Port Already in Use: Fixing 7897 Conflicts

"Port 7897 is already in use" — another program claimed Clash Verge's mixed port first. Two ways out: evict the squatter, or move.

Find the squatter (Windows)

netstat -ano | findstr :7897

The last column is the PID. Identify it:

tasklist | findstr 12345

Usual suspects: another proxy client (CFW, v2rayN, a zombie Verge instance that never quit), or a dev tool's local server. Kill leftovers; for software you actually need, read on.

Move Verge to another port

1. Settings → Ports: set the mixed port to something free — 7899 or 17897 (stay between 1024 and 65535);
2. Save; the core restarts and the system proxy follows to the new port automatically — browsers need nothing;
3. Manually configured software must be updated by hand: git's global proxy, shell env vars, SwitchyOmega profiles… everywhere you ever typed 127.0.0.1:7897.

Running two proxy clients side by side

For testing or comparison, two clients coexist fine on staggered ports — but only one may own the system proxy, and TUN is strictly exclusive: two TUNs fighting over the default route takes the whole machine offline.