Complete Clash Plus Guide

What Is Clash Plus?

Clash Plus is one of the most recommended Clash clients available today. It's built on the Mihomo (formerly Clash.Meta) core and supports every major proxy protocol, including Shadowsocks, VMess, Trojan, Hysteria2, TUIC, and VLESS Reality. Instead of hand-editing YAML configuration files, you get a clean, modern interface where most day-to-day tasks are just a few clicks away.

A few things set Clash Plus apart from other Clash clients. First, it's completely free across every platform, including iOS, unlike some competitors that charge for the Apple ecosystem. Second, it's actively maintained and tracks every update to the Mihomo core, so newer protocols like Hysteria2, TUIC v5, and VLESS Reality are well supported. Third, it ships with advanced features built in — TUN mode, Fake-IP DNS, and a web control panel — with no extra plugins or external tools required.

One important clarification: Clash Plus is a proxy client, not a server. It doesn't include any servers of its own — it just routes your traffic according to the rules in your configuration. The actual proxy servers come from whichever proxy provider you subscribe to. Before you can use Clash Plus, you'll need a Clash-format subscription link from that provider.

Download & Install

Head to the official download page to get the latest build for your platform. Installers are hosted directly on GitHub Releases, and every release includes a SHA256 checksum you can use to verify file integrity.

Windows

Download clash-plus-x64-setup.exe, double-click to run the installer, and click through with the default options. Windows SmartScreen may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning during installation — this just means the installer isn't signed with a paid Microsoft code-signing certificate, not that it's unsafe. Click "More info," then "Run anyway." Once installed, Clash Plus adds an icon to your system tray, where a right-click gives you quick access to switch nodes and proxy modes.

macOS

Pick the build that matches your Mac's chip: Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) needs arm64.dmg, while Intel Macs need x64.dmg. If you're not sure which one you have, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner and choose "About This Mac." Once downloaded, open the .dmg file and drag the Clash Plus icon into your Applications folder. On first launch, macOS Gatekeeper may say it "cannot verify the developer" — go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click "Open Anyway." If you see an "app is damaged" message instead, run xattr -cr /Applications/ClashPlus.app in Terminal to clear the quarantine flag, then try opening it again.

Android

Download the APK build that matches your phone's processor. Most phones from 2018 onward use arm64-v8a; older 32-bit devices need armeabi-v7a; x86 tablets or emulators need x86_64. Android will show an "unknown sources" warning during install — this is expected, just allow it. The exact wording varies slightly by manufacturer (Samsung, Google Pixel, and others each phrase it a little differently), but the "install anyway" option is always there. After installing, open Battery settings and set Clash Plus to "unrestricted" so the system doesn't kill the background process and drop your connection.

iOS / iPadOS

If Clash Plus isn't showing up in your region's App Store, you can download it using a US Apple ID instead. To do this: open the App Store → tap your profile icon in the top-right → scroll down and tap "Sign Out" → sign in with a US (or other region) Apple ID → search "Clash Plus" and tap "Get" (it's free). Once it's downloaded, you can safely switch back to your original Apple ID — already-installed apps aren't affected.

Import a Subscription

A subscription link is a URL starting with https:// that your proxy provider gives you. It bundles all of your account's node configurations, routing rules, and policy groups in one place. Open Clash Plus, go to the "Profiles" tab, tap the "+" button in the top-right corner, choose "Import from URL," paste in your subscription link, and confirm. Clash Plus will fetch and parse the config, and once it's loaded you can switch to the "Proxy" tab to see all your available nodes.

If the import fails or spins forever, there are usually two culprits. First, the subscription server might be unreachable without a proxy already active — try adding a single node manually first, connect through it, then import the full subscription. Second, the link format might not match — some providers hand out a generic Base64 subscription instead of a Clash-specific YAML one, so double check with your provider that you're using the "Clash subscription link," not a generic one.

