free-nodes/v2rayfree: what a daily-updated free node subscription actually gives you

A subscription feed, not a proxy client

The repository has no source code. Its top level holds README.md, a file named sub, a QR image sub.png, and three dated directories: v20260919, v20260920 and v20260921. That layout tells you what the project is. It is a publishing pipeline that emits a subscription file once a day and keeps the last few days on disk, with a README that documents the current endpoint. The README states the nodes are speed-tested and updated every six hours, and the header timestamp in the README matches the date of the newest directory.

The audience is people who already run a client and need endpoints to point it at. It does not help anyone who has not chosen a client, because the repository does not ship one. It also does not help anyone who needs a named provider with an account, a quota and a support address. What it offers is a URL. Everything downstream of that URL, including whether the nodes respond, is outside the repository's control.

What the sub file and the README list contain

Two different things are published. The README embeds a fenced list of share links, and it says plainly that the list shows at most 20 nodes and that the rest are behind the permanent subscription address. Each entry in that list is a base64-encoded ss:// URI with a host, a port and a URL-encoded label; the labels in the README all read as an unknown SS node numbered 01 through 20 with the free-nodes tag. The README does not explain how the nodes were obtained, who operates them, or what the labels mean beyond that tag.

The second artifact is the subscription itself at https://raw.githubusercontent.com/free-nodes/v2rayfree/main/sub. Clients fetch that URL, decode the payload and merge the result into their node list. The README also publishes a QR image of the same address for mobile clients that scan rather than type. Because the file lives on raw.githubusercontent.com, the fetch is a plain HTTPS request with no authentication and no per-user token, so the same content is served to every reader.

Adding the subscription in v2rayN, sing-box or Clash Verge Rev

The README does not give install steps for the project itself, because there is nothing to install. It points at three Windows clients with download links: V2rayN, sing-box and Clash Verge Rev, each linking to that project's GitHub releases page. The workflow below assumes one of those is already running and that you have the subscription URL from the README.

Paste the subscription URL into the client's subscription field. In V2rayN the README links a configuration walkthrough at https://github.com/clashbk/clash/wiki/v2rayn. In Clash Verge Rev the equivalent walkthrough is at https://github.com/clashbk/clash/wiki/clash-verge-rev. After the client imports, trigger an update so it re-fetches the file rather than using a cached copy.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/free-nodes/v2rayfree/main/sub

What you should see is a node list populated with entries tagged free-nodes. If the list is empty, the fetch failed or the client could not parse the payload; the README does not document either failure mode, so there is no error reference to consult.

The README also sells paid plans, which changes how you read it

Below the node list the README promotes two commercial services, ORYMI and 星辰加速, with registration links, discount codes and plan details: ORYMI lists a free tier at 20 GB and 5 Mbps on one device, and 星辰加速 lists a 9 yuan monthly plan at 150 GB with unlimited devices. The README notes that the redirect links may be blocked and suggests using the free subscription first to reach them.

This matters for evaluation. A repository whose README carries affiliate registration links has an incentive structure that a plain node list does not, and the free tier specifications are marketing copy from the vendors, not measurements. Nothing in the repository states whether the free nodes and the paid services share infrastructure, or whether the free list exists to funnel readers toward the paid ones. The README does not address that question. Treat the node list and the recommendations as separate claims.

Where this breaks down

The central limitation is stated by the project's own framing rather than by any test: free nodes from an open list are shared by everyone who reads the list, and the README's six-hour update cadence exists precisely because nodes disappear. A node that worked when the subscription was fetched may be gone an hour later, and the client will keep offering it until the next refresh. There is no health signal in the subscription format itself, so the client cannot tell a live node from a dead one without trying it.

Trust is the second problem. The README does not document who operates the nodes, what logging happens on them, or what the operator gains. Traffic through an unknown proxy is visible to that proxy. For browsing a public page that is a small exposure; for anything authenticated it is not, and the repository gives you no basis to judge which nodes are which. There is also no licence file in the repository, so the terms under which the subscription content is redistributed are unstated.

Finally, this is the wrong tool for anything with an availability requirement. There is no status page, no incident history and no support channel. If a node fails at 2 a.m., the recovery path is to wait for the next update or pick another entry by hand.

How it differs from running your own endpoint

The obvious alternative is not another free node list; it is a proxy you control, either a self-hosted V2Ray or sing-box instance on a VPS or a paid subscription from a provider with an SLA. The difference is in who holds the failure. With this repository you inherit someone else's capacity and someone else's decisions about retention and access, and your only lever is to switch nodes. With your own endpoint you own the address, the configuration and the logs, and the failure mode becomes a bill or an unpatched server rather than a node that silently stopped answering.

The trade is cost and effort against control. A self-hosted setup requires provisioning, a domain or IP that survives blocking, and ongoing maintenance. This repository requires a URL and a client. If your need is occasional and low-stakes, the URL is proportionate. If you are routing work traffic, the effort of a controlled endpoint buys you the one thing this project cannot offer: knowing what is on the other end.

Maintenance, licensing and what to check

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-09-21, so the publishing job is running and the dated directories confirm daily output. That is the extent of the maintenance signal available. There are no releases, and the README does not describe a versioning scheme, so an upgrade is simply the next day's subscription fetch; there is no changelog to read and no rollback procedure documented. If a refresh imports a bad batch, the README does not tell you how to revert to the previous day's file, though the v20260919, v20260920 and v20260921 directories suggest recent snapshots are kept in the repository.

On licensing, the repository carries no licence identifier and no LICENSE file appears in the top-level entries. That means the terms for reusing the subscription content are not stated anywhere the repository makes visible. If you plan to redistribute the list or build on it, the absence of a stated licence is a question to resolve before you do, not after. The client applications the README links are separate projects with their own licences, which you should check on their own repositories.

Editorial conclusion

Adopt this if you want a zero-cost subscription URL to paste into v2rayN, sing-box or Clash Verge Rev and you accept that any single node may be dead by the time you use it. Do not adopt it if you need stable throughput, a support channel, or a documented licence and provenance for what you are routing through. Before relying on it, fetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/free-nodes/v2rayfree/main/sub and confirm the client parses the entries and that at least one node completes a request, because the README lists only 20 sample nodes and the full set lives behind that URL.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. free-nodes/v2rayfree on GitHub
2. Issues
3. Project website
4. README