Finicky is a free, open-source Mac app that routes every link with rules you write in a JavaScript config file. It's a favorite among developers who like their setup in code.
Switchbar gives you a picker for every link plus rules you create in a few clicks, with no code needed. It's free and works on both Mac and Windows.
At a glance
| Switchbar | Finicky | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A free picker that opens every link in the right browser, profile, or app | A rules-only link router configured with JavaScript |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows | macOS 12 or later |
| Picker | Your favorite browsers, profiles, and apps in one row, centered or under your pointer, with keyboard shortcuts | No picker; links follow your rules |
| Browser profiles | Any profile, including Safari profiles, plus Incognito and InPrivate windows | Chromium profiles; Firefox profiles in a pre-release |
| Rules | URL, domain, or email address with wildcards, set in a few clicks or from the picker | A JavaScript or TypeScript file with wildcards, regex, functions, source app, and modifier keys |
| Link cleanup | Removes tracking parameters and expands short links, on by default | Rewrite rules you write; expands known short links |
What is Switchbar?
Switchbar is a free browser picker for Mac and Windows. Make it your default browser, and every link without a rule shows a row of your favorite browsers, profiles, and apps. Choose with a click or a keystroke, and check "Remember this choice" to turn that decision into a rule. It needs no account.
What is Finicky?
Finicky is an MIT-licensed Mac app that becomes your default browser and sends each link where your config file says. Rules are written in JavaScript or TypeScript and can use wildcards, regex, functions, the source app, and modifier keys. This comparison is based on Finicky 4.
1. A picker when you want to choose
Finicky has no picker: every link follows the rules in your config file, and its README points people who want to choose to a separate app.
Switchbar shows a picker whenever no rule applies, so you can decide on the spot. Check "Remember this choice" and that decision becomes a rule.
2. Rules without code
Finicky's rules live in a file you edit. A visual rules editor is available in a pre-release version.
Switchbar's rules live in its settings. Match a URL, domain, or email address with wildcards, choose where it opens, and drag rules into order. Export your rules and import them on another computer.
3. Clean links by default
Switchbar removes tracking parameters and expands common short links before a link opens. In Finicky, you clean up links by writing rewrite rules.
4. Mac and Windows
Finicky is a Mac app. Switchbar works the same way on Mac and Windows, which helps if you use both.
Moving from Finicky
- Download Switchbar and make it your default browser.
- Pick your favorite browsers, profiles, and apps from the ones it finds.
- Recreate the rules you rely on most from Switchbar's settings, or by checking "Remember this choice" in the picker.
Which one should you choose?
Finicky is still a good fit if you:
- Want free, open-source software you can inspect and modify
- Want fully scriptable rules with regex, functions, the source app, or modifier keys
- Like keeping your configuration in a file under version control
Switchbar is the better fit if you:
- Want to choose where some links open, not just route them
- Prefer setting rules in a few clicks over editing code
- Want clean links without writing rewrite rules
- Use Windows, or both Mac and Windows
Get control over every link without a config file: try Switchbar for free.
