---
title: Choose Which Browser Opens Each Link on Mac
order: 13
summary: Pick a browser or profile each time you click a link, for every link or only some. Junction's picker asks at click time, and holding Option skips your rules.
related: [actions, config, quickstart]
icons: [mouse-pointer-click]
---

# Choose a browser every time you click a link

Junction is a free, open-source macOS app that becomes your default browser and routes each link by your rules. Its picker asks where a link should open — for every link, for the links your rules don't cover, or only when you hold ⌥ Option.

![Junction's picker for a bit.ly link: Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari, numbered 1 to 4](/_astro/01-picker.BCGIo7oM.png)

## How do I choose a browser each time I click a link?

Set Junction's fallback to the picker. Your rules still route the links they match, and every other link shows the picker.

```json config
{
  "fallback": { "app": "picker" }
}
```

```text junction test
$ junction test "https://example.com/"
input:       https://example.com/
rule:        none
action:      show picker
url:         https://example.com/
```

You can also choose the picker as the fallback in Junction's Settings.

## Can I skip my rules for one link?

Yes. Hold **⌥ Option** while you click a link and Junction shows the picker, whatever your rules say.

## Can only some links ask?

Yes. Give a rule the `prompt` action and the links it matches always ask. Short links are a good fit, since you can't see where they go:

```json rule
{
  "name": "Short links → ask",
  "match": { "patterns": ["bit.ly/*", "t.co/*", "lnkd.in/*", "tinyurl.com/*"] },
  "action": { "prompt": true }
}
```

## What happens when several links arrive at once?

They collect in one picker — more in [opening several links at once](open-several-links.md). Links sent to the picker while it's open join one list:

- **Choose a browser** to open them all there.
- **Copy** them, one per line.
- **Esc**, or clicking away, cancels the whole list.

## How do I change how the picker looks?

Go to **Settings → Browsers → Picker appearance**. You can lay the picker out as a list or a row, with or without names, at any icon size. The same settings live in the config file:

| Key | Values | Default |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `layout` | `"vertical"`, `"horizontal"` | `"vertical"` |
| `labels` | `"name"`, `"none"` (icons only) | `"name"` |
| `iconSize` | 16–64 points | 22 |

```json config
{
  "picker": { "layout": "horizontal", "labels": "none", "iconSize": 40 }
}
```

![The same picker as a horizontal row of icons without names](/_astro/02-picker-row.D_yxQWzG.png)

In the horizontal layout, ←/→ move between choices and ↑/↓ jump a row. **Settings → Browsers** also sets which browsers and profiles appear in the picker.

## Can the picker choose a browser profile?

Yes — profiles appear in the picker alongside browsers. To send links to a profile automatically instead, see [Chrome profiles](chrome-profile-links.md). For links you'd rather not open at all, see [link privacy](privacy-link-rules.md).

## Get Junction

Junction is free and MIT-licensed, for macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon and Intel. [Install it](/#install) with Homebrew or the DMG, then follow the [first-launch steps](/docs#quickstart).