After you connect, one more decision remains: which traffic goes through the node, and which stays local. Rule mode matches domains, suffixes, keywords, or IP ranges. Global sends as much traffic as it can through the current node. Direct is almost the same as leaving the proxy off. All three modes work. The daily default stays on Rule not because it is more advanced, but because it leaves you a comparison.
Global looks easier. Every flow the app can take over goes out, with one less decision and less “where does this domain go.” The cost: when a site fails, you can no longer switch to global to tell a bad rule from a dead node. Once that comparison is spent, what remains is changing nodes, reinstalling, and rebooting—more steps, less information.
A bad rule and a dead node look the same
A page timeout, a certificate error, and an app that spins look almost identical. Rules marking a domain as Direct when Direct cannot reach it will do that. A node that is already dead will do that too. Stay on Rule day to day. When something fails, switch to Global first: if it recovers at once, the rules probably missed or mis-hit the domain; if Global fails too, look at the node, the local network, and the clock. Reverse the order and you will blame the proxy service, change the subscription, and only then find one missing line on the list.
Per-app proxying is the same class of problem. One app is set to Direct or not to use the proxy, the browser works, and it feels like “everything is broken.” Confirm the current mode first, then whether that app has its own exception. Change one thing at a time. Change the mode, the rules, and the node together, and you will not know which step worked. The next time the same symptom appears, you cannot reuse the conclusion.
A longer list is not a better list
Do not stack many rule lists from sources you do not know. After they overwrite each other, a site that just worked can flip to Direct or time out, and you will not remember which list changed the behavior. Lists update, and an update is not itself an error. The error is stacking another “more complete” list before you understand the one you have.
Rules you edited yourself need a backup even more. After you switch devices or reinstall, a subscription URL can often bring nodes back. Domains and remarks you changed by hand will not return on their own. A rule file, like the node list, is app data. It is not the one-time purchase on the Apple ID. The purchase lets you install the app again. It cannot restore the one domain or remark you changed in the rules yesterday.
Global is for comparison, not a long-term default. Direct is for confirming the local network still works, not a stand-in for “already connected.”
When global is appropriate
Use it while you compare. After you write a new rule set, just changed subscriptions, or a site fails in only one mode, switching to Global for a look is worth it. Switch back when you are done. Staying on Global long term also sends local services, intranet devices, and requests that never needed to leave. You lose a comparison while debugging, and day to day it is harder to explain why work email suddenly slowed down.
Some people treat Global as “more stable.” Stability depends on the node and the local network, not on sending every flow out. Global only skips one match. Fewer matches mean fewer mis-hits and less information. You no longer know how a domain would have been handled, so you cannot edit that one rule. Switch back when the comparison is done, and Global stays useful.
Before you edit rules yourself
See what the current list already covers, then add exceptions. Add first and look later, and the list becomes a pile of patches that do not know each other. After a change, try the same page at once: open it in Rule and in Global, and write down which one works. The one that works tells you whether the problem is the list or the node. That is more useful than downloading another “more complete” list.
Keyword rules are especially easy to over-match. A short word can hit a batch of domains you did not have in mind. Yesterday’s convenience becomes another set of timeouts today. After you change a keyword, open the target site and also two pages that have always worked. If those break together, revert this rule first, then decide whether to write it more narrowly.
A rule file can update from a subscription. A successful update does not mean behavior still matches yesterday. After an update, walk through your usual sites before you change anything else. Keep “just updated” in mind, and you guess one less round while debugging. Do not stack unknown lists to feel complete. Rules you cannot read are rules you cannot delete accurately when they fail.
Menu names in different versions may say Proxy, Config, or Scene. The meaning is close. Do not get stuck on the label. Ask first where traffic goes by default, then whether you can switch how it goes when something fails. Names change. The three paths do not: follow the list, send as much as possible, send as little as possible. Stay on the first day to day. Leave the other two for comparison.
The how-to is in Proxy mode and rules. If you are connected and pages still fail, see Connected does not mean pages will load.