macdefaultbrowsy

A command-line tool and package (written in Python) for macOS that allows you to view installed browsers and set the default web browser, with automatic dialog confirmation.

Features

• List all installed web browsers with the current default marked with *
• Set any browser as the default with a simple command
• Automatically confirms the system dialog (no manual clicking required)
• Built as a universal binary (Intel + Apple Silicon)
• Simple installation via Homebrew or manual install

Installation

uv pip install --system macdefaultbrowsy

or

pip install git+https://github.com/twardoch/macdefaultbrowsy

Usage

Command Line

List all browsers

macdefaultbrowsy

Output example:

  chrome
  firefox
* safari
  edge

Set default browser

macdefaultbrowsy chrome

The tool will automatically set Chrome as your default browser and confirm the system dialog.

Python API

from macdefaultbrowsy import macdefaultbrowsy

# Get the current default browser
current = macdefaultbrowsy.get_default_browser()
print(f"Current default browser: {current}")

# List all available browsers
browsers = macdefaultbrowsy.get_browsers()
print("Available browsers:")
for name in sorted(browsers.keys()):
    print(f"  {name}")

# Set a new default browser
success = macdefaultbrowsy.set_default_browser("chrome")
if success:
    print("Successfully set Chrome as default browser")
else:
    print("Failed to set default browser")

How it Works

The tool uses the macOS Launch Services API to:

1. Query all installed applications that can handle HTTP/HTTPS URLs
2. Get the current default browser
3. Set a new default browser for both HTTP and HTTPS schemes

When setting a new default browser, the tool also uses AppleScript automation to automatically click the confirmation button in the system dialog, providing a seamless experience.

Development

To capture a snapshot of the codebase:

npx repomix -i ".giga,.cursorrules,.cursor,*.md" -o llms.txt .

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

References

• Check macdefaultbrowser for a similar tool written in Swift.