Subscription Link: A Complete Beginner's Guide to Getting, Importing, Updating & Handling Leaks

A subscription link isn't a file format that belongs to any one client — it's a URL pointing to a configuration endpoint. Your client trades it for a list of servers, and from then on routes are added or retired and protocols adjusted on the server side; all you do is hit “Update subscription” once. This guide covers all four stages — getting, importing, updating and handling a leak — and ends with a troubleshooting table for common errors.

What's actually inside a subscription link

Paste the link into your browser's address bar and you'll most likely see a block of Base64 gibberish, or a long stretch of YAML or JSON. That's normal — it was never meant to be read by humans. The link itself contains just two parts: a fixed endpoint address plus a random token that belongs only to your account.

When a client requests that endpoint it sends its own identifier, and the server returns configuration in the matching format. That's why the same link yields different content in different clients:

• Generic format: a Base64-encoded server list, each entry starting with a protocol prefix such as ss://, vmess://, trojan://, vless:// or hysteria2://;
• Clash / Mihomo core: returns a YAML configuration file directly;
• sing-box core: returns a JSON structure.

In other words, you don't have to pick a protocol yourself — the client parses whatever the server sends based on what its core supports. Below is how the common protocol families differ, which explains why the same subscription behaves slightly differently across apps:

Where to get your subscription link in the dashboard

There's only one place to get it: the subscription area of your VPNDT dashboard after you sign in. Nothing along the way requires a separate application, and no email address is needed to register — a username and password are enough to get into the dashboard.

1. Open the dashboard, sign in, and go to the subscription overview page.
2. Find the subscription entry that's currently active and confirm your plan and data status look normal.
3. Click “Copy subscription link”; if the client is installed on this device, you can also click “One-click import”.
4. Paste the link into the client's subscription field, save, then run “Update subscription” once and the server list will appear.

Your account shows only one main link in the dashboard. You can reuse it across multiple devices and clients — there's no limit on simultaneous devices, and you don't need a separate link for each one.

How to import on each platform

The import step is essentially the same everywhere — you hand the link to the client and let it pull the configuration. The differences come down to system permissions and background policies:

Don't draw conclusions right after importing. Working through the checklist below saves you most of those “same link, so why won't it work on this machine?” headaches:

• ✅ After importing, check that the server count matches the dashboard before picking a server
• ✅ If routes changed or your plan was adjusted, run “Update subscription” before connecting
• ✅ Import with the same account on every device; there's no limit on simultaneous devices
• ✅ Disconnect before uninstalling a client so no system proxy settings are left behind
• ❌ Don't paste your subscription link into public online subscription converters
• ❌ Don't let two clients take over the system proxy or the same network adapter at once

How often should you hit “Update subscription”?

The subscription link itself stays valid long-term, so you don't need to fetch a new one every day. Most clients can auto-update at a fixed interval — 6 to 24 hours is typical. Manual updates are only worth doing when routes are retired or added on the server side, when you switch plans, when a server won't connect and you want a fresh batch, or when you've just copied a new link from another device.

One detail that's easy to overlook: the data usage shown in your client comes from the usage figures the server returned the last time you updated the subscription. So if you check your remaining data right after streaming a HD movie, the number usually hasn't refreshed yet — hit update manually for an accurate reading.

After a link leaks: reset first, then re-import

If your link turns up in a screenshot, a chat log, or a web form you didn't look at closely, work through it in this order — disconnect, replace, then verify — instead of hoping for the best and carrying on:

1. Go back to the dashboard and run “Reset subscription link”; the old link stops working immediately;
2. Re-import the new link on every device you use, then update once in each client;
3. Check your data usage and device list for anything unusual;
4. From then on, keep the link only inside your clients. If you need to share access, use the account system in the dashboard rather than sending the link itself.

Common errors at a glance

The table below covers the five issues beginners run into most often. Work through them in this order: start with whether the link is complete, then check your network, and only then suspect the client.

Four habits for new users

• Keep the link only inside your clients — no screenshots, no group chats, no pasting into unfamiliar websites;
• When you switch devices, import first and connect second; only flip the system proxy after the server list looks right;
• If you can't connect, update the subscription and try another route before troubleshooting your local network;
• There's no need to delete the link during long periods of non-use, but after a reset, remember to clean up your old devices.