subscription provider") through their dashboard. If you run your own server, it comes from your own subscription-conversion service. The client itself has no built-in nodes — the subscription is its only source of nodes. For clear definitions of subscriptions, config files, and nodes, check the basics section of the FAQ.
Once both are ready, move on to Step 1.
Step 1 · Import Subscription
The goal here is to get your node list into the client. Open the client and find the Profiles page in the side or bottom navigation — this is where subscriptions are managed, and nearly every Clash-based client places it near the top of the menu.
- Copy your subscription URL. Log in to your provider's dashboard, find the "One-Click Subscribe" or "Subscription Link" section, and click the copy button for Clash. Watch out for format: some providers offer multiple link formats, so pick the one labeled Clash or "universal." Your clipboard should now hold a full
https://link. - Paste and import. Back in the client's Profiles page, there's an input field at the top with an "Import" or "Download" button next to it. Paste the subscription URL into the field and click import. The client will immediately fetch the config from that URL, briefly showing a loading state on the button.
- Confirm the import worked. Once successful, a new card appears in the profile list showing the name, file size or node count, and the last-updated time. Tap this card to select (highlight) it — only the selected profile is actually active, which is easy to overlook.
- Turn on auto-update. The right-click menu or edit panel on the profile card usually lets you set an update interval (e.g., every 24 hours). Providers change node addresses from time to time, and auto-update saves you from manually troubleshooting a batch of dead nodes.
On mobile: Android and iOS clients support importing directly from the browser — tap an "Import to Clash"-style button on your provider's page, choose to open it with the client when prompted, and the paste-and-download happens automatically, which is less error-prone than copying manually. If you get a network error or a format-parsing error during import, it's usually an incomplete copy or the wrong link format — check the subscription entries under the setup section of the FAQ.
Step 1 is done once the profile card shows as selected and displays a clear update time.
Step 2 · Choose Proxy Mode
With the subscription in place, decide how the client should route traffic. Open the Proxies page — at the top you'll find a mode switcher, usually with three options:
| Mode | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Rule | Matches traffic against the rules built into your profile — matched traffic goes through the proxy, everything else connects directly | Everyday use, balancing speed and data usage |
| Global | Routes all traffic through the proxy node, no exceptions | Temporary troubleshooting, or when you specifically need everything proxied |
| Direct | No traffic goes through the proxy — effectively the same as turning it off | Debugging comparisons, or when you don't need a proxy for now |
For most users, Rule mode is the right call: the rule set built into your subscription already decides what traffic should go where — local services connect directly without detours, while traffic that needs the proxy gets routed through a node. Global mode sends everything through the node, including traffic that could've connected directly, costing you speed and data — not recommended as a default. How rule matching and custom routing work is covered in depth in the Protocol Guide.
After choosing a mode, you'll also need to pick a specific node in the proxy group below:
- On the Proxies page, find a group named "Proxy Select" or similar, and expand it to see the full node list from your subscription.
- Tap the lightning bolt or radar icon in the top-right corner to run a latency test — the client will ping each node, and after a few seconds a millisecond value appears next to each one.
- Pick a node with low latency (usually marked in green) that fits your needs. The selected node will be clearly highlighted or checked.
With a mode chosen and a node selected, Step 2 is complete. The client now knows how to route traffic and where to send it — all that's left is handing over your system traffic.
Step 3 · Start the Connection
This step varies the most across platforms, so follow the section for your own system. The underlying idea is the same everywhere: the client needs a switch that redirects system traffic to itself — called a system proxy on desktop, and a VPN tunnel on mobile.
Windows / macOS / Linux: Go back to the client's main window (or settings page) and turn on the "System Proxy" switch. Once enabled, the client registers itself as the OS's HTTP/SOCKS proxy, and traffic from browsers and other apps that respect the system proxy setting starts routing through it. On macOS, the first time you enable it, you may see a system authorization prompt — enter your password to confirm. Options like "Launch on Startup" or "Silent Start" often sit next to the switch — enable them if you like. Note that the system proxy only covers apps that respect this setting — some command-line tools or game clients bypass it entirely. For that, you'd need TUN mode, which is covered in the Protocol Guide and isn't needed for first-time setup.
Android: Tap the start button (usually a prominent toggle) on the client's main screen. On first launch, a "Connection request" dialog will pop up, saying the app wants to set up a VPN connection — this is Android's VpnService mechanism, which creates a local virtual network interface to handle traffic, not an actual remote VPN service. After tapping "Allow," a key-shaped icon appears in the top-left of the status bar, confirming the tunnel is up. To keep it running in the background, it's a good idea to add the client to your battery optimization whitelist.
iOS: Tap the connect switch inside the client. On first use, a system prompt will ask you to "Allow adding a VPN configuration" — verify as prompted, and the client's config will appear under VPN in system Settings, with a VPN indicator showing in the status bar. From then on, you can start or stop the connection either from inside the client or from the VPN toggle in system Settings.
Regardless of platform, Step 3 is done once the switch is on and no error has popped up. That leaves just one question: is it actually working? Step 4 answers that.
Step 4 · Verify It's Working
Don't just assume the proxy is active — confirm it using the client's connection log. Verify in this order:
- Check the connections panel. Open the client's Connections page, then visit any website in your browser. If the proxy chain is working, new entries appear in real time, each showing the target domain, the matched rule, and the actual outbound path (a node name or DIRECT). If the list keeps growing, traffic is flowing through the client.
- Check the routing direction. In Rule mode, entries for local sites should show DIRECT as the outbound, while entries for sites matched by proxy rules should show the node name you picked in Step 2. Seeing both types confirms rule-based routing is working as expected.
- Confirm the exit IP. Visit any IP lookup site — the exit IP and location shown should match the region of your chosen node. If it still shows your local ISP's address, traffic isn't going through the proxy.
Once all three checks pass, first-time setup is complete and you're ready to go. From here on, just switch nodes on the Proxies page as needed — your profile will auto-update at the interval you set in Step 1.
If verification fails, narrow it down with these clues: no new entries at all in the connections panel usually means the switch in Step 3 didn't actually take effect (system proxy off, or VPN authorization denied); entries appear but pages won't load, usually a dead node — go back to Step 2, retest latency, and pick a different one; pages load but the exit IP hasn't changed, check whether Direct mode got selected by mistake. More detailed troubleshooting — port conflicts, expired subscriptions, DNS issues, and so on — is organized by symptom in the troubleshooting section of the FAQ.
After Setup Is Done
These four steps cover the fastest path from zero to working. Once your needs go beyond the default setup — say, understanding the trade-offs between proxy protocols, writing custom routing rules for specific apps, or choosing between system proxy and TUN mode — head to the Protocol Guide, which covers these topics in depth. For quick, one-off questions, check the FAQ first.