macOS menu bar · default browser
Free public beta
Click a link.Flick your halo.
Every link, your circle. Same place, every time. Halo Click becomes your default browser. A glowing radial picker appears at the cursor with Safari, Arc, Firefox, and every Chrome, Brave, and Edge profile — same place, every time.
v1.2.0 · native Swift · local only · macOS 13 Ventura or later
Homebrew
Install
brew install --cask timechainstrategy/tap/halo-clickUpdates
brew upgrade --cask halo-click
Live halo
Click the link · halo opens on the cursor · flick to Work
Notes
Check the Q3 brief
docs.acme.com
docs.acme.com
Animated demonstration: a cursor clicks docs.acme.com in a Notes card, the Halo Click picker appears centered on that click, then flicks toward the Work slice and fades.
Why Halo Click
Built around a circle, not a list.
Choosy, Velja, and Finicky already pick browsers. Halo Click exists for the radial layout and icons that are actually yours.
Radial halo at the cursor
A borderless, non-activating panel appears where you clicked — over every Space, including fullscreen. Click a slice, or drag toward one and release.
Muscle memory, not hunting
The first target is always at the top, then clockwise. Up, down, left, and right highlight those compass points. The same direction is the same browser.
Your icons, not Google’s
Assign a custom PNG to any target — a company logo instead of identical Chrome profile photos. Icons live in Application Support and show in the halo and Settings.
Real Chrome profiles
Auto-detects Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, and Chromium profiles from Local State, plus Safari, Arc, Firefox, Opera, Dia, and Orion. Re-scan adds new ones without shuffling the ones you already placed.
Simple domain rules
Skip the picker for hosts you already know. Patterns are the host only: acme.com, *.acme.com, or globs like *acme*. Pasting a full URL is fine.
Keyboard, if you want it
Number keys 1–9 and 0 open the first ten targets. Arrows and Tab move the highlight; Return or Space opens. ⌘C or Ctrl-C copies the link. Esc dismisses.
A JSON file you can edit
Settings writes human-readable JSON. Open it in any editor; Halo Click reloads on save. Invalid JSON keeps the last good settings and shows the error.
Native, local, lightweight
A Swift menu-bar app with no Dock icon. No accounts, no tracking, no network calls for the picker. Pause it and links go to your fallback (Safari by default).
How it works
Three steps. Then you stop thinking about it.
- 01
Make it the default browser
Launch Halo Click from the menu bar. Choose Set as Default Browser — or pick it in System Settings → Desktop & Dock. Turn on Launch at login so it is running after reboot.
- 02
Click any link
Mail, Slack, Notes, Xcode. A glowing halo appears at the cursor with your enabled targets. First-run detection seeds Chrome, Brave, and Edge profiles plus the browsers you already have.
- 03
Flick toward the same place
Drag toward a slice and release, click it, or press its number. That compass point is now muscle memory. Add a host rule when you never want to see the picker for a domain.
Versus the usual suspects
A circle instead of a menu. Icons that are yours.
Choosy and Velja are solid list-style pickers. Finicky is a scripted router. Halo Click is the one you aim with.
| Halo Click | Choosy | Velja | Finicky | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picker | Radial halo at the cursor | Menu / list | Menu / list | No on-screen picker |
| Icons | Your PNG per target | Stock browser icons | Stock browser icons | — |
| Chrome profiles | First-class, from Local State | Supported | Supported | Write it in JS |
| Rules | Simple host patterns | Deep rules engine | Friendly rules | JavaScript |
| Keyboard | 1–9 / 0, arrows, Tab | Keyboard support | Keyboard support | — |
| Config | JSON you can hand-edit | App settings | App settings | JavaScript file |
| App | Native Swift, local-only | Native Mac app | Native Mac app | Open-source helper |
FAQ
Straight answers.
What Macs does it run on?+
macOS 13 Ventura or later. It is a native menu-bar app (no Dock icon) built with Swift and SwiftUI.
Does Halo Click track me or send links anywhere?+
No. The picker, rules, and config are entirely local. There is no account, no analytics inside the app, and no telemetry. Clicked URLs stay on your Mac. The website counts downloads (Homebrew vs web) with no IP addresses.
How do I set it as the default browser?+
Launch Halo Click, then choose Set as Default Browser from the menu bar, Settings → General, or the first-run welcome checklist. Confirm the macOS prompt. You can also pick Halo Click in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Default web browser. Enable Launch at login so it is running after reboot — only the default browser receives clicked links, and only while Halo Click is running.
Which browsers and profiles are supported?+
Halo Click auto-detects Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge, Firefox, Arc, Opera, Vivaldi, Chromium, Dia, and Orion. Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, and Chromium profiles are read from each browser’s Local State file so you can put Work and Home on different slices.
Can some sites skip the picker?+
Yes. Add a host rule — acme.com, *.acme.com, or a glob like *acme* — and matching links open in the target you choose. Settings → Rules can test a link before you save.
Do I need Accessibility or Screen Recording permission?+
No. The halo does not read the screen or inject clicks. Full Disk Access is not required to read your own Chrome profile names.
Where is the config, and can I edit it by hand?+
~/Library/Application Support/Halo Click/config.json is pretty-printed JSON. Settings can reveal, open, or reload it. Saving from another editor is picked up automatically. If the JSON is invalid, Halo Click keeps the last good settings, shows the error, and writes a backup.
Will it stay free?+
It's free during the public beta. If that ever changes, early users will be looked after — no promises beyond that, and no bait-and-switch planned.
Is it on the Mac App Store?+
Not yet. Grab the notarized DMG from the Download button, or install with Homebrew. The source repo stays private.
How do I install with Homebrew?+
After the public tap is up, this is the whole install. Same command upgrades after the first tap add.
Homebrew
Same notarized DMG, installed from the public tap. The cask URL goes through /download/<version> so updates are counted.
Install
brew install --cask timechainstrategy/tap/halo-clickUpdates
brew upgrade --cask halo-clickGet Halo Click
Free public beta
Free during public beta
Download the notarized DMG, or install with Homebrew. A personal Mac utility: radial picker, custom icons, Chromium profiles, host rules, and a config file you can edit. Local only — no account.
Free
Free during public beta · macOS 13+ · v1.2.0
Homebrew
Same notarized DMG, installed from the public tap. The cask URL goes through /download/<version> so updates are counted.
Install
brew install --cask timechainstrategy/tap/halo-clickUpdates
brew upgrade --cask halo-click