Parall

Parall is a native macOS application that lets you run multiple independent instances of the same supported app on your Mac, each with its own name and Dock icon. Where the target app supports it, those instances can also use separate accounts, profiles, and data. Beyond running app instances, Parall turns any website URL into a Web App Shortcut, and can also launch files, folders, and command-line tools as shortcuts. It is built for Mac users who need genuine separation between accounts, brands, clients, or working contexts without logging out and back in every time. Parall does all of this through lightweight shortcuts that keep the original app untouched. The problem Parall addresses is a long-standing limitation in macOS. macOS gives a regular app one usable running identity, so launching it again cannot reliably produce a separate instance with its own Dock icon and Spaces behavior. App data is stored wherever the app decides, which means accounts, profiles, and working data often cannot be moved to an external drive, cloud storage, or an easy to access folder. And to use more than one account, users usually have to log out and log back in every time. Parall was built by Ihor July, a cybersecurity expert and reverse engineer, who dealt with these macOS limitations for more than a decade, built scripted app bundles for himself as a workaround, and then realized there was no easy, polished way for regular users to run truly independent app instances. Parall's central capability is running supported apps as separate instances. Instead of being limited to one running copy, you can run multiple supported app instances side by side. Where the target app allows it, each instance can be given its own data folder, account set, profile, or storage location, so the accounts and settings stay apart. Each instance can also appear with its own Dock identity, pinned with its own name and icon, so macOS treats it like a distinct app. Parall automatically detects supported Electron, Eclipse, Chrome, Firefox, and ToDesktop based apps and separates their data even when the target app is sandboxed. Examples listed as supported include Slack, Notion, VS Code, Cursor, OBS, Dropbox, and Philips Hue Sync. Parall can turn any website URL into a Web App Shortcut with its own Dock identity and custom storage path. These shortcuts run on native WebKit, without Electron or a bundled Chrome engine, and can have their own data paths where the website supports separate storage. MS Teams and WhatsApp web apps are supported with notifications, unread badges, and an optional menu bar background mode. Parall also creates file and folder shortcuts that open in their default app, and command shortcuts that run command-line tools from the Dock with custom arguments and environment variables. The site describes three shortcut types: Web App Shortcut mode, command shortcut mode, and file and folder shortcuts. Parall gives each shortcut a recognizable presence in the Dock and menu bar. You can set custom app names and icons, draw labels on top of shortcut icons, and extract icons from any app or file for use in custom shortcuts. Appearance can be overridden per shortcut with Follow System, Light, or Dark mode regardless of the macOS system setting. Dock effects and animations can be applied per shortcut, and there is experimental control of Dock icon visibility. For supported Chrome based browsers you can control full screen menu bar behavior, and optional menu bar icons can be added for any shortcut while the target app is running, with menu bar icon appearance customizable by scale, grayscale, and template mask. For users who need exact per-shortcut behavior, Parall exposes advanced launch configuration. You can set custom data paths for Web App Shortcuts, set separate data folders for supported apps, define custom environment variables per shortcut, and override HOME for compatible apps that have a containerized structure. Command-line arguments can be passed to command shortcuts, and advanced Info.plist parameter overrides are available for each shortcut for experienced users. These controls let a shortcut reproduce the precise launch environment an app needs. Parall's approach is described as original macOS engineering built from research rather than a recipe. The app behavior it depends on is undocumented, so Parall's compatibility profiles come from observing how each target app launches, stores data, handles separate processes, and interacts with the Dock, the same reverse-engineering work that makes shortcuts function correctly when opened through Spotlight, Raycast, and Alfred. A script can sometimes start another process, but Parall solves the harder problem of giving supported instances their own usable identity, Dock behavior, and, where the target app allows it, separate data, accounts, profiles, and settings while keeping them connected to the original app. Parall shortcuts are small macOS launcher app bundles that directly execute the installed target app's binary and do not contain a copy of the target app. Parall never edits or freezes the target app. Every shortcut continues to launch the original installed app, preserving its code signature and allowing its built-in updater to keep working; after an update, all shortcuts use the new version when restarted. Parall does not use private APIs, inject or patch code, or modify macOS or the original app. The shortcut bundles are not sandboxed by design because they must launch the original application directly without additional layers. Parall also works locally with no automatic telemetry, no background daemons, no Electron runtime, and no bundled Chrome engine, and it does not modify system files or app data. The practical benefit is that Mac users can keep multiple accounts signed in and work in parallel instead of logging in and out. Reviewers describe keeping each Vivaldi or Chrome window scoped to a specific brand with the brand's icon in the Dock, running multiple Claude instances side by side, managing Cursor IDE accounts with different logins and extensions, running company and personal versions of apps, and running separate OBS instances with separate data. One reviewer notes it replaced an hour or two of reconfiguration after each Mac update. Others emphasize the time saved navigating between open browser profiles and the value of not needing fast user switching. Parall is listed on the Mac App Store with Family Sharing support. Use cases documented on the site and in reviews include browser profiles, developer environments, creative tools, multi-client work, and app setups that need real separation. Specifically: separate browser profiles each with their own Dock icon; multiple Claude and Claude Code desktop instances for personal and work accounts; multiple Cursor IDE accounts with separate logins and extensions; multiple Emacs instances with different command-line arguments, environment variables, custom icons, and app names; separate OBS instances with independent data; and separate Philips Hue Sync instances with different LED assignments for different displays. Parall also notes limited iOS and iPadOS app shortcuts, without data separation or a dedicated Dock icon. Parall is aimed at Mac users who juggle multiple accounts across the same apps, including people working under multiple brands, freelancers and part-time workers using one computer, developers, and creative professionals. It is a native macOS app that works from macOS 10.11 through macOS 27 Golden Gate, and the site maintains a compatibility table with 124 compatibility records. Parall is distributed through the Mac App Store with Family Sharing, and pricing is not stated on the website; one reviewer describes it as the best $9.99 spent on an app. Buyers who need a specific app tested are advised to check compatibility or contact support before purchasing. Parall's core promise is simple: run each Mac app instance separately, with its own identity, its own Dock presence, and, where the app allows it, its own data. By building shortcuts that launch the original signed app rather than modifying or copying it, Parall adds the multi-instance control macOS does not provide, while keeping the work local, private, and updateable.