Browser Switch (macOS Menu Bar App)

Browser Switch is a lightweight macOS menu bar utility that makes changing your default browser a one-click action.

If you regularly jump between Chrome, Safari, Arc, Firefox, or Edge for different tasks, Browser Switch removes the trip to System Settings and keeps your day moving along.

Screenshot

Recommended shot: the open menu showing browser options, current checkmark, VPN/internet context rows, and settings actions.

Why It’s Useful

• Save time: switch default browser instantly from the menu bar
• Stay focused: no System Settings navigation every time
• Work your way: quickly move between work, personal, and testing browser contexts
• Built for daily use: minimal UI, fast launch, no Dock clutter in normal use

Features

• Menu bar app with no Dock presence during normal use
• Switch default browser for http and https
• Shows installed browsers dynamically (Safari/Chrome pinned first)
• Checkmark indicates the browser currently set by macOS
• De-duplicates duplicate browser entries by display name
• Internet context section in the menu:
  • VPN status from system network state (supports OpenConnect utun routes)
  • Green check icon when VPN is connected
  • ISP and location from https://wtfismyip.com/json
  • IP and Tor-exit values hidden unless the Option key is held
  • Network-change triggered refresh, throttled to at most once per minute
• About panel with app identity and copyright
• Settings menu:
  • Run on Startup
  • Scan for New Browsers
• Quit action from menu

Install

Copy and paste this into Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adamabernathy/browser-selector/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

This clones the repo to a temp directory, compiles a release build, copies the app to ~/Applications, and cleans up after itself. Requires macOS 12+ and Xcode (or Command Line Tools with Swift 5.9+).

To uninstall:

rm -rf ~/Applications/Browser\ Switch.app

Development

Requirements

• macOS 12+
• Xcode or Apple Swift toolchain (Swift 5.9+)

Build and run from Xcode

1. File > Open... and select this folder.
2. Select the BrowserSwitchMenuBarApp scheme.
3. Build and run.

Build and run from Terminal

Useful for development logs and debugging. The process is attached to your terminal session:

swift build
swift run

Build a standalone .app bundle

./scripts/build-app.sh --release --run

This creates dist/Browser Switch.app and opens it. You can also double-click the app from Finder.

Run tests

swift test

CI and Packaging

GitHub Actions workflows are included:

• CI: runs tests and release build on pushes/PRs
• Package macOS App: builds a downloadable .app zip artifact and publishes it on version tags (v*)

License

Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.