NekoRay is a Qt-based desktop client that manages proxy profiles and drives a sing-box or custom core, covering subscriptions, routing rules, latency tests, and TUN mode in one portable interface.
NekoRay is a graphical proxy configuration manager built with Qt that keeps profiles, routing rules, and cores in one place. You add a server by pasting a share link, scanning a QR code, or importing a subscription, and the application generates the configuration its backend expects before starting the connection. Groups let you organise those servers and run a latency test across the whole list, so choosing a working node takes one click rather than a manual search. Beyond the basics it accepts custom outbound definitions, whole configuration files, and even third-party cores, which is why it stayed popular with users who outgrew simple clients.
Importing existing subscriptions is where NekoRay saves the most time, because it reads the raw formats that providers already hand out, including links written for v2rayN and profile files exported by other Clash-style clients. That means you rarely rebuild a server list by hand: paste the link, refresh, and the nodes appear with their details intact. Routing is equally flexible. Route profiles separate how traffic is captured from where it goes, so a system proxy with custom domain rules and a full TUN setup can be swapped without redoing the server list. Custom cores cover protocols the bundled backend does not implement, which extends the useful life of an older installation.
The benefit of NekoRay is that it treats a proxy setup as something you configure once and then leave alone. Profiles, groups, and route profiles are stored locally, so switching between a proxy mode for browsing and a tunnelled mode for stubborn applications does not mean editing anything by hand. Latency tests run against the whole list at once, and the results sort the list, which turns a sprawling subscription into a ranked menu. TUN mode captures traffic from programs that ignore system proxy settings, and the choice of network stack helps when one approach misbehaves on a particular machine. Custom cores and custom configuration files mean unusual protocols are not a dead end, and a portable layout keeps the whole installation, settings included, on a single drive or folder.
Key capabilities and highlights.
Connect through SOCKS, HTTP, Shadowsocks, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, TUIC, Hysteria2, and NaiveProxy, with custom outbound definitions for anything else. A single profile list in NekoRay can therefore hold whatever a provider hands out without extra client software.
Paste a share link, scan a QR code from the screen, or point the client at a subscription URL, and the parsed servers are added with their settings intact. Subscriptions can be refreshed so a provider's changes arrive without manual copying.
Organise servers into groups, then run a latency test against every member and sort the results to see which one responds fastest. Real delay figures make it obvious when a subscription has gone stale or when one region is having a bad day.
Separate the capture method from the routing decision: one profile can use the system proxy with custom domain and address rules, while another runs TUN with different defaults. Switching modes does not disturb the stored server list.
TUN mode in NekoRay routes traffic from applications that ignore proxy settings, and the available network stacks let you try a different implementation when one misbehaves on your machine. Elevation is requested only when the mode is enabled.
Define an outbound by hand or point the client at a different core executable when a provider uses something the bundled backend does not support. That flexibility keeps an unusual protocol usable instead of forcing a second client.
A logging view records what the core is doing, and the connectivity test confirms whether the current profile actually reaches the internet. Between them, a failed connection becomes something you can diagnose instead of a black box that simply does not work.
The application runs from a folder without a system-wide installer, which suits a USB stick or a locked-down machine. Interface translations and a tray menu with hotkeys keep the workflow quick once the profiles are in place.
Browse historical releases and previous builds.
Common questions about NekoRay.
It manages proxy connections on a desktop machine: you store servers, apply routing rules, and start a connection that carries selected traffic through the node you picked. It is aimed at people who already receive server links or subscriptions and want one place to organise and test them.
It covers SOCKS, HTTP, Shadowsocks, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, TUIC, Hysteria2, and NaiveProxy, and you can also define a custom outbound for anything else. The bundled backend handles most of them, and custom cores extend that list further.
Yes. It reads the raw formats that providers commonly distribute, including link lists and the profile exports used by other popular clients, so pasting a subscription URL usually populates the server list immediately with group information preserved.
The system proxy changes the operating system's settings, which most desktop applications respect but some ignore. TUN mode in NekoRay creates a virtual interface and captures traffic at the network layer, so software that never consults proxy settings is still routed through the node.
Only when you enable a mode that changes system networking, such as TUN. Storing profiles, running latency tests, and using a system proxy work without elevated privileges, so a normal launch is enough for most day-to-day use.
Select the group and run a latency test; the results appear next to each profile and can be sorted, which puts the quickest node at the top. Repeating the test later is worth doing, since routes and congestion change through the day.
The original project was archived and its repository is now read-only, with the maintainer pointing users toward alternatives. It still runs and remains usable, but new protocols and fixes arrive through forks or through custom cores rather than the original codebase.
Yes. Profiles, groups, and route settings live in the application's own data directory, and the portable distribution keeps everything inside the extracted folder, which makes backup and transfer a matter of copying a single location.
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