Browser Launcher
Browser Launcher
Pick a browser by hand with the floating launcher, choose a profile, and copy, share, or QR a link.
The Browser Launcher is the manual side of BrowserFairy. Where rules route links automatically, the launcher is a small floating picker you call up when you want to choose the browser, and sometimes the profile, yourself.
When to use it
Reach for the launcher when automatic routing is not what you want for a particular link: a one-off link you want to open somewhere unusual just this once, a link you would rather decide about every time instead of writing a rule for it, or a fresh browser window opened without leaving what you are doing.
If you find yourself making the same choice over and over, turn it into a rule instead. See Create rules and Rule recipes.
Open the launcher three ways
There are three ways to bring up the launcher.
- Press the global shortcut. The default is
⌥⌘B(Option, Command, B). This opens the launcher as a standalone browser picker for a new window, even when BrowserFairy is not the app you are using. - Hold the modifier key while clicking a link. The default key is Option. Hold it as you click a link in any app, and the launcher appears for that link. This forces the picker even when a rule would normally match, so you can override your own routing for a single click.
- Choose it from the menu bar. Click the BrowserFairy icon in the menu bar and choose Browser Launcher…. The menu item shows the current shortcut next to it.
Both the shortcut and the modifier key are configurable, and the shortcut can be cleared to turn the global hotkey off. See Keyboard shortcuts to change them.
Two different keys
The global Browser launcher shortcut (⌥⌘B) opens the picker on its own. The Browser Launcher modifier key (Option) is a separate setting you hold while clicking a link. They do different jobs, and you set both in Settings under Keyboard.
The two looks
The launcher shows itself in one of two ways, depending on how you opened it.
Opened for a link
When the launcher comes up for a specific link (from holding the modifier key, or from a browser extension), it shows the full link in a URL bar at the top, with a copy button next to it. Below the browser list sits a small toolbar with a QR code button and a Share button.
- The copy button writes the displayed link to your clipboard.
- The Share button opens the standard macOS share sheet for the link.
- The QR code button shows the link as a scannable QR code, handy for sending it to a phone or tablet.
The QR button always appears when the launcher is opened for a link. There is no toggle to turn it off.
It does not read your clipboard
The link shown in the launcher always comes from the link you clicked or sent, never from your clipboard. The only clipboard action the launcher takes is writing the link out when you press the copy button.
A standalone picker
When you open the launcher with the global shortcut (or the menu bar item) without a link, it shows just the browser list. There is no URL bar, and no QR or Share toolbar. Picking a browser opens a fresh window in it.
Navigate with the keyboard
The launcher is built for quick, keys-only selection.
- Number keys open the browser at that position right away. The first nine browsers show their position number (1 to 9) on the right side of each row. Press a digit to open that browser.
- Type a letter to jump to a browser whose name starts with that letter. The matching letter is underlined in each row. Keep pressing it to cycle through browsers that share a starting letter.
- Arrow keys move the highlight up and down the list.
- Return opens the highlighted browser.
- Esc closes the launcher.
When a browser has more than one profile, pressing the Right arrow on its row opens its profile list. From there, the Left arrow takes you back to the browser list, and holding Command with a number (for example Command and 1) picks the profile at that position.
The launcher is transient. It also closes on its own if you click outside it or switch to another app, so nothing stays pinned on screen.
Which browsers it shows
The launcher lists the browsers you have chosen in Settings under Browser Launcher, in the order you set there ("Browsers shown in Browser Launcher. Drag to reorder."). This is not your full set of installed browsers, it is the shortlist you curate. Use the add and remove controls, drag to reorder, and the Preview button to check the result. See Settings for the details.
Keep favorites near the top
Because the number keys map to positions, putting your most-used browsers first makes 1, 2, and 3 the fastest way to open them.
Profiles in the launcher
A browser row shows a chevron and a profile submenu only when that browser has more than one profile. In practice that means the Chromium family (Chrome, Brave, Edge, Helium, and Opera) and Firefox. Browsers with a single profile, including Safari, open directly with no submenu.
Profile routing is a Pro feature and needs a one-time setup before profiles appear. To learn how that works, and how to pick a profile per rule as well as in the launcher, see Browser profiles.