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Chrome Profile Switcher · browsers

Brave profiles in the Mac Dock: one icon per profile

by ZwayStudiosupdated

Chrome Profile Switcher gives every Brave profile its own icon in the Mac Dock, with the profile’s picture and a small Brave badge. Click an icon and that profile’s existing windows come forward, even from another desktop or display. It works with Brave, Brave Beta and Brave Nightly.

Why all Brave profiles share one Dock icon

The macOS Dock shows one icon per running app. Brave is one app, so your work, personal and test profiles all sit behind a single Brave icon. To reach a window in a certain profile, you click Brave and then hunt through its windows, or open the Window menu and read the titles. With three or four profiles open, that gets slow.

How Chrome Profile Switcher handles Brave

Brave is built on Chromium and behaves like Chrome here. When you have more than one profile, Brave adds the profile name to the end of each window title. Chrome Profile Switcher reads those titles through the macOS Accessibility API and matches them to the profile list Brave keeps in its “Local State” file.

Brave stores its profile folders in:

~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/

Inside you will find “Default”, “Profile 1”, “Profile 2” and so on, one folder per profile.

Each profile icon is a tiny launcher app (about 2 MB) kept in ~/Applications/Chrome Profiles. It is not a second copy of Brave. The one real Brave keeps running with the same logins, extensions and history, and no second browser in memory.

What you can do with a Brave profile icon:

  • Click to bring that profile’s windows forward. Click again to cycle to its next window.
  • Hover to see a panel of the profile’s windows, including ones on other desktops. With the optional Screen Recording permission, the panel shows live previews. The “+” button opens a new window in that profile.
  • Right-click for the list of windows, New Window and New Incognito Window.
  • Keep in Dock (right-click, Options, Keep in Dock) so the icon stays in a fixed spot.

Set it up for Brave

  1. Download Chrome Profile Switcher. It is free during the beta: fill in a short form and the DMG downloads right away.
  2. Open the app. The first time, macOS may say it cannot check the app. Open System Settings, then Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway. You only do this once.
  3. Turn on the one switch it asks for: Accessibility. This lets it read window titles and bring the right window forward.
  4. In Brave, open a window in each profile you use. The profile (avatar) button at the top right is the quickest way.
  5. The profile icons appear in the Dock by themselves, next to Brave’s own icon.

Icons leave the Dock when a profile’s last window closes, just like an app quitting. If you prefer them to stay, there is an option in Settings.

Limits with Brave

  • Same names. Two Brave profiles with exactly the same name cannot be told apart. Rename one.
  • Single profile. Brave only adds the profile name to titles when you have more than one profile. With just one, there is nothing to switch between anyway.
  • No separate Command Tab entries. The icons live in the Dock. Command Tab still shows one Brave.
  • No custom icons yet. Icons use the profile’s own picture. Custom icons are on the roadmap under Later.

If you also use Chrome, Edge or Firefox, the same app covers them too. See the supported browsers list, or read the answers page for questions about privacy and permissions.

questions

good to know

Does it work with Brave Beta and Brave Nightly?

Yes. Brave, Brave Beta and Brave Nightly are all supported, and each profile gets its own Dock icon with a Brave badge.

Does it make a copy of Brave for each profile?

No. Each profile icon is a tiny launcher app of about 2 MB. One copy of Brave keeps running with the same logins, extensions and history, and no second browser in memory.

Why does one of my Brave profiles not get its own icon?

Check that the profile has an open window and that no two profiles share exactly the same name. If two names match, rename one in Brave.

Can I open a private window for a specific Brave profile?

Yes. Right-click the profile's Dock icon and choose New Incognito Window.

more

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