Shadowrocket is a rule-based client for iPhone and iPad. It creates a VPN configuration on your device, stores the subscriptions or servers you add, and routes traffic by rules. The developer is Shadow Launch Technology Limited. The official app is sold only on the US App Store. The app ID is id932747118.
The easy word to skip is "client." After paying in the store, people assume they bought a service that already opens the sites they care about. Then Home still says Not Connected, and SERVER only shows Add Server. Some think they bought a fake. Some reinstall at once. Some hunt for packages in chat apps. All three put the problem in the wrong place.
The store sells a software license: the right to run this program on your device. The program builds a tunnel, stores servers, and applies rules. Whether the remote host answers, how fast it is, and whether it has expired are not in that purchase. The official site says the same: the author does not provide proxy servers; you must add your own configuration. This site also does not provide or sell subscriptions or addresses.
Split those two jobs and the next steps make sense. A wrong app, iOS refusing the VPN, or a toggle that does nothing is a client and iOS problem—go back to the store checklist or to Settings for permission. High latency, an empty subscription pull, or a failure only in Proxy while Direct works is a server problem—change servers or ask your provider. Do not delete the app. Reinstalling to fix an expired subscription is recutting a key without checking whether the lock changed.
The UI is laid out the same way. Of the four tabs, you almost only need Home. The first-row toggle only opens or closes the tunnel. It does not care whether the list has a server. The second row, Global Routing, sets policy: Config splits by rules, Proxy sends everything through the proxy, Direct sends nothing. The third row, Connectivity Test, measures the path to the server—not how fast a site loads. SERVER is below that. Add Server alone is not a bug. You have not added materials yet.
Config, Data, and Settings are also easy to search in the wrong place. Config holds rule files, not the server list. Data holds export, import, and iCloud backup. Settings holds language, the test method, On Demand, and logs. You can almost ignore the last three tabs the first time. Looking for servers in Config or export on Home feels like a broken app. It is only the wrong tab.
Import is usually one of three: a subscription URL, a QR code, or a set of fields that name the protocol. A subscription URL is often long and starts with http or https. Set Type to Subscribe. Do not split it into Host. A QR code must come from someone you trust; still check Type and Host after the scan. For a hand-entered server, Type must match the protocol they named, and Host, port, password or UUID, and the cipher cannot be guessed. Leave Plugin and obfuscation on none unless they asked.
The official app is for iOS, iPadOS, and the Apple devices the same developer lists in the store. This purchase does not cover Android. Price follows the storefront you open. It is usually a one-time client purchase—not a monthly server fee to Apple. If your region does not list it, that is availability, not a reason to replace the official app with an IPA.
This site is a guide, not the developer website and not in-app help. The pages are static: no accounts, no visit logs, and no proxy. Traffic you generate goes only through the server you choose. If you have not installed yet, verify the official listing on the download page. If it is installed and not connected, finish Get Started in order. Fields, the comparison table, and backups are in the tutorial. Open them when you need them.
Other names blur the line again. Some call it the system VPN. Some call it one provider's exclusive app. It does ask iOS for a VPN configuration, but that is only the slot iOS gives third-party clients—not a carrier plan, and not one provider's official app. The same copy can store subscriptions from different providers, or a single hand-entered server. When you change providers, you usually change the configuration, not the app. If you glue the app to one provider, the next change looks like you must buy the client again.
Law and scope need their own paragraph. Follow local laws when you use network tools. This site only covers how to recognize the official app, finish the first run, and compare common failures. It does not provide anything you can connect with. Screenshots come from the App Store product page. App Store is a trademark of Apple. Shadowrocket belongs to its developer. After you buy in the store, your license is with Apple. Your server relationship is with your provider. Do not stack those two receipts into one.
If you only needed the right expectation, you can stop here. The next step is not hunting for a package. Open the download page and check the three official marks; after install, open Get Started and finish permission plus the first connection. How to fill fields and compare modes can wait until you need that page. Get "what it is" settled, and you walk back less later.
You can also write the first-launch expectation more tightly. You will see a system prompt, an empty server list, and a toggle that cannot work yet. None of that means the purchase failed. A successful purchase looks like the official icon on the Home Screen and a matching developer name on the product page. "It works" looks like a familiar site opening in Safari after you add your own configuration. The blank stretch in between is normal waiting, not a failure.
One sentence is enough: buying the app only means your phone has a tool that can build a tunnel. Whether the tunnel works, and whether a site opens, still depends on a working configuration and whether that configuration is still valid. See that layer, and Not Connected stops looking like an error. It is just a form you have not finished.