Clash Subscription Conversion and Node Filtering Guide

After getting a proxy subscription, many users simply paste it into Clash and go. But in practice, you may encounter incompatible subscription formats, too many nodes to manage, or unstable nodes in certain regions. Subscription conversion is the skill you need.

This tutorial covers the complete workflow of Clash subscription conversion from scratch, including tool selection, format conversion, node filtering, custom rules, automated updates, and multi-subscription management.

What Is Subscription Conversion

Subscription conversion is essentially translating one proxy protocol format into another.

Why Conversion Is Needed

Different clients support different configuration formats. Raw subscriptions from providers typically come in one of these formats:

• SS/SSR links: Base64-encoded collections of ss:// or ssr:// links
• Vmess/Vless links: Plain text collections of individual links
• Generic subscription (SIP008): JSON format, supported by some clients
• Clash YAML: Native Clash format, most providers can supply this directly
• Surge/QuantumultX config: Proprietary formats for other clients

How Conversion Works

The subscription conversion tool acts as a middleware layer:

1. The client sends a request to the conversion service (with the raw subscription URL and target format parameters)
2. The conversion service downloads the raw subscription content
3. It parses node information (protocol, server, port, encryption, password, etc.)
4. It reassembles the configuration file in the target format
5. It returns the converted config to the client

Popular Subscription Conversion Tools

1. subconverter (Open Source Backend)

This is currently the most popular subscription conversion backend, supporting conversion between nearly all mainstream protocol formats.

Public conversion backends (may be unstable; self-hosting recommended):

# Common public subconverter backends
https://sub.xeton.de/sub
https://api.v1.mk/sub
https://sub.dlsj.me/sub

2. Self-Hosting subconverter

One-click deployment with Docker:

# Pull the image
docker pull tindy2013/subconverter:latest

# Start the container
docker run -d --name subconverter \
  -p 25500:25500 \
  --restart=always \
  tindy2013/subconverter:latest

Once deployed, your conversion backend URL is http://your-server-ip:25500/sub.

3. Online Conversion Websites

If you prefer not to host your own backend, online conversion services wrap the subconverter API with user-friendly interfaces:

• Visual interface for selecting source and target formats
• Paste subscription URL and generate converted link in one click
• Some support node filtering and renaming

4. Built-in Conversion in Clash Verge Rev

Clash Verge Rev has built-in subscription conversion that automatically handles format conversion during import, eliminating the need for external tools.

Converting Various Formats to Clash Config

subconverter URL Parameters Explained

subconverter controls conversion behavior through URL parameters:

http://backend/sub?target=clash&url=raw-subscription-URL&config=config-template-path

Key parameters:

Scenario 1: SSR Subscription to Clash

# Assuming your SSR subscription URL is:
https://example-airport.com/sub?token=abc123

# Converted Clash URL:
http://your-backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=https%3A%2F%2Fexample-airport.com%2Fsub%3Ftoken%3Dabc123&config=https%3A%2F%2Fraw.githubusercontent.com%2FACL4SSR%2FACL4SSR%2Fmaster%2FClash%2Fconfig%2FACL4SSR_Online.ini

Scenario 2: Vmess Individual Links to Clash

# Method 1: Direct Base64-encoded content
http://backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=Base64-encoded-content

# Method 2: Using an online paste service
# Upload link text to pastebin, get raw URL
http://backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=https://pastebin.com/raw/xxxxx

Scenario 3: Trojan Subscription to Clash

# Trojan link format: trojan://password@server:port?sni=xxx
# Multiple links need Base64 encoding first

http://backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=Base64-encoded-trojan-links

Recommended Configuration Templates

Node Filtering Strategies

Filtering by Region

Use the include parameter with regular expressions to filter nodes by region:

# Keep only Japan nodes
&include=(?i)(Japan|JP)

# Keep only US nodes
&include=(?i)(United.?States|US)

# Keep Japan and US nodes
&include=(?i)(Japan|JP|United.?States|US)

# Exclude Hong Kong nodes
&exclude=(?i)(Hong.?Kong|HK)

Filtering by Protocol

Some conversion tools support protocol-based filtering. In custom configuration templates:

# In the [custom] section of the config file
clash.new_name=true
clash.emoji=true

# In rules, you can route by protocol type
# Protocols supported by Clash Meta: vmess, vless, trojan, ss, ssr, tuic, hysteria2

Filtering by Use Case

Combined Filtering in Practice

http://your-backend:25500/sub?
  target=clash
  &url=your-raw-subscription-URL
  &include=(?i)(Japan|JP|United.?States|US)
  &exclude=(?i)(free|trial|expire)
  &emoji=true
  &udp=true
  &config=template-URL

Custom Conversion Rules and Node Filtering

subconverter Configuration File Structure

subconverter uses .ini format configuration files to control conversion behavior. A typical configuration file contains these sections:

[custom]
; Node renaming rules
node_rename=Japan-(.*)  $0
node_rename=US-(.*)  $0
node_rename=HK-(.*)  $0

; Filter rules (regex)
; Filter out nodes with specific keywords
exclude_remarks=(expire|remaining|quota)

; Include rules (keep matching nodes only, empty = keep all)
include_remarks=

[proxy]
; Proxy group settings
custom_proxy_group=Japan Nodes`select`(Japan|JP)
custom_proxy_group=US Nodes`select`(United.?States|US)
custom_proxy_group=HK Nodes`select`(Hong.?Kong|HK)
custom_proxy_group=Streaming`select`(NF|Netflix|Media)
custom_proxy_group=Gaming`select`(Game|Low-latency)
custom_proxy_group=Proxy`fallback`.*`https://www.google.com/generate_204`300

