Claude.ai and Claude Desktop Behind Clash Verge: Three Doors, Three Proxy Paths

Claude has at least three doors: the Claude.ai site, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code in a terminal. Clash Verge Rev does not treat them as one switch. A site that will not load is usually system proxy, DNS, or node region. Desktop stuck on Connecting usually means the process ignores system proxy and needs Tun. A CLI timeout is a different article. Mixing all three into "Claude is down" wastes the afternoon on the wrong toggle.

This page covers the site and the desktop app. Claude Code lives in the CLI proxy guide. Codex in the editor is VS Code / ChatGPT Codex. Installers: download center.

Three entrypoints, three traffic paths

Clash Verge system proxy mainly moves programs that honor OS proxy settings. Chrome, Edge, and Safari usually do, so Claude.ai often starts working once the proxy is on. Claude Desktop is its own process—closer to an Electron app that ignores the OS proxy. You can chat in the browser and still sit on Connecting in Desktop. Claude Code runs in a shell; a healthy Desktop session does not imply a healthy CLI.

Rule of thumb: accept one door at a time. A green Claude.ai tab tells you nothing about Desktop, and a working Desktop tells you nothing about the terminal. Confirm each on its own before declaring victory. Tun overview: AI tools and Tun. Tun itself: Tun mode. If Tun will not start on Windows, install Service Mode, then read Tun start failed.

Get Claude.ai stable in the browser first

The cheapest test is the website. Clash Verge running, a live node, Rule mode (not Global on the first try), system proxy on, then open Claude.ai. A login or chat page means the browser path works. Spinners, timeouts, or certificate errors: look at the connections list. No row means traffic never entered Clash. A row that still fails is node or DNS, not another proxy toggle.

1. Match the mixed port to the Settings UI. A second client stealing the port is common (7890/7897).
2. Open one known-overseas site on the same node so you are not debugging a dead subscription.
3. If Claude.ai still fails, try two or three regions and watch the connections status. Do not spray ten nodes.
4. DNS suspects: DNS setup. Other sites work, this one does not: proxy on, site dead.
5. Open an incognito window once to rule out a browser extension intercepting the request.

Anthropic cares about egress region. Low latency does not mean accepted. Airport choice: choosing a provider; latency: node tests. When the site works, leave Rule alone and move to Desktop. Do not flip Global "just in case." If the system-proxy LED lies, see system proxy not working.

Claude Desktop can fail after the site works

If Desktop ignores system proxy, a healthy browser session proves almost nothing. Desktop is an Electron process, and Electron does not automatically inherit the OS proxy the way a browser tab does. On Windows, install Service Mode, then Tun. On macOS, approve the virtual adapter. On Linux, check kernel network capability. Fully quit Desktop after Tun comes up; a leftover process keeps the old "direct failed" state.

Accept on one signal: log in or send the shortest message, and the connections list shows claude.ai or anthropic hosts. No row: Tun did not catch the process—corporate VPN, leftover TAP, or AV blocking the adapter. A row that still Connecting: try region, or check Anthropic status. Do not run Tun plus system proxy as a double lock without reading the list.

Locked-down laptops may never get Desktop. If the website works, treat it as production. Core-communication banners: core errors, not three Desktop reinstalls.

Signed in but models unavailable

Spinners and timeouts are a path problem until proven otherwise. Signed in with a region banner, empty model list, or an instant fail while connections already show 2xx/4xx is egress or account policy. Fix path issues with node, DNS, Tun. For region banners, try a couple of nodes then stop rewriting Clash rules.

Shared egress IPs get Anthropic risk scores that look like "every node fails the same way." That is provider quality, not a missed checkbox. Pair this with the ChatGPT split in ChatGPT access: site up, API down is a different layer than proxy-off.

DIRECT rules that steal claude.ai

Broad DIRECT lists for domestic video or disks can swallow claude.ai and anthropic.com. Google still loads (proxied); Claude looks offline (direct). Confirm those hosts stay on PROXY. A minimal explicit pin looks like this:

rules:
  - DOMAIN-SUFFIX,claude.ai,Proxy
  - DOMAIN-SUFFIX,anthropic.com,Proxy
  - DOMAIN-SUFFIX,anthropic.ai,Proxy

Fake-IP can shove foreign names into the wrong pool: Fake-IP, bypass rules. After rule edits, quit Desktop and reopen. The connections list should grow new Claude rows. Do not spin Rule / Global / Direct while chasing Claude; mode meanings: three modes. Daily driver: Rule, domestic DIRECT, Claude PROXY.

How this splits from Claude Code and Codex

One Clash Verge install can serve the site, Desktop, Claude Code, and Codex. Port and subscription can be shared. Acceptance cannot. Site up ≠ Desktop up ≠ CLI up ≠ VS Code Codex completions. Shell variables belong in the Claude Code article; editor Codex in the Codex article; Cursor in Cursor proxy. Do not paste PowerShell proxy lines into Desktop.

Acceptance and stop-loss

Site: system proxy + Rule, Claude.ai signs in and sends one short message, connections logged. Desktop: Tun (Windows service included), app fully restarted, connections logged, one round of chat. Fail one door, change one layer. Three nodes still region-blocked: stop, look at egress and account, do not reinstall Clash. Builds: download center. Tun primer: Tun.

Per-door quick checklist