How to import a subscription URL, with auto-update and multiple profiles

Install Clash Verge and there are no nodes anywhere. That is normal. It is an empty client, and the nodes come from a subscription.

Here is the whole subject: how to import one, how to keep it updated, how to manage several, and what to check when it will not go in.

What a subscription URL actually is

It is an ordinary HTTPS address. Visiting it returns a YAML config containing:

proxies:            # the node list
  - name: "HK 01"
    type: trojan
    server: hk01.example.com
    port: 443
proxy-groups:       # selection strategy
  - name: "PROXY"
    type: select
    proxies: ["AUTO", "HK 01"]
rules:              # routing rules
  - DOMAIN-SUFFIX,google.com,PROXY
  - GEOIP,CN,DIRECT
  - MATCH,PROXY

The client downloads that file, hands it to the core, and you have nodes. Which means the subscription URL is effectively an account credential — anyone who has it can use your data.

The import steps

1. Open Clash Verge, click Profiles on the left
2. Paste the subscription URL into the box at the top
3. Click Import
4. When the card appears, click it so it highlights

Signs it worked: the card shows the subscription name, usage (something like 12.4 GB / 100 GB) and an expiry date; the Proxies page on the left lists nodes.

Setting up auto-update

Hover over the profile card, click the ⋯ in the corner → Edit, and you will find the update interval.

Setting it to a few minutes achieves nothing, adds load to the provider's endpoint, and some providers will rate-limit you for it.

Managing several subscriptions

Clash Verge can hold several profiles at once; the cards sit side by side and you click to switch. Common patterns:

To add a local config: there is a "New" button at the top of the Profiles page for creating a blank profile to edit by hand, or you can drag a YAML file onto the window to import it.

Six reasons an import fails

In order of how often they happen.

1. The URL was truncated

Copying long links out of a messaging app frequently cuts the end off. Copy it again from the provider's site, ideally with their "copy subscription link" button rather than by hand.

2. It is not a Clash-format subscription

Some providers hand out a v2rayN base64 subscription by default (a long dm1lc3M6Ly... string). Clash Verge cannot read that. Look for the Clash or Clash.Meta link in the dashboard — often the same address with something like ?flag=clash appended.

3. Your network cannot reach the subscription host

It spins and then times out. Turn on "update subscription through proxy", or switch networks (a phone hotspot works) and import once.

4. The provider filters by User-Agent

A few providers return different formats depending on the client UA. In the profile editor you can set a custom User-Agent; clash-verge/v2.5.2 or ClashforWindows/0.19.23 normally get through.

5. The config contains fields the core does not know

Import "succeeds" but the node list is empty, and the log shows an unmarshal error. Usually the subscription uses a protocol or field newer than your core. Updating the Mihomo core in settings normally fixes it.

6. The subscription has expired or run out of data

Providers typically return an empty config or an error page. Check the usage and expiry on the card — or just open the subscription URL in a browser and see what comes back.

One useful trick: read the subscription directly

Profile card ⋯ → Open File opens that YAML in your default editor.

Two situations where this pays off:

• You want to know whether a given site is treated as direct or proxied — search the rules: section
• You want to change a rule temporarily to test something — edit, save, then click the card in Clash Verge to reload

Note that edits to the local file will be overwritten on the next auto-update. For changes that should persist, use the extended-config / Merge feature instead, which is covered in the advanced articles.

In short

Three things to remember about subscriptions: the URL must be complete, the format must be Clash, and the card must be selected. Almost everything else can be diagnosed by opening the subscription URL in a browser and looking at what comes back.

Related: six settings on first launch, the three proxy modes.