Shadowrocket Subscription Management: Organize, Sort, Remove, and Deduplicate

1. Home Groups vs. Config Policy Groups

In Shadowrocket, start in Home by reviewing the subscription groups in the server list, then open an individual server’s edit screen to check its source. These groups organize the servers returned by subscriptions. Policy groups defined in a Config file, on the other hand, are used for rule selection. Moving a subscription higher in the list does not make matching rules prefer that subscription.

Get subscription URLs from your provider. Manage each source separately so you know exactly which subscription you’re renaming, updating, or removing. Avoid repeatedly copying all servers into manual entries just to tidy the list; doing so makes it harder to apply updated settings when the original subscription refreshes.

Start by noting three things: source name, purpose, and whether it’s currently in use. This guide uses “Source A / Daily” and “Source B / Backup” as examples of two existing subscriptions; they are not service recommendations.

2. Add Subscriptions One at a Time, Then Name and Update Them

In Home, tap “+” in the upper-right corner, set Type to Subscribe, then enter the subscription URL and a remark. Add one source at a time. Confirm that it creates the expected group before adding the next one. If a list is empty or a group is duplicated, you’ll know which action to check.

1. Prepare the source

   Get the subscription URL from your provider and make sure it points to your account’s subscription, not an account management page. Don’t include a full URL containing credentials in a remark or public record.

2. Open the add screen

   Go to Home → “+” → Type → Subscribe. Enter the subscription URL in URL; don’t use an individual server address as a subscription URL.

3. Add a remark

   Enter a recognizable name in Remarks, such as “Source A / Daily.” Use a different prefix for Source B so you can tell the groups apart when both would otherwise be called “Default.”

4. Save and update

   After saving, return to Home and check that the group appears, then update the subscription. You can pull down to refresh Home. Check the newly added group first, and don’t immediately add the same URL again.

5. Check the selected server

   Expand the new group and tap the dot beside a server to select it. Confirm the selection has changed, then use Connectivity Test to check the connection. A successful import doesn’t mean a server in that group is selected.

3. Sort Groups and Servers, Then Check the Selected Server

Return to Home and decide whether you want to move an entire subscription group or reorder the servers within a group. Check the scope of the relevant edit or sort action; group and server controls may be in different places depending on the view. Expand the target group first to avoid sorting the wrong one.

Sorting by name works well for lists with consistent naming; sorting by latency is useful for a quick choice after testing. Latency results depend on network conditions and test methods, so the lowest number doesn’t necessarily indicate the most stable server. Subscription updates can also rebuild the server list, so check your manual ordering again after an update.

4. Identify Duplicate Servers by Source and Connection Details

If two servers in Home have the same name, open each one’s edit screen and compare its connection details. A name is just a remark: matching names don’t prove the connections are identical, and different names can point to the same server. Check the subscription source, then compare protocol, address, port, and authentication details before deciding what to remove.

• Two groups from the same subscription: Compare the saved subscription URLs first. If the same URL was added twice, removing one source entry is easier to maintain than deleting the servers in that group one by one.
• Entries with the same name from different sources: Keep their sources distinct. Even if the addresses match, different ports, authentication details, or transport settings mean you shouldn’t merge them based on the name alone.
• Manual and subscription entries side by side: Check whether the manual entry is a copy you created earlier. Subscription updates generally don’t maintain that separate copy.
• A server returns after you delete it and update: Check whether the subscription still provides that entry. Removing a local server record doesn’t change the content returned by your provider.

For example, two sample entries might both show the address example.com and port 443, but one uses Trojan and the other VLESS. They aren’t the same connection. Even when the protocol and port match, compare authentication details, TLS, and transport settings too. These examples explain how to compare entries; they don’t represent usable services.

Don’t change a provider’s ports or protocols just to remove duplicates. Subscription management should change only how sources are recorded and displayed. Make changes to connection details only when supported by your provider’s configuration.

5. Before Removing an Old Subscription, Check Selections and References

Before deleting anything in Home, identify the target. Removing one server affects only that entry; removing a subscription group affects the entire source and its associated list. Use the delete action for the intended item, read the confirmation prompt, and verify the group name and scope. Don’t proceed until you’re sure what will be removed.

1. Select a server from a subscription you’re keeping, run Connectivity Test, and test the pages you actually need to access.
2. Open Config and check which configuration file is active. If rules or policies refer to an old server or policy group by name, update those references before removing the old source.
3. Return to Home and delete the old subscription. Check that the confirmation refers to the entire old source, not a neighboring entry you want to keep.
4. Update the subscriptions you’re keeping, then confirm that the list and selected server are still correct. If needed, reconnect so new requests use the settings you’ve checked.

6. If Connections Change After an Update, Check Global Routing

In Home, open Global Routing and check whether the current mode is Config, Proxy, Direct, or Scene. Subscription updates fetch the server list; Global Routing determines how requests are routed. Check these separately. Moving a server to the top row won’t change how Direct handles requests or replace rules in Config.

If you use Scene, check the settings for the active scene too; it isn’t a fourth fixed route. When you’ve finished troubleshooting, restore the routing mode you need and check that the pages you use load correctly.

7. Common Questions About Updating and Deduplicating Subscriptions

After organizing your subscriptions, keep a record of each source and its purpose without sensitive URLs. For ongoing maintenance, check the source update, selected server, routing mode, and request in that order. This helps distinguish changes in subscription content from local configuration issues.