Clash setup: from subscription import to verified routing in four steps

Before starting, confirm you have both of these on hand — missing either one stalls the very first step.

• The client is installed. If not, grab it from the downloads page for your platform: Clash Plus or Clash Verge Rev on Windows, macOS and Android, or Clash Plus from the App Store on iOS. Launch it once and confirm the main screen loads — no settings needed yet.
• The subscription link is on hand. This comes from your service provider, usually under a "Subscribe / One-click import" section of their dashboard, and looks like a long URL starting with https://. It's not an account password or a single server address — it's a link to a full downloadable config. If you're unsure what a subscription link actually is, read the basics category in the Help Center first, then come back.

Also confirm your current network can reach the internet at all (even if only local sites load). The subscription file has to download over the network, so a fully offline connection fails at step one.

The mode decides how traffic gets routed, so it's worth knowing what each one does before switching.

• Rule mode: matches every connection against the rules in the config, sending some direct and some through the proxy. Local sites aren't rerouted and speed isn't affected — this is the default and the recommended mode for daily use.
• Global mode: ignores the rules entirely and sends all traffic through the currently selected node. Handy for edge cases, like an app whose traffic isn't covered by any rule but still needs the proxy right now. Switch back to Rule mode afterward, or even local sites will detour through a distant node — slower and wasting data.
• Direct mode: routes nothing through the proxy, effectively taking the client offline temporarily. Most useful for figuring out "is this actually a proxy problem" — if switching to Direct makes the issue disappear, the node or rules are the culprit.

Where to switch it: Clash Verge Rev puts all three modes as a row of toggles at the top of the "Proxies" page on the left — one click takes effect instantly. Clash Plus has a mode selector right on the main screen. Clash Meta for Android shows the same toggle at the top of the main screen once you tap "Proxies" after starting a profile. All clients apply the change instantly, no restart needed.

Set the mode to Rule now — the verification steps ahead assume Rule mode. As for TUN mode, which you'll hear about often: it isn't a fourth routing mode, but a different way of intercepting all system traffic, useful for command-line tools and games but unnecessary for a first setup. Read the usage tips category in the Help Center to learn more, or the protocol deep dive to compare TUN support across cores.

Flipping a switch doesn't guarantee everything's right. Check the three items below in order — only if all three pass is the setup actually working.

1. A page loads. Open a browser and visit a site that normally doesn't load without the proxy. If it loads, the proxy chain is generally working. If not, don't panic yet — the next check will help narrow down where things break.
2. The connection log has entries. Back in the client, open the "Connections" panel (in the sidebar on Clash Verge Rev, in the main menu on Clash Meta for Android). The visit you just made should show up here: each entry lists the target domain, the rule it hit, and the node it actually used. If there's a matching entry with the node you picked, traffic really is flowing through the client. An empty panel means system traffic never got in — go back to step 3 and recheck the system proxy or VPN toggle.
3. Routing matches expectations. In Rule mode, visit a frequently used local site and check the connection log again — it should hit a direct-routing rule with DIRECT shown as the node. Foreign domains going through a node and local domains going direct means rule-based routing is fully working. For extra confidence, visit any IP-lookup page and confirm the reported exit location matches your selected node.

Pass all three checks and the first-time setup is done. From here on, day-to-day upkeep is just two actions: click update on the subscription page before it expires, and re-test latency to swap nodes when one slows down.