Clash Subscription Import Failed? Fixing Invalid YAML, Expired Links, and Formats

Save the exact error, HTTP status, and line number, then use the table below to distinguish a download problem from a configuration-parsing problem. Check the subscription source if the link is invalid or returns a login page. Inspect the downloaded content when indentation is wrong or the core does not support a field.

Inspect the subscription response only in a terminal or browser developer tools you control. The status should indicate success, and the body should begin like a YAML configuration or provider data—not <!DOCTYPE html>, a sign-in form, a JSON error, or a “traffic quota exhausted” notice.

A subscription URL may contain a token in its path or query parameters. Redact credentials in screenshots and logs; if you cannot identify them, hide the entire URL. Do not paste the curl command into a public issue. If the link was exposed, reset it in the provider’s panel before continuing.

A service may return different content depending on the request’s User-Agent. Use the response from the client’s actual update as the reference. The curl result is only a comparison; it cannot establish on its own that the subscription link is invalid.

YAML expresses hierarchy through indentation. A Tab, missing colon, unclosed quote, or malformed list marker may cause the parser to report the next line. If it reports line 48 column 7, inspect not only line 48 but also its parent key and whether the previous item ended.

Quote proxy names containing a colon, number sign, or special character. Do not mix different indentation widths at the same level. Edit a copy and preserve the original file; correct one error at a time and retest before moving to the next.

A general-purpose YAML checker validates only text structure; it does not know Mihomo's fields, types, or references. An unknown field, proxy not found, group not found, or unsupported protocol means you must return to the current core's version and documentation instead of adjusting indentation again.

The core bundled with the client may lag behind the subscription generator, or a merge override may move a field to the wrong location. First identify the actual core in “About” or the startup log, then compare against current Mihomo documentation. Preserve a working configuration before upgrading so a protocol-compatibility issue does not become a new migration problem.

A complete configuration typically includes ports, proxy groups, and rules. A proxy-provider file mainly supplies nodes, while a rule-provider file supplies rule content according to a behavior such as domain, ipcidr, or classical.

Importing a provider URL as a complete subscription does not establish that it contains the required proxy groups and rules, even if it is valid YAML. The client may report missing fields, or it may load without the expected routing configuration. Use the provider through the references in the main configuration.

Conversely, putting a complete configuration under proxy-providers may fail while parsing the list. Inspect the returned top-level keys and the provider's documented import method before deciding whether it belongs in a Profile, proxy-providers, or rule-providers.

Save the original response in a controlled local location, then edit and test a copy. Create a separate redacted copy for sharing, hiding the token and node credentials; do not write those placeholders back into the active configuration. The Mihomo command line can test a configuration in a specified directory, and graphical clients also typically validate before loading. Start with the first error emitted by the core actually in use.

If the original file passes but the client still fails, inspect the final configuration generated by Merge, Mixin, override scripts, or global settings. The subscription itself is often valid; an override may reference a deleted policy group or generate two incompatible versions of the same top-level key.

If the active configuration is damaged, switch back to the last working Profile or a clean subscription regenerated by the provider to restore access. Do not keep manually editing your only everyday configuration, and do not set a file that fails parsing to load automatically at startup.

Keep at least the failure stage, original error, client and core versions, and corrective action in the repair notes. If the same subscription fails again after a later update, this evidence distinguishes a server-side generation change, a client upgrade, and a local override reintroducing the error.