Installing Clash for Windows: from download to first launch

Download the installer for your architecture from the releases page (most PCs need x64; recent Snapdragon laptops need ARM64). Run it, pick an install directory and click through — the installer bundles no third-party software.

First launch

After installation the app does not pop up a main window; it lives in the system tray at the bottom-right corner (the cat icon). Click the tray icon to open the main window. On first launch the app creates its data directory under %USERPROFILE%\.config\clash and automatically downloads the GeoIP database (Country.mmdb) — this can take from a few seconds to half a minute and is perfectly normal.

Three things to verify

1. Version: open the Settings page and check the version number at the bottom — it should be 0.20.x or later;
2. Port: the Mixed Port on the General page defaults to 7890. If it shows red, the port is taken — change it to something else (e.g. 7891);
3. Core status: the Clash Core indicator at the top of the General page should be green.

At this point the app has no proxy nodes yet — continue with "Importing your first subscription".