Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Opera each have a BrowserFairy extension you install from that browser's own store. They all work the same way, so once you know one, you know them all.

What the extension adds

Every BrowserFairy extension adds the same two actions inside your browser:

A toolbar button labeled BrowserFairy. Click it to send the page you are currently viewing.
A right-click menu item on links labeled Open with BrowserFairy. Right-click any link and choose it to send that link instead of the whole page.

There is no keyboard shortcut and no settings screen to configure. These two actions are the whole feature.

If you want the bigger picture of why extensions exist alongside default-browser routing, see Browser extensions.

Install for your browser

Open the store page for your browser, then add the extension. Each link below goes straight to the official listing.

Chrome

Open the BrowserFairy listing on the Chrome Web Store.
Click Add to Chrome, then confirm in the dialog Chrome shows.

Edge

Open the BrowserFairy listing on Microsoft Edge Add-ons.
Click Get, then confirm in the dialog Edge shows.

Firefox

Open the BrowserFairy listing on Firefox Add-ons.
Click Add to Firefox, then confirm in the dialog Firefox shows.

Opera

Open the BrowserFairy listing on the Opera add-ons site.
Click Add to Opera, then confirm in the dialog Opera shows.

Pin the toolbar button

After installing, the BrowserFairy button may be tucked away in your browser's extensions menu. Pin it to the toolbar so it is always one click away. In most browsers you do this from the puzzle-piece or extensions icon next to the address bar.

How the handoff works

When you use either action, the extension sends the link to the BrowserFairy app, and BrowserFairy opens the Browser Launcher so you can pick a browser (and a profile, if you use them). BrowserFairy must be installed and running on the same Mac for this to work.

After you send a page or link, BrowserFairy shows the Browser Launcher so you can choose where it opens.

From the launcher, click a browser to open the link there, or use the keyboard: press a number to open the browser at that position, type a letter to jump to one by name, then press Return.

Firefox on a cold start

The first time you open a brand-new Firefox window when Firefox is not already running can take a few seconds. After Firefox is open, links route to it right away.

If nothing happens

If a toolbar button or menu item does nothing, the most common cause is that BrowserFairy is not running, so there is no app to receive the link. Make sure BrowserFairy is installed and that its icon is in your menu bar. For more, see Troubleshooting.