Vivaldi profiles in the Mac Dock: one icon per profile

Chrome Profile Switcher gives each Vivaldi profile its own icon in the Mac Dock, with the profile’s picture and a small Vivaldi badge. Click an icon and that profile’s existing windows come forward, even when they are on another desktop or display. Vivaldi is fully supported, with windows matched by the profile name in their titles.

Why Vivaldi profiles share one Dock icon

The macOS Dock shows one icon per running app. Vivaldi is one app, so every profile you use, for work, personal browsing or testing, sits behind the same Vivaldi icon. Finding a certain profile’s window means clicking through windows or reading titles in the Window menu.

How Chrome Profile Switcher handles Vivaldi

Vivaldi is built on Chromium. Once you have more than one profile, it 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 Vivaldi keeps in its “Local State” file.

Vivaldi keeps its profile folders in:

~/Library/Application Support/Vivaldi/

Each profile icon is a tiny launcher app (about 2 MB) stored in ~/Applications/Chrome Profiles. It is not a second copy of Vivaldi. The one real Vivaldi keeps running, so logins, extensions and history stay as they are, and no second browser runs in memory.

What a Vivaldi profile icon does:

• Click brings that profile’s windows forward. Click again to cycle to the next window.
• Hover shows a panel with the profile’s windows, including windows on other desktops. With the optional Screen Recording permission you get live previews; without it, the panel lists window titles. The “+” button opens a new window in that profile.
• Right-click shows the window list, New Window and New Incognito Window.
• Keep in Dock (right-click, Options, Keep in Dock) holds the icon in a fixed spot you choose.

Set it up for Vivaldi

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, Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway. This is needed once.
3. Turn on Accessibility when asked. It is the only permission the app needs.
4. In Vivaldi, open a window in each profile you use.
5. The profile icons appear in the Dock by themselves, next to Vivaldi’s own icon.

When a profile’s last window closes, its icon leaves the Dock, like an app quitting. A Settings option keeps icons in place even with no windows.

Limits with Vivaldi

• Same names. Two Vivaldi profiles with exactly the same name cannot be told apart. Rename one.
• Command Tab. The icons live in the Dock. Command Tab still shows one Vivaldi.
• No per profile shortcuts yet. A keyboard shortcut for each profile is on the roadmap under Next.
• No custom icons yet. Icons use the profile’s own picture. Custom icons are planned under Later.

The app also works with Chrome, Brave, Edge and Firefox based browsers at the same time. See all supported browsers, or the answers page for privacy and permission questions.