Creating Rules

Step-by-step guide to creating routing rules for domains, source apps, and URL patterns

Rules are evaluated in order—the first matching rule wins. If no rules match, your fallback browser is used.

Rule Types

Default Tamer supports three types of routing rules:

• Source App — Route based on which app the link came from
• Domain — Route based on the URL’s domain name
• URL Pattern — Route based on URL contents using substring or regex matching

1. Choose Your Rule Type
2. Open the Rules window from the menu bar and click Add Rule. Select the rule type that matches your routing needs.
3. Configure the Rule
4. Depending on the rule type, you’ll need different configuration:
5. Source App Rules

   Route links based on the application they originated from (like Slack, Cursor, or Mail).

   Configuration:

   • Bundle ID — The app’s unique identifier (e.g., com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap)
   • App Name — Human-readable name for reference
   • Target Browser — Which browser to open the link in

   Example from source:

   // Route all Slack links to Chrome
   var rule = Rule(type: .sourceApp, targetBrowserId: "com.google.Chrome")
   rule.sourceAppBundleId = "com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap"
   rule.sourceAppName = "Slack"
   

   Common Use Cases:

   • Slack → Chrome (work links)
   • Cursor → Firefox (development links)
   • Mail → Safari (personal links)
6. Domain Rules

   Route links based on the domain name with flexible matching modes.

   Configuration:

   • Domain Pattern — The domain to match
   • Match Type — How to match the domain
   • Target Browser — Which browser to open the link in

   Match Types:

   Type	Description	Example Pattern	Matches	Doesn’t Match
   Exact	Matches the exact domain	github.com	github.com	www.github.com, api.github.com
   Suffix	Matches domain ending	.atlassian.net	company.atlassian.net, team.atlassian.net	atlassian.com
   Contains	Matches if domain contains string	jira	company.jira.com, jira.atlassian.net	github.com

   Example from source:

   // Route GitHub to Firefox
   var rule = Rule(type: .domain, targetBrowserId: "org.mozilla.firefox")
   rule.domainPattern = "github.com"
   rule.domainMatchType = .exact
   
   // Route all Atlassian products to Chrome
   var rule = Rule(type: .domain, targetBrowserId: "com.google.Chrome")
   rule.domainPattern = ".atlassian.net"
   rule.domainMatchType = .suffix
   

   Common Use Cases:

   • github.com → Firefox (development)
   • .atlassian.net → Chrome (work tools)
   • Domain contains jira → Chrome
7. URL Pattern Rules

   Route links based on URL contents using substring or regex matching.

   Configuration:

   • URL Contains — Simple substring matching (easier)
   • URL Regex — Advanced regex pattern matching (more powerful)
   • Target Browser — Which browser to open the link in

   URL Contains Examples:

   // Route any URL containing "/admin" to Safari
   var rule = Rule(type: .urlPattern, targetBrowserId: "com.apple.Safari")
   rule.urlContains = "/admin"
   
   // Route any URL containing "staging" to Firefox
   var rule = Rule(type: .urlPattern, targetBrowserId: "org.mozilla.firefox")
   rule.urlContains = "staging"
   

   URL Regex Examples:

   // Route URLs with ticket numbers (ABC-1234) to Chrome
   var rule = Rule(type: .urlPattern, targetBrowserId: "com.google.Chrome")
   rule.urlRegex = "[A-Z]+-[0-9]+"
   
   // Route pull request URLs to Firefox
   var rule = Rule(type: .urlPattern, targetBrowserId: "org.mozilla.firefox")
   rule.urlRegex = "/pull/[0-9]+"
   

   Use URL Contains for simple substring matching. Only use URL Regex when you need advanced pattern matching. Invalid regex patterns will prevent the rule from matching.

   Common Use Cases:

   • URL contains /admin → Safari (admin panels)
   • URL contains staging → Firefox (staging environments)
   • URL matches ticket pattern → Chrome (issue tracking)
8. Set Target Browser
9. Select which browser should open links matching this rule. All installed browsers that can handle HTTP/HTTPS URLs are automatically detected.
10. If the target browser is not installed when a rule matches, Default Tamer will fall back to your default fallback browser.

11. Enable/Disable Rules
12. Toggle rules on or off without deleting them. Disabled rules are skipped during evaluation.
13. Reorder Rules
14. Drag rules to change their priority. Rules are evaluated top-to-bottom—the first match wins.
15. Example evaluation order:

Advanced Features

Private/Incognito Mode

Enable Open in Private Mode to automatically open matching links in incognito/private browsing mode.

Supported browsers:

• Chrome: --incognito
• Firefox: -private-window
• Edge: -inprivate
• Brave: --incognito
• Opera: --private
• Vivaldi: --incognito

From source code:

private func getPrivateModeArguments(for bundleId: String) -> [String] {
    switch bundleId {
    case BundleIdentifiers.chrome:
        return ["--args", "--incognito"]
    case BundleIdentifiers.firefox:
        return ["--args", "-private-window"]
    case BundleIdentifiers.edge:
        return ["--args", "-inprivate"]
    // ...
    }
}

Safari and Arc do not support command-line private mode flags. Links will open in normal mode for these browsers.

Best Practices

1. Order matters — Place more specific rules before general ones
2. Test rules — Click links to verify they route correctly
3. Use exact domain matching when possible for better performance
4. Keep it simple — Use URL Contains before reaching for regex
5. Disable rather than delete — Preserve rules you might need later

Common Patterns

Work vs Personal Separation

Priority 1: Domain .company.com → Chrome (work)
Priority 2: Source App: Slack → Chrome (work)
Priority 3: Source App: Mail → Safari (personal)
Fallback: Safari

Development Workflow

Priority 1: Domain github.com → Firefox (development)
Priority 2: URL contains "localhost" → Chrome (local testing)
Priority 3: URL contains "staging" → Firefox (staging)
Priority 4: Domain .prod.company.com → Safari (production)
Fallback: Chrome

Troubleshooting

If rules aren’t working as expected, see the Troubleshooting guide.