Rule, Global and Direct: the Three Clash Proxy Modes

Every Clash client exposes three modes: Rule, Global and Direct. Picking the wrong one is the number-one reason beginners feel “connected but broken”.

What each mode does

• Rule: routes intelligently — local sites go direct, blocked sites go through the proxy. Use this daily
• Global: everything goes through the proxy; local sites slow down. For special cases only
• Direct: nothing is proxied — effectively a temporary off switch

When to switch

If a foreign app is not being proxied under Rule mode (the rules missed it), flip to Global to verify. For domestic games or IP-sensitive sites, Direct is the safe choice.

Where rules come from

Provider subscriptions ship with a full rule set — import and go. Power users can write their own rules section in the mihomo config, using the GeoSite database for precise per-domain control.