Policy groups and proxy chains

For iPhone / iPad. Supported configuration can also sync to Apple TV.

Create and select a group

English interface simulation · Fictional data · Click to enlarge

In Proxies → Policies, create a named group, choose its type and add members. Select the saved group on Home or as a rule target; creating it alone does not route traffic through it.

↔ Swipe left or right to see all columns

Type	Use
Manual	Select the current member yourself
URL test	Select using configured connectivity tests
Fallback	Prefer earlier members and switch when unavailable
Load balance	Distribute separate connections among available members
Smart	Learn from real connections and try another member when setup fails

Best Available (called Auto Select in older versions) is the built-in automatic group. Your own groups appear as separate selectable outbounds. Empty or unusable groups require checking member sources, filters and test results.

A personal group can include standalone nodes and nodes from third-party and managed subscriptions; follow Create a mixed group. All in the subscription-grouped member picker selects current nodes, not future additions to that source. The built-in Best Available group's Include All Proxies is a separate setting; when enabled, third-party nodes can participate too.

Tests and priority

Use a reachable test URL and keep the default interval initially. For Smart priority, lower values are preferred and 1.0 is neutral. Do not exclude large numbers of members based on one high-latency result. Automatic changes normally affect new connections; reopen the target connection when checking a switch.

Why Best Available latency may stay unchanged

In the maintained version, the built-in Best Available skips a scheduled background retest if no proxied traffic has occurred since the previous check. An interval does not imply continuous idle testing. Network changes, failed connections or relevant configuration changes can still trigger a check. Do not generalize this behavior to every custom group or another client.

To compare nodes immediately, long-press one under Proxies → Servers and choose Test Latency. Use Test All in the toolbar for a batch, or a folder's menu to test its members. Tap an existing latency result to view details.

After testing finishes, check Best Available's current choice on Home and create a new request to inspect the outbound. A low manual result does not guarantee automatic selection or service availability. An unchanged number alone is not a connection failure.

Proxy chains

English interface simulation · Fictional data · Click to enlarge

These steps follow the maintained version with groups at any hop. If an older editor lacks an option, check your installed version and download source.

1. Create and name a chain in Proxies with at least two members.
2. Arrange them from entry to exit. Any hop can be a node or an eligible Manual, URL Test, Fallback, Load Balance or Smart group. Do not repeat a node or group.
3. Select the chain on Home or in a rule.
4. Verify the final exit and compare performance.

Test every member separately first. Longer chains are not inherently faster, and a failure in any segment can break the chain. Avoid circular dependencies.

Entry groups and later-hop groups

After subscription, provider and filter expansion, an entry group's effective members must be standalone nodes, without nested groups, DIRECT/REJECT or existing chains. It cannot also have an underlying proxy.

Placing a group after the first hop changes its route wherever that group is used:

• After saving Entry A → Exit group, a rule targeting Exit group directly also sends its concrete nodes through A (this applies beyond selecting the chain itself).
• Concrete members receive derived Node name (via …) routes with separate tests through the preceding hops; selecting the original node elsewhere keeps its original route.

Nested groups and DIRECT/REJECT in a later-hop group keep their own behavior and do not inherit preceding hops. DIRECT skips those hops; REJECT rejects the connection. Review and remove these exceptions if every connection must use the entry. A later-hop group needs at least one usable concrete node.

Each new connection resolves the groups' current selections and health results; existing connections keep their routes. Entry-group tests check entry candidates, not every candidate through all later hops. Testing the chain checks its currently selected complete path.

Conflicts and unavailable members

A later-hop group can have only one preceding path. It cannot follow different hops in another chain, start a chain, set its own underlying proxy or underlie another group. Every affected chain reports a conflict; selecting the same group elsewhere does not bypass it.

Fix references or restore nodes when a cycle, invalid member or entirely unavailable group is reported. These errors reject new connections rather than silently going direct. After syncing to Apple TV, the TV resolves its own group selections and health results; it has no chain editor.

Set a group's underlying proxy

Choose Underlying Proxy in the group editor and select a permitted node, chain or group. After saving, concrete node members use Node name (via Relay name) routes and are tested through the complete route. Nested groups and DIRECT/REJECT do not inherit this setting.

An existing via route is replaced rather than stacked. A group with an underlying proxy cannot also be a chain entry, a later-hop group or another group's underlying proxy. Resolve cycle or invalid-member messages rather than expecting direct fallback.