Refract, by Substant Studio

Refract

Send every link to the right browser.

Refract is a menu bar app for macOS that decides which browser opens a URL. Click a link, pick a browser, or teach it a rule. After that it routes silently and stays out of the way.

Chooser panel, matched-rule state

Behaviour

A small decision, made quickly, then never again.

01   Route

Click, pick, gone.

Refract intercepts every link your Mac opens and shows a small panel. Use the mouse, a number, or one keystroke to send the URL to the browser that suits it. The panel dismisses itself the moment you choose.

02   Remember

Teach it once.

Press r and Refract learns a rule from the URL in front of you. Figma to Safari, Linear to Arc, anything ending in .pdf to Preview. Rules are scopeable from the full domain down to a single path.

03   Disappear

Quiet by default.

Once a rule exists, the panel stops appearing for matching links. Refract lives in the menu bar, takes no dock slot, draws nothing on the screen until you ask it to. The fast path is invisible.

Specifics

Native, sandboxed, and built to age forward.

Platform macOS 26 or later
Architecture Apple Silicon, native
Surface Menu bar, no dock icon
Stack SwiftUI, AppKit where needed
Bundle nu.substant.Refract
Distribution Mac App Store
Default browser Refract takes the slot, routes onward
Telemetry None

Pricing

Free to use. Pro when you want more.

Refract is free, including up to five remembered rules. For most setups that is the whole app.

Refract Pro is a one-time purchase of $9.99 that unlocks unlimited rules and every future Pro capability. No subscription. The matching engine, the keyboard chooser, and every browser and profile stay free for everyone.

Coming to the Mac App Store.

support@substant.nu →