Free Clash nodes: importing them and what to check after

Assumes you already have nodes or a subscription — if not, start with where subscription links come from.

Pick a client

The Clash ecosystem now runs on the Mihomo core (formerly Clash.Meta). Original Clash is unmaintained; do not go looking for it.

I point people at Clash Verge Rev on desktop for one reason: the log window and the connection list are right there in the interface. When something breaks you can see what it is doing. That matters enormously the first few times.

Setup walkthrough: Clash Verge Rev setup.

Three ways to import

By subscription URL — do this one

1. Open the Profiles / Subscriptions page
2. Paste the URL
3. Import, wait for the fetch
4. Click the resulting card so it becomes the active profile

Step 4 is the one people miss. Imported is not the same as enabled.

By single node link

For a lone vmess:// or trojan://, copy it to the clipboard — most clients detect it and offer to import.

Note that a single node arrives as its own profile and will not merge with your existing subscription. Combining them means editing a config file or running the links through a subscription converter.

By local YAML file

Choose import-from-file. A Clash config looks roughly like this:

port: 7890
socks-port: 7891
mode: rule
log-level: info

proxies:
  - name: "JP-01"
    type: trojan
    server: example.com
    port: 443
    password: your-password
    sni: example.com
    udp: true

proxy-groups:
  - name: "Proxy"
    type: select
    proxies:
      - JP-01
      - DIRECT

rules:
  - GEOIP,CN,DIRECT
  - MATCH,Proxy

You do not need to understand this to use a subscription. If you want to edit it, the field reference is in the sing-box guide — the concepts map across.

Three things to check after importing

1. Mode is Rule

Not Global. Global sends local traffic abroad and back, and you will conclude the node is broken when it is your mode.

2. System proxy is on

Enough for browsers and most desktop applications. If a game, Steam, or a command-line tool ignores it, you need TUN mode — those programs do not read the system proxy setting.

TUN caveats are covered in Clash Verge Rev setup.

3. Latency tested, dead nodes removed

Use the group test button. Discard:

• Timeouts
• Anything over 800 ms
• Anything showing 0 ms — that is a fake result from an intercepted test endpoint

A free subscription of 100 usually leaves 20 to 30.

When the import fails

Step-by-step: No nodes after importing a subscription.

What free nodes are like in practice

Honestly, so you know what to expect:

• Node names oversell. "⚡Premium line 2x" is a label somebody typed.
• More than half will not connect. Normal. Test and prune.
• Half of the survivors are slow, especially in the evening.
• In a few days, the whole set is gone. Median lifespan in my tracking: six days.

Which is why you should set the refresh interval to 4–6 hours and let the client keep the list fresh for you.

If that maintenance rhythm wears you down, that is the signal to price out a paid subscription — mine refreshes once a day and I stopped thinking about it. Reasoning in Do free nodes actually save money?

Read next

• Clash Verge Rev setup
• Free V2Ray and vmess nodes
• How to actually test a free node
• No nodes after importing a subscription