Clash Setup Guide: Import Subscription, Pick a Mode, Connect & Verify

The first is the client itself. Installers for all five platforms are sorted by platform on the download page: for Windows and macOS, Clash Plus or Clash Verge Rev is the top pick; for Android, Clash Plus or Clash Meta for Android; for iOS, install Clash Plus via the App Store; for Linux, use the deb or rpm package of Clash Verge Rev. Installation works like any regular software; platform-specific details (macOS's first-launch security prompt, Android's install permissions, etc.) each get their own chapter in the full handbook and won't be repeated here.

The second is a subscription link. It's a URL starting with https, provided by your service in the user dashboard, which the client uses to download the complete node and rule configuration. Note the difference between a "subscription link" and a "node share link": the former returns a full configuration, the latter just one node's details, and they're imported differently. For the exact meaning of subscription, profile, node, and proxy group, and how they relate, check the glossary page - confusing these terms is the most common source of trouble when troubleshooting later.

It's also worth double-checking that your system clock is accurate. When the system time drifts too far, some encrypted protocols fail to handshake and browsers may throw certificate warnings - these look like node failures but the actual cause is local time, so fixing it up front saves a wasted round of troubleshooting.

Download Clash See platform-by-platform install steps →

1. Import the subscription link to get the node list

   First, copy the full subscription URL from your service's user dashboard - use the "copy" button if the panel offers one, since manual selection often clips the trailing characters, and a truncated link is the number one cause of import failures.

   Then open the client's subscription management screen: in Clash Verge Rev, click "Subscriptions" in the sidebar, paste the URL into the input field at the top, and click "Import" on the right; in Clash Plus, click "Add Profile" on the home screen, choose "Import from URL," and paste; in Clash Meta for Android, go to the "Profiles" page, tap the new-item button in the bottom right, choose the "URL" type, paste and save, then tap the newly created entry once to download its contents; in ClashX Meta, add it under the menu bar icon's "Profiles → Managed Profiles → Manage."

   A successful import is easy to spot: the subscription page shows a profile card with a name, traffic or expiry info (if your service provides it), and a last-updated time; switching to the proxy page shows nodes arranged in groups. At this point the profile is set as the active one, and you can move on.

   If the import throws an error, or the node list is empty afterward, the usual causes are an expired link, an incomplete copy, or the local network being unable to reach the subscription server - see the installation/setup section of the troubleshooting FAQ for the check order, rather than retrying the same action repeatedly.

2. Choose a proxy mode and settle on a working node

   Once the subscription is in place, the client needs to know which traffic to proxy. The mode switch is usually at the top of the main window or proxy page, with three options: Rule mode matches traffic against the routing rules built into the profile, letting some traffic go direct and some through the proxy - this is the default for everyday use; Global mode routes all traffic through the proxy, for when you need everything proxied temporarily; Direct mode sends nothing through the proxy and is mainly used for comparison during troubleshooting. In Clash Verge Rev the mode switch sits at the top of the "Proxies" page; Clash Plus and the Android client let you switch from the main screen. For first-time use, Rule mode is the way to go.

   Next, pick an outbound node on the proxy page. Nodes are presented grouped by proxy group: a manual-select group (select) requires you to pick a specific node, while an auto-test group (url-test) picks the lowest-latency node on its own with no input needed. It's worth running a latency test on the current group first - Verge Rev has a lightning-bolt icon next to the group title, and on Android you can trigger it with a pull-down gesture - then pick a node with normal latency (usually tens to a few hundred milliseconds). Skip any node showing a timeout for now.

   The differences between proxy group types (how url-test, fallback, and load-balance each make decisions) is a more advanced topic that won't affect this walkthrough; check the glossary for a quick concept lookup, and the configuration chapter of the full handbook for the finer details of choosing between them.

3. Turn on the system proxy or VPN switch so traffic actually reaches the client

   The previous two steps only got the configuration ready - traffic hasn't gone through Clash yet, so the corresponding capture switch needs to be turned on.

   Windows / macOS / Linux: find the "system proxy" switch on the settings page and turn it on. Once enabled, the operating system's proxy settings point to Clash's local listening port, and browser and most regular apps' traffic routes through the client immediately. In Clash Verge Rev the switch is on the first screen of "Settings," in Clash Plus it's on the main screen, and in ClashX Meta check "Set as System Proxy" in the menu bar. Apps that ignore the system proxy setting (command-line tools, some games) need TUN mode instead, which involves admin rights or a service install - see the corresponding platform chapter in the full handbook; it's not needed for a first-time setup.

   Android: go back to the main screen and tap the prominent start button; the system shows a confirmation dialog to "allow VPN connection." Tapping Allow makes a key-shaped VPN icon appear in the status bar, which means the capture succeeded. This "VPN" is just Android's system mechanism for capturing traffic, not an extra service.

   iOS: tap Connect inside Clash Plus; the first time, it requests permission to "add a VPN configuration" - after confirming with your passcode or Face ID, the same VPN indicator appears in the status bar.

   Whichever platform, the standard for this step being complete is the same: the switch inside the client is on, and the system shows a proxy or VPN indicator. Missing either one means the capture isn't complete yet.

4. Verify the proxy is working and learn to read the connection log

   Two final checks confirm the link is actually working. First: open the client's "Connections" page (sometimes called "Logs" or "Activity"), then visit any website. New connection entries should keep scrolling in, each one noting the target domain, the matched rule, and the outbound node actually used - seeing a full chain like "domain → rule → node" means rule-based routing is working correctly.

   Second: visit a few frequently used sites in the browser and confirm they load at normal speed with correct content. In Rule mode, sites inside mainland China should show up as direct connections while everything else routes through the proxy - that's expected routing behavior, not a bug.

   If pages won't load, or the connections page stays empty, check things in this order: go back to the proxy page and see whether the current node's latency has timed out, and switch nodes if it has; confirm the mode isn't stuck on Direct; then check whether the system proxy or VPN switch from step three has been turned off. If all three check out and it still doesn't work, the subscription itself is likely the problem - go back to step one and refresh it.

   Two platform quirks worth flagging in advance: on Windows, some UWP apps (such as Microsoft Store apps) don't use the local loopback proxy by default and need an explicit exemption removed; and if the browser reports an HTTPS certificate error after enabling the proxy, the cause is usually system time or network conditions rather than the client itself. Both issues have their own entry in the troubleshooting section of the troubleshooting FAQ - just follow the steps there.