Parall - Multi-Instance App Launcher for macOS
Run multiple instances of Mac apps natively and cleanly.
Parall lets you create independent shortcut apps that behave like standalone apps, each with its own Dock icon, name, menu bar icon, configuration, and optional data container.
Parall lets you launch multiple instances of selected Mac apps through a native shortcut design, with no scripts or background daemons.
Examples: run Philips Hue Sync shortcuts for separate display lighting, launch Chrome with separate data, use multiple Dropbox accounts, or turn a website URL into its own app shortcut.
Key Features
- Launch multiple instances of the same app side by side.
- Each shortcut behaves like a separate app in the Dock with its own icon and name.
- Animate Dock icons and apply visual effects per shortcut, such as rotation or pulsing, opacity, grayscale, and transforms.
- Create Dock shortcuts that open any file, folder, or document in its default app.
- Redirect data for most non-sandboxed apps and sandboxed Electron, Firefox, or Eclipse apps.
- Automatically erase a shortcut's redirected data folder when the shortcut closes.
- Customize shortcut appearance with custom icons, or draw a text label on the Dock icon to distinguish "Work", "Personal", "Client A", etc.
- Override shortcut appearance with Follow System, Light, or Dark mode.
- Add a menu bar icon to control any shortcut while it is running.
- For supported browsers, get quick actions from the menu bar icon, including opening new windows.
- Control full-screen menu bar behavior for supported apps, including per-shortcut overrides for Chrome-based browsers.
- Experimental Dock icon visibility override for advanced setups that need special Dock behavior.
- New System Launch Mode with additional launch options for apps that are not compatible with Dock Shortcut Mode.
- For untested apps, download recommended compatibility presets with one click to simplify setup.
- Add command-line parameters or flags per shortcut.
- Create native macOS app shortcuts for any terminal commands.
- Advanced Info.plist overrides for fine-grained behavior tuning.
- Define environment variables per shortcut for flexible control and separation.
- iOS and iPadOS apps can be launched via shortcuts with environment overrides and arguments, but cannot separate data and cannot provide a dedicated Dock icon.
- Shortcuts stay in sync whenever the original app updates.
- Parall runs only when you use it. No background processes.
Parall-created shortcuts run fully offline and never transmit any data.
Parall itself operates offline by default with no background services or telemetry. Its only network request is optional: clicking "Download Compatibility Settings" for the selected app.
With Parall you can redirect an app storage to any location - for example:
- A Dropbox or iCloud Drive folder to keep app data synced across devices.
- An external SSD or network drive to save space on your internal disk.
- A project-specific folder to separate sessions or environments for testing.
This gives you complete freedom to organize, back up, and share app profiles the way you prefer.
Each shortcut Parall creates is a lightweight .app bundle that directly launches your chosen app.
You can pin them to the Dock, rename them, and assign custom icons - making each instance truly feel like an independent application.
Parall itself is fully sandboxed, private, and Mac App Store approved.
Shortcuts you create are not sandboxed (by macOS design) but are completely safe - they simply launch your existing apps.
WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams is an implementation exception: Parall creates a lightweight sandboxed web frame launcher to make the app compatible.
Not every app supports multiple simultaneous instances.
For the current compatibility list, visit parall.app/compatibility.
If your app isn't listed or you'd like confirmation before purchase, contact support@parall.app - I'll test it and, if possible, add support.
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The only app for custom apps on Mac
MikaelNYC
It’s hard to believe but you can’t have two shortcuts on your Mac dock, one going to your work chrome profile and another one to your personal Chrome profile. Look online and you’ll find countless bad options to try to cope with that limitation. This app is the one that solved the problem super smoothly, love it. Even use my custom Chrome icon for my personal and can finally separate things. I haven’t used it yet, but I think use cases go beyond Chrome, you can use it for any app that need to be launched with different profiles.
Not great for Microsoft Teams
Jaxxonxx
Love the idea of this app and dropped $10 on the promise that it would be the solution I always needed to run separate Teams instances.Sure enough, I was able to create three separate Teams instances to use for my three different clients who need me on Teams all the time. Great. The setup was fairly easy. And I enjoyed the customization of the app icons for the dock, etc.The problem came with actually using the instances. Login/auth was a challenge in each one and keeping any kind of live state/session going was a fail. If I was apparently successful in logging in, I was then left with a stale state in which it appeared to be logged in but wasn’t. New messages weren’t showing up, etc. I would eventually get a message to log in again (infinite loops of logged in, not logged in). Losing threads, etc. And joining live calls was a mess or nearly impossible. I quit and restarted the instances several times throughout. Restarted my Mac, etc. No luck.And each of the three instances of Teams had different flavors of these issues. Somehow, they were not consistent.In one instance, I tried navigating to email from within there (to confirm login, for example) and that took me to a weird dead-end state with no back navigation. Restarted the app. Still not logged in. Etc.So.. while I love the idea enough to pay for it, I got poor results for my use case. Maybe someone else will have better luck.
Developer Response
Hi. I made fixes related to Teams in Parall v2.4.7 based on your feedback. Parall shortcuts by design are not updated automatically when a Parall update is released. Please try to re-generate/edit shortcuts with latest Parall version and don’t forget to define a permanent data storage path per shortcut. If that doesn’t help, please contact support@parall.app, and I’ll do my best to make it work as expected for you (and I hope it does already).
Game Changing
nick applesman
I work under multiple brands that have their own accounts and emails and whatnot. I started using Vivaldi so I could keep things separated by profile. Parall takes that to the next level. Now each of my Vivaldi windows is specifically scoped to each brand, with each window showing the brand’s icon in the dock so I know exactly which one I’m clicking on. If you need to run multiple instances of an app that are essentially in their own containers, this is the way to do it. It just works.
Exceeds Expectations
QuidHD
Parall solves the problem of needing multiple instances of the same app on macOS both very effectively and very elegantly. Despite all of the quirks macOS presents in making this solution a reality, Parall makes the whole setup extremely easy and in the end you get a clear discernible copy of the apps you desperately need 2 copies of (looking at you Cursor & Claude). Well done!
- Fixed compatibility issues with Dropbox.
Version 2.4.8
The developer, Ihor July, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Other Data
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More
