Clash Setup Tutorial: From Subscription Import to Connection Verification, Four Steps

Import Subscription: Load the Profile into the Client

Start by grabbing the raw material. Log in to your provider's website, go to your account dashboard, and find a button like "One-Click Subscribe," "Copy Subscription Link," or "Clash Subscription." Click it, and the link goes to your clipboard. It looks something like https://example.com/api/v1/client/subscribe?token=xxxx - and it needs to be complete, from https to the very last character. A cut-off link is like a stripped screw - it won't thread in.

Back in the client, find the import screen: in Clash Verge Rev, click "Profiles" in the sidebar; in Clash Plus, go to the "Profiles" tab; in FlClash, go to "Profiles" at the bottom; in Clash Meta for Android, go to "Profiles" then tap the "+" button in the corner and choose "Import from URL." There's a URL input field at the top of the page - paste the link you just copied and click "Import" or "Download."

The client will download the profile, and within a few seconds a new profile card appears in the list, usually showing the profile name, data used, and last update time. Tap the card to select it (the border will highlight or a checkmark will appear). Once you see the card, the material's loaded - if not, check the troubleshooting notes below.

A subscription packs in dozens of nodes plus a full set of routing rules, which the client updates on a schedule or on demand. If you want to see what's actually inside this file, the deep dive lives in the config chapter of the full guide - no need to go there now. Get online first, study the blueprints later.

Choose a Proxy Mode: Set the Dial to "Rule"

Once your profile is loaded, pick a mode. The proxy mode switch is usually front and center on the client's main screen: Clash Verge Rev shows three buttons on the home screen - Rule / Global / Direct; Clash Plus has a mode selector on the main screen; mobile clients usually put it on the home screen or under "Settings → Outbound Mode."

Here's what each mode does: "Rule" routes traffic based on the rules in your profile - sites in mainland China connect directly, sites outside China go through the proxy, no conflicts either way; "Global" forces all traffic through a node, even domestic sites take the long way round; "Direct" is basically off. Beginners should stick with "Rule" - it's also the default mode for everyday use. For how rules decide where traffic goes, see the "Rules & Routing" section of the glossary - won't cover that here.

Next, pick a node. Open the client's "Proxies" page and find the main proxy group - usually named something like "Proxy Select," "Proxy," or a custom name from your provider. Tap the lightning bolt or speed-test icon in the top corner of the group to run a latency test across the whole group. Once the numbers come in, pick a node showing low latency and highlighted in green - a checkmark next to the node name confirms it's selected.

Latency is just one data point - multiplier, region, and protocol all affect real-world performance. For the full method on picking a node, see How to Pick a Proxy Node: A 4-Factor Guide. For now, anything under three-digit latency is good enough to get started.

Turn On the Connection: Hand Traffic Over to the Client

The first two steps just get the parts assembled and the mode set - traffic isn't actually flowing yet. This step throws the switch. On desktop, the toggle you want is called "System Proxy": in Clash Verge Rev, it's the first switch on the "Settings" page; in Clash Plus, flip the connection toggle right on the main screen. Once it's on, the system routes traffic from your browser and other apps through the client, which distributes it according to the rules.

Mobile works differently - it goes through a VPN tunnel: on Android, tapping the connect button triggers a "Connection Request" popup the first time - tap "Allow" to establish it; on iOS, Clash Plus connects the same way via a VPN profile, and the first time you'll need to follow the system prompts to confirm, possibly entering your screen lock passcode. A key or VPN icon in the status bar means the tunnel is up.

On macOS, the first time you enable the system proxy or enhanced mode, the client may ask to install a helper tool and request your system password - this is a normal authorization step, and you only need to enter it once. On Windows, if you have a browser proxy extension or other proxy software running at the same time, turn one off first - two hands turning the same screw at once just makes it slip.

The client listens on mixed port 7890 by default - you usually don't need to touch this. If you get a "port already in use" error on startup, see Fixing the "Port Already in Use" Error. As for advanced wiring like TUN mode or UWP loopback, that's covered in the full guide - not needed for a first-time setup.

Verify It Works: Confirm the Setup Before You're Done

Don't walk away right after flipping the switch - run three quick checks. First, the most direct one: open your browser and visit a site outside China that wouldn't load before. If the page loads normally, the main line is working. Second, check the gauges: switch to the client's "Connections" or "Logs" page - if you see connection entries scrolling and upload/download numbers moving, traffic is actually passing through the client, not leaking out some other route.

Third, confirm the exit point: visit any IP lookup site and check whether the location shown matches the node you selected in step two. If it matches, all four steps are done right. While you're at it, glance at the traffic stats on the client's home screen - if the numbers stop moving later on, you'll know something came loose.

If a page won't load, check back through the list in order: ① Go back to the "Proxies" page and re-run the latency test - if the selected node shows a timeout, switch to another one; ② Confirm the system proxy or VPN toggle is still on - some clients flip it off after a profile update; ③ Check that the mode hasn't accidentally been switched to "Direct"; ④ Turn off any proxy extensions in your browser that might be fighting for the connection. Still not working after all that? Head to the troubleshooting chapter of the full guide for a deeper diagnostic, or check the troubleshooting section of the FAQ for a matching answer.