Right after installing the client and importing a subscription, a row of unfamiliar panels can leave you unsure where to click first. In practice, mainstream Clash clients (whether Clash Plus, Clash Verge Rev, or FlClash) share nearly the same layout logic, built around three core areas: the proxy page for picking nodes and viewing groups, the profile manager for handling subscriptions and rules, and the log page for tracing requests and debugging. Once you understand what each of these three areas covers, you've basically mastered the client. This article breaks things down section by section, sticking to practical steps rather than jargon.
Proxy Page: Where to Find Nodes and Groups
The proxy page is usually the default screen when the client opens, or the sidebar entry with the most literal name (some call it "Proxies," others just "Proxy"). What's displayed here actually comes from the proxy-groups defined in the subscription profile — the client simply renders these groups as clickable cards; it doesn't generate nodes on its own.
Groups and Strategy Modes
Opening the proxy page reveals several group cards, commonly named things like "Select Node," "Auto," "Fallback," or "Ad Block" — the exact names depend entirely on how the subscription provider wrote the profile. Each group corresponds to a strategy type, with the common ones being:
- select: Manual selection — whichever node you click is the one used, with no automatic switching. Ideal when you already know which line you want.
- url-test: Automatic speed testing — the client probes latency across nodes in the group on a set interval and automatically picks the lowest-latency one.
- fallback: Failover — the client prefers the node listed first and only switches to the next one once the current node is detected as unavailable, prioritizing stability.
- load-balance: Load balancing — requests are distributed across multiple nodes according to rules, useful for heavier traffic scenarios.
Clicking a group card expands to show every node in that group, usually with a latency figure (in milliseconds) on the right. Clicking the speed-test icon or the latency number itself triggers an instant test. This latency figure reflects how well-connected and responsive that node is between it and your client — lower generally means a smoother path, though it isn't exactly the same as real download speed, a distinction that matters more when troubleshooting slow connections later.
Global Mode and Rule Mode
Near the top of the proxy page or in the sidebar there's usually a mode switch, typically offering "Rule," "Global," and "Direct" modes. In Rule mode, traffic is matched against the rules in the profile one by one, and each request follows whichever group or direct connection its matched rule specifies. In Global mode, all traffic goes through whichever single node you designate, ignoring the rules entirely — handy for quickly testing whether a specific node works. Direct mode bypasses the proxy completely, useful when you want to temporarily disable proxying without quitting the client. For everyday use, Rule mode is recommended, since it keeps sites that don't need proxying from being routed through a node, saving unnecessary latency.
Profile Manager: Adding and Updating Subscriptions
This page is usually labeled "Profiles" or "Subscriptions," and is where you manage subscription links and local config files. It works together with the proxy page — the groups shown there come from whichever profile is currently active here.
Adding and Switching Subscriptions
Adding a subscription usually means pasting the full URL provided by your subscription source into an input box. After confirming, the client requests that address and parses the returned YAML into nodes and rules. Once added successfully, a profile card appears in the list showing its name and last update time — some clients also display data usage and expiration date if the subscription link's response headers include that information. Multiple profiles can exist in the list at once, but only the one that's "enabled" or selected actually takes effect; the rest remain on standby, letting you switch between subscriptions quickly for comparison.
Manual and Automatic Updates
A profile isn't fixed forever once imported — subscription providers keep updating their node lists, so each profile card usually has a refresh icon for manually pulling the latest content. Most clients also let you set an independent auto-update interval per profile, such as refreshing every few hours automatically, so you don't have to click it every time. If the node list doesn't match what you expect, check the update time here first before deciding whether to refresh manually.
Local Editing and Rule Merging
Clicking a profile's edit icon usually opens a built-in YAML editor, letting you append rules or adjust groups on top of the original subscription content without needing an external text editor. This is handy for users who want custom routing rules — for example, sending a specific domain through a particular node — but it's worth backing up the original file before editing, since a formatting mistake can prevent the profile from loading.
YAML is sensitive to indentation and the space after colons — even one extra or missing space when editing rules manually can break parsing. After saving your changes, check the log page to see if a loading error shows up.
Log Page: Where Requests and Errors Show Up
The log page is the most frequently used area for troubleshooting, usually labeled "Logs" in the sidebar. It shows a live feed of records output by the Clash core (mihomo) as it processes each network request — including the target address, matched rule, chosen node, and any error messages.
Choosing a Log Level
The top of the log page usually has a level filter, with common options being Debug, Info, Warning, Error, and Silent. For everyday browsing, Info is enough — you can see which rule each request matched and which node it connected through. When you need to dig deeper into a connection failure, switch to Debug, which produces significantly more detail (and noise); remember to switch back afterward, since the constant refresh rate can slow down how easily you can read the log. Silent produces almost no output, useful when you don't want the log flooding your screen for a while.
Common Log Fields Explained
The fields that show up repeatedly in logs generally fall into these categories:
- Target: Shows the domain or IP being accessed, along with the port, making it easy to confirm which app or site the request came from.
- Matched rule: Shows which rule in the profile this request matched — whether by domain, IP range, or the default catch-all rule.
- Node used: Shows which node in which group ultimately handled this request, or marks it as direct if no proxy was used.
- Duration or status: Some clients show how long the connection took to establish or why it failed — an important clue for pinpointing where a slowdown is happening.
If terms like "connection refused" or "resolve timeout" show up repeatedly in the log, the issue usually lies with the node itself or the cross-border route, not a misconfiguration on your end. If the error appears during the config-loading stage instead, it's most likely a YAML formatting issue — go back to the profile manager and review your recent edit.
Connections Page (If the Client Offers One)
Some clients split "active connections" into a separate page alongside the log page, showing every connection currently in progress along with its data usage and how long it's been alive, plus the option to manually close a stuck connection. This page is better suited for observing which apps are holding the most connections open over a long session — a slightly different view than the historical record on the log page — but the two are often used together to pin down exactly which process or domain is causing trouble.
Other Sidebar Entries: Settings and Status at a Glance
Beyond the three core pages above, the sidebar usually also has entries like "Settings," "Overview," or "Dashboard," which show the current system proxy status, the TUN mode toggle, the mixed port number, and other basic info. TUN mode intercepts traffic at the system network layer, so you no longer need to configure each app's proxy settings individually — it covers more programs that don't natively support proxy configuration, but since it operates closer to the system level, it's worth confirming the mixed port and LAN connection options in Settings before turning it on. The settings page usually also holds preferences like launch-on-startup, theme appearance, and update checks — things you set once and rarely touch again, so beginners can skip past them for now and come back once they're comfortable with day-to-day use.
You don't need to memorize every feature entry right away. Start by getting comfortable with the three most-used areas — picking nodes on the proxy page, managing subscriptions on the profile page, and checking errors on the log page — and look up specific settings only when a concrete issue comes up. It's a faster way to get up to speed.
Common Interface Questions
A few sticking points beginners often run into while exploring the interface:
- The node list on the proxy page is empty? Check the profile manager first to confirm a subscription was added successfully and is enabled — an empty list usually means the profile hasn't been imported yet or isn't currently selected.
- Sites still won't load after switching groups? Confirm you're in Rule mode rather than Direct mode, then check the log page to see exactly which rule the request matched and which node it went through, narrowing things down step by step.
- The log refreshes too fast to read? Try lowering the log level, or focus on watching it right at the moment you reproduce the issue — there's no need to keep staring at it otherwise.
Once you understand what each of these areas is responsible for, switching to a new client with a different layout becomes much easier — you'll know where to look instead of starting from scratch every time.