Clash Beginner FAQ: Subscriptions, Nodes, and Mode Selection Explained

Question 1: Where do subscription links come from? The client itself doesn't provide nodes

The Clash client is purely a traffic-forwarding and rule-dispatching program — it doesn't contain any proxy nodes on its own. All node information comes from a "subscription link," which connects to the backend of a proxy service provider that's responsible for building, maintaining, and billing for those nodes. The client and the subscription content are two completely separate things: downloading the Clash client is free, while subscribing to nodes usually requires paying the provider or signing up for a trial.

Once you have a subscription link, the workflow is always the same: open the client → find the "Subscription" or "Profile" management page → paste the link and trigger an update → the client automatically downloads the config file and parses out the node list. If the link itself is valid but the client says it can't parse it, the issue is usually an unsupported link format or a failure to reach the server hosting that link — try opening the link directly in a browser first to confirm whether the content loads at all.

Question 2: Rule mode, Global mode, or Direct mode — which one should I use?

Clash's core operating modes generally break down into three, and the choice depends on "which traffic you want routed through the proxy":

1. Rule mode: Traffic is matched against the rules in your config file one by one; matches go to proxy or direct connection, and anything unmatched falls back to the MATCH catch-all rule. This is the default choice for the vast majority of use cases — it keeps browsing speed intact while giving you precise control over where traffic goes.
2. Global mode: All traffic is forced through the same proxy node, ignoring the rule file entirely. This is useful for temporarily checking "is a rule misconfigured?" or for edge cases where you genuinely need to route everything through a single exit. Using it long-term will make local/domestic site access take unnecessary detours and feel noticeably slower.
3. Direct mode: All traffic bypasses the proxy entirely, effectively turning the proxy off temporarily. This is useful for quickly checking whether the proxy is causing some unrelated issue.

For day-to-day use, stick with Rule mode. Only switch to Global or Direct temporarily while diagnosing a problem, then switch back once you've confirmed the cause.

Question 3: Every node shows a timeout or N/A latency — what now?

Node latency test failures are usually best diagnosed in this order:

• Check whether your subscription has expired or run out of data: most providers disable every single node once your plan expires or your data allowance is used up — this is by far the most common cause, and has nothing to do with client settings.
• Confirm your local network is working at all: disconnect the proxy and try loading an ordinary website directly to confirm there's no issue with your own connection.
• Manually trigger a latency test: latency figures in the client aren't refreshed in real time — you often need to click the test button manually, since the default latency shown right after loading a subscription may not have been updated yet.
• Try a different test URL: some clients let you customize the target URL used for latency testing. If the default test URL is temporarily blocked, every node will appear to time out — switching test URLs often fixes this instantly.
• Check your system clock: some proxy protocols require accurate system time; a large clock offset can cause handshake failures that look like widespread timeouts.

If only one node times out while the others work fine, that specific server is very likely having issues on its end — contact your subscription provider or switch to a different node. No client-side changes are needed.

Question 4: Should I enable TUN mode, and what if I lose internet access after turning it on?

TUN mode creates a virtual network adapter at the system level and takes over all traffic directly at the network layer, without relying on individual apps to respect the system proxy settings — it covers programs and background services that system proxy mode can't reach. For everyday browsing, video streaming, and most apps, system proxy mode is already sufficient; TUN is worth considering only when you notice specific apps (especially ones that don't honor system proxy settings) consistently bypassing the proxy.

If enabling TUN leaves you with no internet access at all, the usual culprits are:

1. The system hasn't granted the virtual adapter driver permission — both Windows and macOS require a one-time admin authorization or driver installation prompt, and declining or skipping it will leave the adapter non-functional.
2. DNS hijacking settings conflict with TUN mode, especially when another proxy tool or a system-level VPN is running at the same time — both fighting over the virtual adapter can scramble the routing table.
3. The DNS section of your config file is incomplete; if fake-ip mode is missing required fields, domain resolution can fail entirely, which looks like your connection is "online" but no site will actually load.

When you run into trouble, first disable TUN mode and fall back to system proxy mode to confirm things return to normal, then check driver authorization and DNS configuration specifically.

