To add a subscription in Shadowrocket, open Home, tap the “+” button, choose Subscribe under Type, enter the subscription URL from a provider you already use, and save. Then refresh the subscription so its server entries appear in Home. This guide covers the initial import, later updates, and practical checks for links that fail or lists that seem out of date. A subscription is sensitive account information: keep its URL private, and confirm service details with your own provider. Buying Shadowrocket does not include a server plan or subscription.
1. Before you add a subscription
A subscription URL is not the same thing as a single server address. It is a link supplied for your existing service that Shadowrocket can use to retrieve a list of server entries. A single-server setup instead uses the server’s individual connection details and the matching server Type. If you were given one server’s address, port, and authentication information rather than a subscription URL, do not paste that address into the Subscribe field and expect it to become a subscription.
Have the exact URL provided for your account ready before opening Shadowrocket. Subscription links can contain an account token, so anyone who obtains the link may be able to access or refresh the associated server list. Do not post it in a screenshot, public forum, shared note, or support message that does not need it. If you need help from your own provider, share only the information they request through their normal support channel, and avoid sending unrelated account credentials.
Check that the link is complete. A copied URL can be cut off at the end, acquire a space or line break, or lose punctuation when copied from a message. If the provider supplies more than one link, use the one intended for Shadowrocket or for a compatible subscription import. Do not replace parts of the URL with a guessed server address, port, or protocol. Those values are determined by the service and the subscription contents.
- Confirm the source: Use the subscription details from your existing provider, not a link copied from an unrelated page or another account.
- Keep the link intact: Copy the full URL, including its path and any query string after a question mark.
- Check your connection: Make sure the iPhone or iPad has working Wi-Fi or cellular internet before importing or refreshing.
- Know what success means: A successful import means Shadowrocket received subscription data. It does not prove that a particular server is reachable or that a website will load.
Bottom line: verify the URL before changing settings
If the subscription fails to load, first confirm that the link is current, complete, and intended for your account. Changing protocol settings or adding a different server will not repair an expired or incomplete subscription URL.
2. Add the subscription and load its servers
Use the subscription flow from Home. The exact labels and screen arrangement can vary slightly with the app version, but the important distinction is to select Subscribe as the entry Type rather than entering the URL as a standalone server. After saving, refresh the subscription if the server list does not load automatically. Allow the request to finish before repeating it; several rapid refresh attempts can make it harder to tell whether the link, network, or account status is the problem.
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Open the add screen
Go to Home and tap the “+” button in the upper-right corner. This opens the screen for adding a server or subscription entry. If you are editing an existing item instead, return to Home and use the add control so you do not overwrite an entry by mistake.
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Choose Subscribe
Under Type, select Subscribe. This tells Shadowrocket to treat the supplied URL as a subscription source rather than as the address for one manually configured server. If the information you received contains individual server fields instead of a subscription link, confirm with your provider which setup method applies.
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Enter the URL
Paste the complete subscription URL into the URL field. If the screen has a Remarks field, use a short label that helps you recognize this subscription; a label is only for identification and does not change the link or the service. Before saving, check the beginning and end of the pasted URL and remove accidental spaces or line breaks.
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Save the entry
Tap Save or the confirmation control shown by the app. Return to Home and look for the subscription group. If the group is present but contains no server entries, the entry may have been saved without a successful data update. Do not assume that the group name itself is a selectable server.
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Refresh the list
On Home, use the subscription refresh action available for the group, or pull down to refresh the Home list. Keep Shadowrocket open and wait for the result. When server entries appear beneath the group, the import has returned data; select an individual server separately if you want to use it.
After the refresh, expand the subscription group and inspect its entries. A group label identifies the source; individual rows are the server entries. Choose a specific row only after confirming it is present and belongs to the subscription you intended to update. The selection indicator, such as the DOT marker, shows which entry is currently selected; it does not certify that the entry is online.
Subscription entry
- Path
- Home → “+” → Type → Subscribe
- URL
- The complete link from your existing provider
- Remarks
- Optional label for recognizing the group
Subscribe stores a source for retrieving a list; it is not itself an individual server.
Server selection
- Path
- Home → Expand the subscription group
- Choose
- Tap an individual server entry
- Verify
- Check the selection indicator beside that entry
A refreshed list and a selected server are separate steps.
3. Refresh later and confirm what changed
A subscription refresh asks the source for its current contents. It can add, remove, or revise entries according to the information returned by your provider. It is not necessarily a record of every change made on the provider’s side: the list shown in Shadowrocket reflects what the app successfully retrieved at that time. If your provider says the subscription was updated but Shadowrocket still shows an old list, verify the refresh result and the URL before changing other settings.
