Clash Verge Rule vs Global vs Direct: Pick the Right Mode (and Stop Thrashing)

Clash Verge Rev is open, local sites crawl, foreign hosts never load—and the first guess is usually "dead nodes" or "broken client." Often the mode sits on Global or Direct while you still behave like you’re on Rule. These three are routing strategies, not speed presets. Diagnose the wrong layer and you’ll thrash forever.

I start by reading the mode label in Settings or the tray, then open Connections for the target host: PROXY or DIRECT. That alone clears a lot of "mystery" failures. How to write matching rules: rule-based routing. Here: when to use which mode, how to prove a switch, and how not to mix Tun or Merge into it. Builds: download center. Beginners: getting started.

What each mode owns

Rule follows the subscription plus your Merge patches for PROXY vs DIRECT. Daily default: domestic direct, foreign via nodes—closest to how most airport profiles are designed.

Global shoves most traffic into proxy groups. Useful briefly to test a bad DIRECT rule, or when a host must use a node. Cost: cloud drives, internal wikis, and domestic downloads may detour, slow down, or hit risk controls. I’ve seen people join a screen-share on Global and wonder why the company wiki spins for thirty seconds—then blame Wi‑Fi.

Direct prefers leaving nodes out—good for "is the machine fine without proxy policy?" It is not an uninstall; system proxy or Tun may still be on. Flip to Direct, assume everything is off, leave system proxy pointing at a local port, and browser vs CLI will disagree in ways that look random.

Pick by situation

Docs and coding: Rule. A short forced-proxy job you don’t want to encode yet: Global, then switch back. Suspect bad rules or dead nodes: Direct to see if direct access recovers, then fix rules, swap nodes, or check DNS.

Leaving Global on for days "so everything works" usually wrecks local services. Long-term "through Clash" is Tun plus sane Rule routing—not permanent Global. Tun: Tun, Tun & AI. On Windows, Tun often needs Service Mode first.

Another misuse: streaming buffers poorly, so someone flips Global and then says "proxy always gets worse" when domestic sites crawl too. Read which group the host hits and whether the node is congested. See YouTube / Netflix and slow speed. Game downloads mis-routed through a proxy shouldn’t be "fixed" with Global either—use DIRECT rules (Steam DIRECT).

Prove it on Connections

After switching, open the target and read Connections: PROXY or DIRECT, which group. You claim Rule but domestic hosts are all PROXY—aggressive rules, or you’re still in Global. Foreign hosts all DIRECT—you’re in Direct, or rules missed.

Green system proxy, empty Connections → system proxy, not mode thrashing. Rows present but the page fails → sites not opening or DNS. Logs: debug guide.

Open the same host once under Rule and once under Global. If both hit the same proxy group and both fail, the problem is usually the node or DNS—not one more mode flip. When latency tests are all red, swap nodes before blaming modes (latency test).

Validate Merge under Rule

Merge and scripts change matching under Rule. "Testing" them in Global gives false confidence because traffic is already forced into proxy groups. Save, reload, return to Rule, read the hit line. Also check a domestic host after edits—people often only retest the foreign site and miss collateral DIRECT/PROXY damage.

Merge: custom Merge. DIRECT examples: DIRECT rules, Steam DIRECT. Scripts that rewrite mode fields can undo a manual switch—disable them while comparing (scripts).

Misuses—and when to stop flipping modes

Living in Global → back to Rule with exceptions, not more nodes. Direct "fixes" the browser while system proxy/Tun stay on → CLI still broken. Mode thrashing without Connections → you never know what changed. All nodes timing out is not a Direct fix—update the subscription or swap nodes.

Stop when you can name the mode, Connections explains the host, and Rule behaves for daily sites. If flipping modes changes nothing, consider a safe reset (back up subscriptions). Index: common errors. Builds: download center.

Mode quick reference