Microsoft Edge profiles in the Mac Dock, one icon each
by ZwayStudiosupdated
Chrome Profile Switcher gives each Microsoft Edge profile its own icon in the Mac Dock, so your work profile and your personal profile each get one click. Click an icon and that profile’s existing windows come forward, even from another desktop or display. It works with Microsoft Edge, Edge Beta and Edge Dev.
Why all Edge profiles share one Dock icon
Many people keep one Edge profile for a work or school account and another for personal browsing. The macOS Dock, though, shows one icon per running app. Edge is one app, so every profile sits behind the same Edge icon. Getting to your work inbox means clicking Edge, then looking through windows until you find the right profile.
How Chrome Profile Switcher handles Edge
Edge is built on Chromium. When you have more than one profile, Edge 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 Edge keeps in its “Local State” file.
Edge keeps its profile folders in:
~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge/
Each profile icon is a tiny launcher app (about 2 MB) stored in ~/Applications/Chrome Profiles. It is not a second copy of Edge. One Edge keeps running, so each profile keeps its own sign in, extensions and history, and no second browser runs in memory.
With an Edge profile icon you can:
- Click to bring that profile’s windows forward, and click again to cycle through them.
- Hover to see the profile’s windows in a panel, including windows on other desktops. Live previews need the optional Screen Recording permission. The “+” button opens a new window in that profile.
- Right-click for the window list, New Window, and New Incognito Window, which opens a private window in that profile.
- Keep in Dock with right-click, Options, Keep in Dock, then drag it where you like.
Set it up for Edge
- Download Chrome Profile Switcher. It is free during the beta: a short form, then the DMG downloads right away.
- Open the app. On first open macOS may say it cannot check the app. Go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway, once.
- Turn on Accessibility when asked. It is the only permission needed, and it lets the app read window titles and bring the right window forward.
- Open a window in each Edge profile, for example your work profile and your personal profile.
- The profile icons appear in the Dock by themselves, next to Edge’s normal icon.
Limits with Edge
- Same names. Two Edge profiles with exactly the same name cannot be told apart. Rename one, for example “Work” and “Personal”.
- No per profile shortcuts yet. A keyboard shortcut per profile is on the roadmap under Next.
- Command Tab. The icons live in the Dock. Command Tab still shows one Edge.
- Not notarized yet. During the beta you need the one time Open Anyway step. Notarization is planned for when the app leaves beta.
For a longer look at keeping work and personal browsing apart, see work and personal profiles. The full list of browsers is on the supported browsers page.