v2rayN setup on Windows: import, route, troubleshoot

v2rayN is the long-standing Windows client. Lighter than the Clash family, with more direct control over the core.

When to choose it

I keep both. Clash Verge Rev day to day, v2rayN when debugging node parameters — it exposes the per-node fields more completely, which makes them easier to correct.

Clash side: Clash Verge Rev setup.

Step 1: download

From the official v2rayN GitHub Releases page.

Extract it to a permanent folder. It writes its configuration alongside the executable, so moving it later loses your setup. Mine lives in D:\Tools\v2rayN\.

Step 2: add a subscription

1. Menu → Subscriptions → Subscription settings
2. Add
3. Remarks: any name
4. URL: your subscription link
5. Confirm
6. Menu → Subscriptions → Update subscriptions (without proxy)

The server list should fill.

Step 3: test and select

1. Select all servers (Ctrl+A)
2. Right-click → Test servers real delay

The distinction matters:

Sort by delay, double-click one to make it active.

Discard timeouts, anything over 800 ms, and anything obviously wrong. Latency is only step one — full method in How to actually test a free node.

Step 4: system proxy

From the tray icon or the menu:

Step 5: routing

Menu → Settings → Routing settings.

v2rayN ships presets. Use the "bypass mainland" style preset — local traffic direct, foreign traffic proxied.

Global routing sends local requests abroad and back, which is slow for no reason.

Programs that ignore the system proxy

Same problem as every other client: games, Steam, Docker, Git and many command-line tools do not read the system proxy setting and go straight out the physical adapter.

Option 1: TUN mode

Recent v2rayN builds include it. It captures everything at the adapter level.

Caveats match the Clash side: administrator rights, possible antivirus conflicts, occasional route conflicts on machines with virtualisation installed.

Option 2: per-tool proxy settings

# Git
git config --global http.proxy http://127.0.0.1:10809
git config --global https.proxy http://127.0.0.1:10809

# npm
npm config set proxy http://127.0.0.1:10809

# Temporary, PowerShell
$env:HTTP_PROXY="http://127.0.0.1:10809"
$env:HTTPS_PROXY="http://127.0.0.1:10809"

Mind the port. v2rayN defaults to 10809 for HTTP and 10808 for SOCKS — different from Clash's 7890. Both are visible and editable under Settings → Parameter settings.

Common problems

Greyed-out nodes

Grey means untested or failed. Right-click → test real delay.

If everything fails:

1. You may have no route out at all
2. The subscription may be entirely dead → update it
3. The core may not have started → View → View service log

Port already in use

Settings → Parameter settings → change the SOCKS and HTTP ports (20808/20809, say).

Update any other software where you entered the old port.

Hysteria2 will not connect

Check two things:

1. The build is recent enough to support it
2. The sing-box core is enabled in core settings

Hysteria2 runs over QUIC/UDP, and some networks restrict UDP entirely. If that is your situation, use a TCP-based protocol instead — see SS vs VMess vs Trojan vs Hysteria2.

Config changes not taking effect

v2rayN needs the core restarted. There is a Restart service menu item.

Where the logs are

View → View service log. Start here when something breaks — the answer is usually in it.

For more detail, set the log level to debug under Parameter settings.

Read next

• Clash Verge Rev setup
• Free V2Ray nodes: decoding a vmess link
• Connected but nothing loads
• No nodes after importing a subscription