Parall: run the same Mac app separately, with its own data and Dock icon
Hi everyone,
I’m the developer of Parall, a macOS app I built because I kept running into a Mac limitation: I wanted the same app to behave like separate apps for different contexts, without copying the original app bundle or maintaining duplicate app installs.
For example, I wanted separate work and personal setups, separate Dock icons, and separate app data where the target app allows it.
Website: https://parall.app
Mac App Store: Parall App - App Store
Compatibility list: Parall App Compatibility List
What Parall does
Parall creates small shortcut apps that launch the original Mac app with a separate identity and, for compatible apps, a separate data location.
The original app is not copied or modified. If the original app updates, the Parall shortcut keeps launching the updated version.
This can be useful for:
- separate work and personal app setups
- multiple accounts in apps that do not make that easy
- Convert any website to a lightweight and efficient app
- separate browser-like profiles with their own Dock icons
- different command-line arguments or environment variables per shortcut
- temporary test environments
- developer tools that need different config sets
Recent improvements
The latest version adds:
- WhatsApp support
- an additional HOME override storage mode for Claude and Perplexity Comet
- verified compatibility profiles for Eagle.cool, Charles, RemNote, and Spark Desktop
The Claude, Codex, and Perplexity Comet HOME override mode may be useful for power users. It lets a shortcut have its own home-like data folder, while still letting you choose what should stay shared through symlinks. For example, you can keep the app profile separate while still sharing selected developer configs such as SSH, Docker, Git, or project folders.
Important detail
Parall is not a sandbox or security isolation tool. It separates app configuration and profile data. The app instances can still access the same files and folders on your Mac unless you configure permissions or paths differently.
Parall works best with non-sandboxed Mac apps. Some apps support full data separation, some only support separate Dock identity or launch settings, and some apps do not work well with this model. That is why I keep a compatibility list and test apps one by one.
I would appreciate feedback from Mac Power Users, especially from people who rely on multiple accounts, separate work and personal environments, or custom launch workflows. I’m also interested in real app examples that would be useful to test and document.
