Clash vs Clash Meta vs mihomo: What Is the Difference?

Clash, Clash.Meta, Clash Meta, mihomo — four names that all seem to describe the same thing, scattered across tutorials of different ages. The short version: they are one family line. The original Clash is gone, Clash.Meta was the community fork that carried the work forward, and mihomo is simply Clash.Meta's current name.

This article untangles the names, walks through the timeline, and answers the practical questions: are your configs and subscriptions still compatible, and which core and client should you be running today?

Four names, one family tree

So when a modern guide says "Clash Meta", it almost always means the mihomo core, usually running inside a graphical client such as Clash Verge Rev.

What happened to the original Clash?

The original Clash core was for years the reference implementation of rule-based proxying, and Clash for Windows was the client most people paired with it. In 2023 the author removed the Clash repository and stopped development; Clash for Windows ceased updating in the same period. The projects were not handed over — they simply ended, leaving existing installs frozen in time with no future fixes.

How Clash.Meta became mihomo

Well before that happened, the MetaCubeX community had forked Clash into Clash.Meta, adding features on top of the original core. When upstream disappeared, the fork became the natural continuation, and in 2023 the project was renamed mihomo. Development has continued under that name ever since at MetaCubeX/mihomo. New name, same lineage — which is why the community still uses "Clash Meta" and "mihomo" interchangeably.

What mihomo adds over the original core

Beyond simply being alive, mihomo extends the original in ways that matter day to day:

• Broader protocol support — it speaks more proxy protocols than the original core did, which matters as providers modernize their infrastructure.
• More rule types and matching options — routing configurations can be more precise and more expressive.
• Ongoing maintenance — bugs get fixed and platforms stay supported, which no abandoned core can offer.

The exact feature list keeps evolving, but the practical takeaway is stable: everything the original core could do, mihomo does, plus more, with active upkeep.

Are old configs and subscriptions still compatible?

Yes, in the direction that matters. mihomo kept the Clash YAML configuration format and extended it, so configurations written for the original core generally load fine, and provider subscriptions in Clash format work without changes. Your accumulated knowledge — proxies, proxy groups, rules — transfers directly. Only the reverse is not guaranteed: configs using mihomo-specific extensions will not work on the abandoned original, which is not a practical concern anymore. The core concepts are explained in What is mihomo? if you want the deeper tour.

What you should use today

The choice in practice is refreshingly simple:

1. Core: mihomo. It is the maintained continuation of the Clash line and the engine inside every modern client.
2. Desktop client: Clash Verge Rev on Windows, macOS and Linux — it bundles mihomo and replaces Clash for Windows as the default recommendation.
3. Android: Clash Meta for Android or FlClash, both with mihomo built in.

All current builds — clients and standalone core alike — are collected in the download center, and our client comparison can help you pick the right app for each device.