Question 5: What's the relationship between Clash and Clash Meta / mihomo — which should I choose?

The original Clash project has stopped receiving updates, and ongoing feature development is now carried forward mainly by community forks, the most active of which was Clash Meta — later renamed mihomo. Most mainstream GUI clients today (such as Clash Verge Rev and other alternatives to the discontinued Clash for Windows) have already swapped their underlying core for mihomo, which offers broader protocol support and an extended rule syntax on top of the original.

Beginners don't need to install a core separately — just pick a GUI client that's still actively maintained, and its bundled core version will be upgraded automatically along with client updates. When choosing a client, prioritize two things: whether it's still under active maintenance, and whether its interface supports your platform's OS version.

Question 6: What happens if a rule in the config file is written incorrectly?

The order in which rules are written determines matching priority — Clash matches rules from top to bottom and stops at the first hit, without checking any rules below it. Common mistakes include placing an overly broad rule above a more specific one, which means the specific rule will never actually get matched, or forgetting to place a MATCH catch-all at the end of the rule list, which leaves the behavior of unmatched traffic undefined.

As for rule types: DOMAIN-SUFFIX matches by domain suffix, GEOIP matches by the region an IP belongs to, RULE-SET references an external rule collection, and MATCH must always be the last line as the catch-all. For everyday use, just stick with the rule file your subscription provides — you only need to manually add or remove rules when you want custom routing, such as forcing a specific site to connect directly.

Question 7: Can I use the same subscription on both my phone and computer?

Yes. A subscription link is essentially a repeatable URL that isn't restricted to a single device — the same subscription link can be pasted into the Clash client on both your phone and your computer, each updating and running independently without interfering with the other. Whether you can actually use the proxy service simultaneously on multiple devices depends on your subscription provider's plan terms regarding concurrent device limits — that has nothing to do with the Clash client itself, so check your provider's documentation.

For multi-device setups, it's a good idea to keep the client version reasonably up to date on each device, to avoid version differences causing inconsistent parsing of the same subscription config.

Question 8: The proxy is on but some sites still won't load — where's the problem?

Work through the following checks in order:

• Check whether the site is being routed to Direct by a rule: if your config classifies that site under a "Direct" group, having the proxy enabled won't do anything — check whether the rule classification matches what you expect.
• Confirm the currently selected node is actually working: even if overall latency tests look fine, an individual node can still misbehave for a specific site — try switching to another node in the same group.
• Clear your browser cache or test in a different browser: some connection failures are caused by the browser caching an earlier failed DNS result, unrelated to the proxy itself.
• Check whether the site itself has regional access restrictions: a small number of sites apply extra checks against IP ranges from specific regions — switching to a node in a different region may resolve it.

Question 9: Should I enable launch-on-startup and automatic subscription updates?

Launch-on-startup mostly affects convenience and doesn't change any core functionality, so it's really a matter of personal preference. If you use the client frequently, enabling auto-start saves you from manually opening it every time; if you'd rather avoid background programs running persistently, it's fine to leave it off by default and start it manually when needed.

Automatic subscription updates are worth enabling, along with a reasonable update interval (most clients support setting this by the hour or by the day). Subscription content changes as your provider updates their nodes, and going too long without an update can leave stale, already-offline nodes in your list, which hurts the overall experience.

Question 10: What does a complete setup process look like for a first-time user?

1. Confirm which OS platform you're on and download the matching installer, then complete installation.
2. Have a valid subscription link ready, and paste it into the client's subscription management page, then trigger an update.
3. Once the update finishes, open the node list and manually trigger a latency test to check whether the numbers look normal.
4. Confirm the running mode is set to Rule mode (most clients default to this already).
5. Enable the system proxy (some clients require manually toggling this on), then open a browser to verify you can reach external sites normally.
6. If you notice certain apps consistently aren't going through the proxy during regular use, consider evaluating whether you need TUN mode.

With these six steps done, basic day-to-day use should run reliably. Later on, if you need finer control over how traffic is routed, you can gradually dig into rule syntax and custom configuration.