Clash for Windows (often abbreviated CFW) is a graphical proxy client for Windows, macOS and Linux. It does not provide proxying by itself - instead it wraps the open-source Clash core in an easy-to-use interface: the core forwards traffic and matches rules, while the client manages profiles and displays connections and logs.
What it can do
- Rule-based routing: assign traffic to different outbounds by domain, IP, geolocation (GeoIP) or process name. The typical setup connects domestic sites directly and routes international sites through a proxy.
- Node management: import a node list from your provider's subscription URL, then pick nodes manually or automatically by latency.
- System-level capture: route traffic from your browser - or every program - through Clash via the system proxy or a TUN virtual adapter.
Core concepts
| Concept | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Core | The command-line program that actually handles traffic. CFW bundles the Clash Premium core with TUN, rule providers and other extras. |
| Profile | A YAML file containing nodes, proxy groups and rules. A subscription URL downloads exactly such a file. |
| Proxy (node) | A remote proxy server speaking Shadowsocks, VMess, Trojan or another protocol. |
| Proxy group | A strategy unit organizing several nodes, e.g. "manual select" or "fastest by latency". |
| Rule | A condition deciding which outbound a connection takes, matched top to bottom. |
How a request flows
- A program makes a request; it enters the Clash core via the system proxy (or the TUN adapter), which listens on
127.0.0.1:7890by default. - The core reads the destination and matches it against the profile's rules from top to bottom.
- Connections hitting
DIRECTgo out unchanged; connections hitting a proxy group are encrypted and forwarded to the chosen node; connections hittingREJECTare blocked.
Note: Clash for Windows is only a client. You need working proxy servers (self-hosted or a paid subscription) to use it. The original developer stopped updating in November 2023; the final version is 0.20.39, which still works normally today.
With these concepts in place, read Download and Install and Importing a Subscription next - initial setup takes about ten minutes.