For a routine update, open Home, locate the correct subscription group, and use its available update action or pull down to refresh the list. Wait until the refresh finishes, then expand the group again. Compare the visible entries with what you expect, but do not rely only on a server’s display name: names may remain the same even when other subscription details have changed. If a server you need has disappeared, ask your provider whether it is still included in your account’s current subscription.
If the subscription can be fetched only when an existing connection is active, check the option under Settings → Subscribe for Update via Proxy, if that option is available in your app. Enabling it routes subscription requests through the current proxy connection. It is useful only when that connection is already working well enough to reach the subscription source. If there is no usable connection, routing the update through the proxy may not help; try a normal network request first and consult your provider if access remains unavailable.
- Record the result: Note whether the refresh completed, timed out, or returned an error. A timeout and an empty list point to different things than a successful refresh that simply contains fewer entries.
- Check the correct group: If Home contains several saved groups, make sure you refreshed the one linked to the subscription you are checking.
- Test one selected entry: After updating, select an individual server and run
Home → Connectivity Test. Treat that test as a connectivity check, not as proof that all destinations will work. - Change one condition at a time: Keep the URL and server selection unchanged while checking the network. If you change the link, routing mode, and connection settings together, you lose a reliable way to identify the cause.
Do not repeatedly delete and re-add a subscription just because one refresh did not immediately show a visible difference. First confirm that the saved URL is correct and that the request completed. Re-adding can create duplicate groups, and it does not make an expired or account-specific link valid. If you do remove an entry, make sure you have the correct URL available before doing so.
4. Troubleshoot common subscription problems
Start by separating three outcomes: Shadowrocket cannot retrieve the subscription, it retrieves the subscription but shows no useful server entries, or it updates the list but a selected server does not connect. The first outcome concerns the URL, network path, or provider access. The second concerns the returned subscription contents or the account’s service status. The third concerns a server connection or destination request, which is a different stage from downloading the list.
Error: Failed to load subscription
Cause and next step: The URL may be incomplete, expired, or temporarily unreachable. Re-copy the full link from your own provider, check that the device has internet access, and refresh once. If the same result persists, ask your provider to confirm the link and account status.
Result: Subscription group is empty
Cause and next step: The entry may have been saved without a successful content update, or the source may return no entries for the account. Confirm that Type is Subscribe, refresh the correct group, and ask your provider whether the subscription currently includes server entries.
Result: Refresh succeeds, but no new names appear
Cause and next step: The provider may not have changed the visible list, or you may be viewing a different subscription group. Check the group and refresh result; then verify with your provider that the expected change has been applied to your account.
Result: Servers appear, but a connection test fails
Cause and next step: Downloading a list does not confirm that a server is reachable. Select the intended server, check your current network, run Home → Connectivity Test, and contact your provider with the test result if the entry continues to fail.
When asking for help, provide the exact error text, the time of the failed attempt, whether you were on Wi-Fi or cellular, and whether the refresh used a proxy. Do not include the full subscription URL in a public post: it can contain credentials or account-specific information. Your provider can tell you whether a link is active, whether an account limit has been reached, and whether the service has changed its subscription format.
5. Frequently asked questions
Where exactly do I paste the subscription link?
Open Home → “+” → Type → Subscribe, then paste the full URL into the URL field and save. Do not enter it as a single-server address unless your provider specifically gave you individual server details for manual entry.
I saved the link, so why is the server list still empty?
Saving creates the subscription entry; it does not always mean the contents have been retrieved. Return to Home, refresh the correct group or pull down to update, and wait for the result. If the group remains empty, verify the URL and account status with your provider.
How often should I refresh a subscription?
Refresh when your provider tells you the list has changed, when an expected entry is missing, or when troubleshooting a stale list. There is no universal interval that applies to every service. Follow the update guidance for your own subscription and avoid repeated rapid requests.
Does a successful refresh mean I am connected?
No. A successful refresh means Shadowrocket retrieved subscription data. On Home, select an individual server, turn on the connection if needed, and run Connectivity Test. Then check the actual app or website you need; each step checks a different part of the process.
The reliable sequence is to save the correct subscription source, refresh it, confirm that individual entries are present, and select a server only after the list has loaded. Keep the URL private, record refresh errors rather than guessing, and ask your own provider to verify account-specific links or changes. This keeps subscription retrieval separate from server connectivity and makes later troubleshooting much easier.