Do not guess drive letters. Use the in-app "open config folder" action—least wrong path. Portable vs installed builds differ; admin-installed vs normal-user runs land in different profiles. A clean way to open it: Settings → scroll to the bottom → "Open Config Folder" (or the equivalent "Reveal Config" button). That opens the exact directory the running binary reads and writes.
The folder is local state; the subscription URL is separate. Folder-only backups still leave you URL-less on a new PC. See backup and WebDAV.
Where it usually lives (still open from the app)
Windows: under the user app-data tree (names vary). macOS/Linux: Library or ~/.config / ~/.local areas. Major upgrades may move layout—old blog paths rot. OneDrive/sync tools locking the config folder cause conflicts—keep configs unsynced.
| Build | Typical area | Confirm with |
|---|---|---|
| Installed (Windows) | User app-data / Roaming tree | In-app "Open Config Folder" |
| Portable | Next to the executable | Same binary folder, config subdir |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support | Finder "Open Config Folder" |
| Linux | ~/.config or ~/.local | In-app action, do not hand-guess |
What to keep
Keep profiles/subscriptions, Merge text, scripts you edited. Caches can go; do not delete whole profiles thinking it is cache. Read-only permissions or AV quarantine block saves—quarantine ≠ a manual reset.
- Profiles directory — your nodes, proxies, and selected config.
- Subscription URLs — usually stored in the profile or a subscriptions file.
- Merge text — the custom rules you wrote by hand.
- Any edited scripts or external controller files.
When and how to reset safely
Corrupt messes, rule disasters, fighting leftovers: reset. Minimum: copy URLs/Merge → quit → reset/move folder per docs → reopen → import only what you need. "Updates work but behavior is weird" usually means Merge/scripts were not restored right.
Deleted without trash/backup rarely comes back fully. Moving across Windows users: open the folder under the target user—admin paths do not auto-apply. If you reset, re-import the subscription rather than retyping the URL from memory.
Multi-profile discipline
One daily profile; experiments elsewhere. With portable + installed both present, watch which shortcut you launch so you do not edit A while running B. A quick check: the in-app "About" or logs show the loaded config path—match it to the folder you are editing.
You found the right folder when
In-app open works; timestamps move when you edit Merge/subs; backups unpack to matching paths. Otherwise identify which binary you are running first.
Back up before you touch anything
Before a reset or a major upgrade, copy the whole config folder to a safe place. A timestamped copy beats regret:
# example (adjust the real path from "Open Config Folder")
# Windows PowerShell
Copy-Item "$env:APPDATA\clash-verge-rev" "D:\backup\cVR-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
That captures profiles, subscriptions, and Merge in one shot. Pair it with the full-move walkthrough in backup and migrate, or automate with WebDAV.