Shadowrocket Subscription Setup: Subscribe, Add Server, QR Codes, and Clipboard

Tell subscriptions, single servers, and configuration files apart

A subscription is usually a URL that can be refreshed. The app requests that address to retrieve a server list. A single-server URI encodes one server’s protocol and connection parameters in a text string, and usually adds just one entry. Either type may be shared by QR code or clipboard, so scanning or copying describes the input method, not the content type.

Config manages configuration files, Home shows servers and subscription groups, and Settings manages app preferences. A remote configuration file may also use an HTTPS address, but its contents are settings such as rules, DNS, and policies. Don’t treat it as a server subscription just because it looks like a URL.

When you receive a link, check the provider’s description of its content first. If you only have a webpage, find the address or server parameters explicitly identified as the subscription details. Don’t paste a login, order, or information page into Subscribe. Avoid testing private links that contain tokens with public online conversion tools.

Subscribe: Add an updatable server list

To add a server subscription, open Add Server from the “+” in the top-right corner of Home, then select Subscribe under Type. Note the distinction if you’re looking for “Subscribe in Config”: remote configuration actions in Config and server subscriptions in Home are different things. If you see Subscribe, check which page you’re on and what you’re adding. Don’t use a remote configuration URL in place of a server subscription URL, or vice versa.

1. Check the content

   Have your own subscription URL ready. Make sure it includes the complete scheme, path, and query parameters, without quotation marks, line breaks, or explanatory text from a chat message.

2. Open the import option

   Go to Home → “+” in the top-right corner → Add Server → Type → Subscribe. Make sure you’re adding a server subscription, not a remote rules configuration in Config.

3. Paste the address

   Enter the complete address in URL. Use the name or notes field only to identify the group; don’t use the full subscription URL as a public note.

4. Save and refresh

   After saving, return to Home and check for the subscription group and its server entries. If no list appears, refresh the subscription and check the result.

5. Check the result

   Expand the group and check that its name, protocols, and entry count match the information you have. If the group is empty, investigate the request or format first; don’t repeatedly add the same address.

Getting the list after saving and refreshing it later both depend on the subscription URL being reachable and returning compatible content. If the group already exists, refresh it instead of importing the same address again. Duplicate imports can create groups with similar names and make it easier to select the wrong entry.

Add Server: Enter one server manually

If you only have fields such as a server address, port, password, or UUID, enter them manually using Home → “+” → Add Server. Choose the actual protocol under Type; having a domain name alone doesn’t mean you should select Subscribe. Shadowsocks, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, Hysteria2, and WireGuard use different fields, so don’t apply the same parameter list to all of them.

Port 443 is just one commonly used service port, not a universal answer. Check your existing configuration to see whether TLS is enabled, what to enter for the server name, and whether a transport such as WebSocket is used. WireGuard also has protocol-specific parameters, including keys, addresses, and peers; don’t infer them from a standard proxy password field.

• Record where the original parameters came from before entering them. Check the documentation for any field you don’t recognize instead of guessing at combinations.
• Change one field at a time and keep the original value so you can identify which change affected the connection.
• If the server came from a subscription, check its parameters there first. A standalone entry copied manually should not be expected to update when the original subscription changes.

QR code and clipboard: Choose what to do based on the content

Open the scanner from the scan icon on Home. If you use the camera, grant permission when prompted by the system. A QR code may contain a single-server URI, a subscription URL, or an ordinary webpage address. Review the detected content and confirmation screen before saving; detecting a QR code does not mean a server has been added.

If the QR code is saved on this device and the scanner offers an option to read from Photos, select the original image. Otherwise, use the text link provided with the content. Cropping, resizing, or compressing an image can prevent scanning. Don’t try to work around this by submitting a private link to a public webpage that re-encodes it.

No clipboard prompt doesn’t necessarily mean the format is wrong; it may be related to system paste permissions or the current screen. First confirm that you copied the complete original text. Don’t paste a single-server URI into the URL field under Subscribe. Use an import option that recognizes the URI, or enter its complete known parameters manually.

Choose between Subscribe and a standalone server entry

Choose based on whether you need to maintain a server list from its original URL, not on which method takes fewer steps. If you already have a working subscription, keeping it as a subscription makes future updates easier. If you have parameters for just one fixed server, a standalone entry is more direct. The comparison below covers the two ways Shadowrocket saves server information.

If the same server appears in both a subscription group and a standalone list, these are two separate saved items. Don’t assume that changing one will update the other. Before removing a duplicate, check which entry is selected and keep the original information in case you need to restore it.

After importing: Check the list, then test the connection

A complete check has three stages: saving, retrieving, and connecting. If saving fails, check the input. If fetching a subscription fails, check the URL and response. If the list is present but webpages won’t load, check the server parameters, routing mode, and DNS. Don’t keep deleting and re-adding the subscription when the problem occurs at the third stage.

1. Check the Home list. The subscription group is not empty, the intended server can be selected, and its protocol is as expected. A latency test result does not mean every website will be accessible.
2. Check Global Routing. Proxy uses the proxy route, Direct connects directly, Config applies the current configuration, and Scene applies the configured scene. Choose the mode that matches your test destination; don’t rely on the connection toggle alone.
3. Check system authorization. The first time you enable a connection, follow the system prompts to add a VPN configuration. Once authorized, check the connection status and request behavior.
4. Check Config. In Config mode, confirm which configuration is active. Rules such as DOMAIN-SUFFIX, GEOIP, and IP-CIDR determine matching conditions; FINAL handles requests that didn’t match earlier rules. Importing a server subscription doesn’t configure these rules.
5. Pause automatic connection. Settings → On Demand controls the conditions for connecting on demand; it can’t fix incorrect credentials or an invalid link. Verify a manual connection first, then adjust the automatic connection settings.

Common import problems and what to check first