Parall - Run multiple instances of the same app on your Mac
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Parall lets you run multiple instances of macOS apps and turn websites into Web App Shortcuts with unique Dock icons, custom data paths, HOME overrides, environment variables, Dock effects, file/folder shortcuts, and command-line launchers.
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Congrats on the launch, Ighor. Do the shortcuts survive app updates, or do they need recreating after the original app updates?
@protsenkoalexandra Thanks! Parall shortcuts survive app updates. Once the main app is updated, it is enough to restart the Parall shortcut to get it to launch the latest version of your app.
You would want to re-generate Parall shortcut if you wish to change its Dock icon, Dock effects, or apply the latest Parall update.
I use separate environments for development work, so the HOME override caught my eye. Can a Parall shortcut keep an app’s data and config separate while still opening links and files normally from macOS?
@nitinhayaran Yes, if you mean passthrough URL and Open With requests, Parall does that. For any shortcut, you have the option to enable/disable that feature, and it is enabled by default. So let's say you create a Parall shortcut for a browser, you get it registered as a separate option in Default Browser system settings, also in 'Open with' menus.
The HOME override is the actual feature here, not the multiple instances. I run three agent CLIs that all write config into ~/ and they stomp each other constantly, so I've been solving it with separate macOS user accounts like an animal. Since this is Mac App Store, does the sandbox actually let a shortcut set HOME and custom env vars for the child process, or does that only hold for apps you launch from its own Dock icon?
@asadmalik901 The key thing here is that Parall itself is sandboxed, but launchers created by Parall are not. So they do the job you would expect them to do. You have fully separated HOME-like app data structure. That contains symlinks to the host to share some folders and configs, you can remove those to create fully separate environments with their own terminal settings. Also, this is data separation, not isolation, so each instance could access app data of another if they use full paths. Be sure you select HOME override mode during Parall shortcut setup to get this feature to work.
@ighor Data separation not isolation is the line worth putting on the page. Most people read separate instances as a sandbox, then drop a token somewhere with an absolute path and wonder why instance two can see it. Removing the symlinks plus HOME override sounds like the setup I'd actually run. Do shortcuts made before you turn on HOME override keep working, or is that a recreate?
@asadmalik901 Product Hunt listing has limited numbers of characters, so I can’t add more information. All the information is available on the app website. Some apps have a default mode of HOME override, for those, you don’t need to change anything. As an example, Claude by default has native data separation mode enabled, so if you want to enable HOME override mode, you can’t simply reuse the old data path. But once you run the new shortcut, you may manually move configs from the old one.