2026 · macOS Utility

Ciscowser

Every link click becomes a choice — browser, profile, done.

What it is

Ciscowser is a native macOS app that intercepts every HTTP/HTTPS link click — system-wide — and presents a floating picker so you choose which browser, and which profile, opens it.

One problem, solved completely: macOS allows only one default browser. Ciscowser inserts an explicit decision step between click and open.

Spiritually similar to Velja, built from scratch in Swift as a learning project and personal tool.

What it does

Intercepts all links via NSAppleEventManager before any browser sees them
Detects all installed browsers automatically — Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, Firefox, Safari, and more
Reads Chromium profiles from Local State — shows each profile with its avatar photo
Opens with the right profile using --profile-directory flag
Floating Liquid Glass picker — borderless, ultraThinMaterial, keyboard shortcuts 1–9 and Escape
Menu bar app — runs in background (LSUIElement), always reachable, never in the Dock
4-step onboarding — welcome → set as default → configure browsers → done
Settings window — reorder, hide, rename browsers and profiles
Open at Login toggle
Bilingual — Spanish and English, auto-detected from system language

Architecture

Link click (any app)
    ↓  NSAppleEvent
AppDelegate
    ├── BrowserManager      — discovers browsers, reads Chromium profiles, opens URLs
    ├── BrowserSettingsStore — persists user order, visibility, custom names
    └── BrowserPickerView   — floating Liquid Glass UI with keyboard support

Stack

Language: Swift 5.10
UI: SwiftUI + AppKit (NSWindow, NSHostingView, NSStatusItem)
System APIs: LaunchServices, NSWorkspace, NSAppleEventManager
Persistence: UserDefaults + JSONEncoder
Design: Liquid Glass (ultraThinMaterial, .glassEffect() on macOS 26+)
Target: macOS 13.0+
Distribution: Unsigned DMG — no App Store, no Apple Developer Program required

Key design decisions

No App Sandbox — required to use LaunchServices without entitlement restrictions. No com.apple.developer.web-browser entitlement — Apple does not grant it without review; LSSetDefaultHandlerForURLScheme used as workaround. Browser IDs are UUIDs, not bundle IDs, so multiple profiles of the same browser can coexist in the picker without collision.

Status

v1.4 · Working. Personal use. Distribution as unsigned DMG.