Shadowrocket Subscription Setup: Subscribe, Add Server, QR Code & Clipboard

1. Identify the content: a subscription link is not a configuration file

In Shadowrocket, Home manages servers and connections, Config manages rule configurations, and Settings controls app behavior. The same HTTPS address can return very different content: a server subscription provides connection entries, while a remote configuration may contain DNS, rules, and policies. Before choosing an import method, check how your provider describes the link; its appearance alone is not enough to identify it.

Scanning a QR code or using the clipboard is only a way to provide the content; it does not determine what kind of content it is. A QR code could contain a single server link or a subscription URL. Copied text could also be an account-management webpage. The https://example.com/sub?token=xxxx URL used here is deliberately fictitious and only illustrates the URL structure; it cannot be used to connect.

2. Config → Subscribe: identify the subscription type first

Before using Subscribe in Config, confirm that you are adding a configuration subscription—not a server list for Home. Both configuration files and server subscriptions can be maintained through remote URLs, but they are different objects. If your provider explicitly identifies the link as a server subscription, go to Home → “+” in the upper-right corner → Add Server, then set Type to Subscribe.

1. Confirm what the link is for

   Check the provider’s original instructions to see whether the URL is for a remote configuration or a server subscription. Get the URL from your provider; do not substitute an unfamiliar link found in search results.

2. Open Config

   Go to Config → Subscribe and check the configuration source you plan to add. If your URL only provides a server list, return to Home and add it using the Subscribe type.

3. Review the configuration

   After retrieving a remote configuration, check its DNS, rules, and policy references before deciding whether to enable it. A file appearing in the Config list does not mean it is now the active configuration.

4. Confirm the selection

   To route traffic by rules, go to Home → Global Routing, select Config, and confirm that the expected file is active on the Config page.

For example, DOMAIN-SUFFIX,example.com,DIRECT sends the matching domain suffix to DIRECT; it is not a server address. Even if a configuration’s rules load correctly, they cannot replace the address, port, and authentication details a server requires. If the server list is empty, switching rule files repeatedly will not create server entries.

3. Add Server: add a subscription or enter a server manually

Add Server can add a server subscription or let you enter one server manually. The key difference is Type: choose Subscribe and enter the subscription URL, or choose a specific protocol and enter that server’s connection details. Do not paste a full subscription URL into a single server’s Address field.

1. Open Add Server

   Go to Home and tap “+” in the upper-right corner to open Add Server. Choose Type before filling in the other fields to avoid entering details under the wrong type.

2. Choose a type

   For a server subscription, choose Subscribe. If you only have details for a single server, choose the matching type specified by your provider, such as Shadowsocks, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, Hysteria2, or WireGuard.

3. Enter the details

   For Subscribe, enter the full URL, such as the example address https://example.com/sub?token=xxxx. For a manually added server, enter Address, Port, and the required authentication details in their respective fields. A webpage URL cannot replace the server address.

4. Save and verify

   Save, return to Home, and check that the subscription group or server entry appears. If the subscription has not populated with servers, update it and check the result instead of immediately adding it again.

Use the port number specified by your provider. For example, if the details specify Port 443, enter 443; do not assume every server uses that port just because the subscription URL starts with HTTPS. Authentication methods also differ: UUIDs, passwords, and public keys are not interchangeable. Check TLS, transport settings, and server name against the original details, one field at a time.

• The ?token=xxxx in a subscription URL illustrates a query parameter. When copying the real URL, keep the entire parameter intact.
• Before saving, remove any leading or trailing spaces, Chinese punctuation added by a messaging app, and unintended line breaks.
• Give the subscription a recognizable label so you can identify its source when updating it, but do not put authentication keys in the label.

4. Scan a QR code: identify the content before confirming

Use the QR code option in Home to scan a code provided by your service provider. Allow camera access when prompted the first time. If the QR code is on the same device’s screen, you do not need to rewrite the URL to scan it; use the original link via the clipboard or add it manually instead.

1. Prepare the QR code

   Make sure the entire QR code is visible, including its edges. Do not post a code containing personal authentication details publicly or use an edited image that obscures important areas.

2. Scan the code

   Open the QR scanner in Home and position the code within the scanning area. If the camera view is blank, go to system Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and check Shadowrocket’s camera permission.

3. Check the result

   After scanning, check the type and fields shown in the app. A single-server link should produce the corresponding server details; a subscription URL should be handled as Subscribe.

4. Check what was added

   Return to Home and confirm the new content. If only one server appears, first check whether the QR code contained just one link; do not assume the subscription is missing.

A successful scan only means the QR code was read; it does not mean the remote subscription was fetched successfully. If the code contains an account-management webpage, reading its HTTPS URL will not turn it into a usable server list. Go back to the provider’s subscription page and get content specifically intended for importing into a client.

5. Import from the clipboard: copy the original link, not the entire message

Clipboard import is useful when switching between a browser and Shadowrocket on the same iPhone or iPad. Copy the full subscription URL or single-server link, then return to Shadowrocket. If the app prompts you to read or import the content, check it before confirming. If the system asks whether to allow pasting, choose according to your needs for this import.

• Copy only the link: Do not include “Tap to import,” a list number, quotation marks, or explanatory text.
• Check the protocol prefix: ss://, vmess://, vless://, trojan://, and a regular HTTPS subscription URL are different types of content.
• No prompt appears: For an HTTPS server subscription, go to Home → Add Server → Type → Subscribe and paste the URL into the URL field.
• Do not edit the encoding: Percent-encoded characters and long authentication strings may be essential. Do not delete them just to shorten the link.

For example, if you copy a single link that starts with trojan://, importing it as one entry is expected for that content type. A subscription URL, on the other hand, requires the app to access a remote address to retrieve the list. These involve different network requests, so clipboard content alone does not tell you whether the subscription server is reachable.

6. After importing: update and verify three separate results

After importing, check three things in order: saved locally, updated remotely, and connected successfully. A successful local save means the record was stored in the app. A successful remote update means a subscription response was retrieved. A successful connection also depends on the server details, network reachability, and current routing settings.

1. In Home, check the subscription group name and server entries. If there are no entries, update the subscription and read the error message. If old entries are present, do not delete the entire subscription first.
2. Before updating, check whether the current network can reach the subscription URL. If the app offers an option to update through a proxy, enable it only when you already have a working connection. You cannot rely on a server you have not retrieved yet to fetch the subscription for the first time.
3. After updating, check which server is selected. The list may have changed, and a previously selected entry may have been replaced or removed.
4. Select a server and turn on the connection switch. The first time you connect, follow the system prompt to allow adding a VPN configuration, then use Connectivity Test to check the connection.
5. Check Home → Global Routing. Config evaluates traffic using the active configuration; Proxy and Direct apply a consistent routing choice; Scene organizes behavior according to the selected scenario and is not another subscription format.

A successful Connectivity Test does not prove that every website is reachable. If the test succeeds but a particular site does not load, check DNS and rule matching instead of repeatedly importing the same subscription. Settings → On Demand manages conditions for on-demand connections; it does not fix a subscription URL or fill in missing authentication details.

7. Common questions about importing subscriptions