Once the import succeeds, turn on auto-update right away: long-press the subscription entry (or tap its settings icon), find "Auto Update," and enable it — every 12 hours is a sensible interval. Providers rotate and update their nodes regularly, so auto-update keeps your node list current and prevents a stale config from leaving you with a pile of dead nodes.

Pick a Node & Connect

Open the "Proxy" tab and you'll see the policy group hierarchy your provider has set up. Typically there's a top-level group like "Proxy" or "Select Node," with regional sub-groups underneath (say, "Hong Kong," "Japan," or "US") plus an "Auto Select" group. The auto-select group periodically tests every node in the background and automatically switches to whichever has the lowest latency — this is the easiest option for everyday use.

If you'd rather pick manually, expand the relevant group and tap a node with low latency (shown in milliseconds — anything under 100ms is a good target). You can also tap the lightning-bolt icon next to a group name to trigger a fresh latency test before choosing.

Once you've picked a node, turning the proxy on works a bit differently by platform: on Windows and macOS, find the "System Proxy" toggle in the client and flip it on; on Android and iOS, tap the prominent "Connect" button on the main screen — the first time you do this, the system will ask for VPN permission, which you should allow. After connecting, try loading google.com to confirm everything's working.

Proxy Modes Explained

Clash offers three proxy modes, and understanding the difference clears up most of the confusion people run into:

Rule mode is what you should leave enabled day-to-day. Clash automatically decides how to handle each request based on the rule set in your subscription: everyday local traffic connects directly, sites and services that need a proxy get routed through one, and ad domains get blocked. In this mode, local sites load exactly as fast as they would without a proxy, while proxied sites and services stay smooth too.

Global mode routes absolutely everything through your proxy node — including everyday sites like your bank, local news, or streaming services you'd normally access directly. This is really only useful for briefly testing whether a specific node works. Leaving it on for extended periods noticeably slows down local traffic and burns through your data allowance fast. If your everyday browsing suddenly feels sluggish, 99% of the time it's because Global mode got switched on by accident.

Direct mode is the same as turning the proxy off entirely — every connection goes straight to its destination. It's handy when you want to briefly disable the proxy to test your raw network connection.

TUN Mode (Advanced)

System proxy settings only work if an app chooses to respect them — and plenty of things don't. Game clients (Steam, Epic), Windows UWP apps, and many command-line tools routinely bypass the system proxy and connect directly. TUN mode solves this at the root: it creates a virtual network adapter at the OS kernel level and intercepts every TCP and UDP packet leaving the device, no matter which app sent it or which networking library it used.

To enable it: on Windows, run Clash Plus as administrator and flip the toggle under Settings → TUN Mode — the first time you enable it, a virtual adapter driver gets installed; on macOS, the TUN option is also under Settings, and enabling it for the first time requires authorizing a system network extension with your admin password; on Android and iOS, tapping "Connect" already uses TUN (i.e., a VPN interface) by default, so there's nothing extra to configure.

Everyday Tips

Launch at startup: Turn on "Launch at Login" (macOS) or the equivalent startup option (Windows) in Clash Plus Settings, and it'll run in the background automatically every time you boot up. Combined with the auto-select policy group, your proxy is basically ready the moment your computer starts — no manual steps needed.

Quick node switching: On Windows and macOS, right-click the system tray icon to switch nodes directly from the menu without opening the main window. This is handy when a node suddenly slows down and you need to swap it out fast.

LAN sharing: If you have devices at home that are awkward to configure individually — a smart TV, game console, or an older tablet — you can enable "Allow LAN" under Clash Plus Settings, then point that device's Wi-Fi proxy settings at your computer's LAN IP and port (7890 by default) to borrow its connection.

iOS On Demand: Enable "On Demand" under Settings in the iOS app, and the proxy will activate automatically whenever your phone connects to the internet — it even stays active with the screen locked, so you never have to manually open the app and hit Connect again.

FAQ

For more, check out the full FAQ page, which covers 30+ questions in detail.