Node Renaming

Use regex to standardize node naming for easier management:

; Format: original-name-regex`new-name-format
; Example: Change "[Japan] Tokyo-01" to "JP-Tokyo-01"
node_rename=\[Japan\](.*)`JP-$1
node_rename=\[US\](.*)`US-$1
node_rename=\[HK\](.*)`HK-$1
node_rename=Singapore-(\d+)`SG-$1

Custom Proxy Groups

Define custom proxy groups in the configuration file for finer node grouping:

; Format: group-name`type`regex`test-URL`test-interval
; Types: select (manual), url-test (auto-select), fallback, load-balance

; Auto-select lowest latency Japan node
custom_proxy_group=Japan Auto`url-test`(Japan|JP)`https://www.google.com/generate_204`600

; Manual streaming node selection
custom_proxy_group=Streaming Nodes`select`(NF|Netflix|Disney|HBO)

; Fallback: auto-switch when primary is down
custom_proxy_group=Primary`fallback`(HK-01|HK-02|HK-03)`https://www.google.com/generate_204`300

Automated Subscription Updates

Method 1: Client Auto-Update

Most Clash clients support automatic subscription updates:

• Clash Verge Rev: In Profiles page, set auto-update interval (e.g., every 6 hours)
• Clash for Windows (deprecated): Check Auto Update in Profiles page
• Clash Meta for Android: Set update interval in configuration

Method 2: Cron-Based Script Updates

Use cron on a Linux server or NAS for scheduled updates:

# Create update script update-sub.sh
#!/bin/bash
SUB_URL="http://your-backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=raw-subscription&config=template"
OUTPUT="/path/to/config.yaml"

curl -s -o "$OUTPUT" "$SUB_URL"
echo "$(date): Subscription updated" >> /var/log/sub-update.log

# Add to crontab, update every 12 hours
0 */12 * * * /path/to/update-sub.sh

Method 3: Subscription Management Services

Some third-party tools provide subscription management services that can:

• Aggregate multiple subscription sources into a single link
• Auto-update and push to clients
• Provide node health monitoring dashboard

Method 4: GitHub Actions Automation

# .github/workflows/update-sub.yml
name: Update Subscription
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 */8 * * *'  # Run every 8 hours
  workflow_dispatch:  # Support manual trigger

jobs:
  update:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Convert subscription
        run: |
          curl -o config.yaml \
            "http://sub-backend/sub?target=clash&url=your-subscription&config=template"
      - name: Upload to Gist
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: config
          path: config.yaml

Multi-Subscription Merging and Management

Why Merge Multiple Subscriptions

Many users have subscriptions from multiple providers, each with advantageous nodes. Merging subscriptions allows you to:

• Manage all nodes in a single interface
• Leverage the best regional nodes from different providers
• Provide redundancy - if one provider goes down, others serve as backup

Method 1: subconverter Multi-Link Merge

# Separate multiple subscription URLs (URL-encode the combined string)
# In practice, connect multiple URLs and URL-encode the entire string

http://backend:25500/sub?target=clash&url=subscription1-URL|subscription2-URL|subscription3-URL

Method 2: Manual Clash Config Merging

For finer control over merged nodes, manually edit the configuration file:

# Extract proxies sections from multiple subscriptions and merge into one config
proxies:
  # === Provider A Nodes ===
  - name: "A-Japan-01"
    type: vmess
    server: jp.example-a.com
    port: 443
    # ...other parameters

  # === Provider B Nodes ===
  - name: "B-US-01"
    type: trojan
    server: us.example-b.com
    port: 443
    # ...other parameters

proxy-groups:
  - name: "All Nodes"
    type: select
    proxies:
      - A-Japan-01
      - B-US-01
      # ...

Method 3: Profile Overlay (Clash Verge Rev / Clash Meta)

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: Converted Nodes Cannot Connect

Troubleshooting steps:

1. Verify raw subscription is valid: Open the raw subscription URL in a browser to confirm it returns node data, not an error page
2. Check if conversion backend is running: Visit the backend homepage to confirm the service is active
3. Verify target format is correct: Ensure target=clash has no typos
4. Check core version compatibility: Some protocols (Vless, Reality) require Clash Meta core
5. Check logs: Clash client logs will show specific connection failure reasons

Issue 2: Zero Nodes After Conversion

Possible causes:

• include regex is wrong, no nodes match → Remove include parameter and test first
• exclude regex is too broad, filtering out all nodes → Check your regex
• Raw subscription has expired or data quota is used up → Contact your provider

Issue 3: No Routing Rules in Converted Config

Solutions:

• Check if the template specified by config parameter includes rule definitions
• Try using a complete online template (e.g., ACL4SSR_Online_Full.ini)
• Manually add the rules section to the configuration file

Issue 4: Configuration Overwritten After Subscription Update

Some clients overwrite manual configuration changes when updating subscriptions.

Solutions:

• Apply customization at the conversion service level using URL parameters instead of manually editing config files
• Use profile overlay: separate auto-updating subscriptions from manual configurations
• Place custom proxy groups and rules in a separate overlay profile

Issue 5: Conversion Backend Is Slow or Unavailable

Recommendations:

• Self-host subconverter on an overseas VPS
• Rotate between multiple public backends to avoid single point of failure
• Monitor backend availability regularly