Finicky alternative
A Finicky alternative with a picker and no config file
Finicky is a free, scriptable router for developers, but it lives in a JavaScript config file with no picker. If you would rather click a profile than write code, Burly is the free alternative to try, with automatic profile discovery and Safari profile support.
By Matt Senter, who builds Burly
Matt Senter is an independent Mac developer who designs, builds, and ships small native apps end to end. He built Burly to send every link on his own Mac to the right browser profile, including Safari profiles that other routers cannot reach, and he writes these pages from that first-hand use.
Why people switch from Finicky
Finicky is free and genuinely good, so people rarely leave it over money. They leave over the config file. Finicky expects you to write and maintain JavaScript, name every profile by hand, and redo it when a profile changes. That is a fine trade for a developer who wants routing to be code, and a bad one for anyone who just wants the right window to open. Burly needs no configuration at all: it finds your profiles itself, shows them under your cursor, and adds Safari profiles that Finicky cannot target.
Is Burly a good Finicky alternative?
The usual reason to look for a Finicky alternative is that you do not want to maintain a JavaScript config file. Finicky is powerful, but every routing decision lives in code you write and keep up to date. Burly is the opposite approach: it discovers your profiles automatically and shows a picker, so there is nothing to script. Both are free. The honest trade is control versus convenience, and Burly also reaches Safari profiles, which Finicky cannot. If you love your finicky.js, you will miss its precision; if you dread it, Burly removes it entirely.
How to switch from Finicky to Burly
- Download Burly and drag it to Applications.
- Set Burly as your default web browser in System Settings, under Desktop & Dock.
- Skip the config step entirely. Burly discovers your browsers and profiles on launch, so there is no file to write and nothing to name.
- You can leave your finicky.js in place; it simply stops being consulted once Burly is the handler.
What you give up
You are giving up programmability, and that is not a small thing. Finicky's rules are real JavaScript and TypeScript, so it can express routing logic Burly has no way to represent, and it is open source in a way Burly is not. If you enjoy having your routing in version control, stay with Finicky. Burly is the better choice only if you would rather never open that file again.
Finicky is a free, open source, actively maintained browser router for macOS. You describe your routing in a JavaScript or TypeScript config file, and Finicky sends each link to the right browser or profile with no picker in the way. It can target Chrome and Firefox profiles and is endlessly scriptable, which makes it a favorite among developers.
Burly vs. Finicky: the quick take
The quick take: Finicky is free, open source, and the most programmable router here, ideal if you want silent, version-controlled routing and never want to see a picker. Burly is free too, but trades the config file for automatic discovery and a radial picker, and it targets Safari profiles Finicky cannot. Pick Finicky if you want to write rules; pick Burly if you want to click a profile.
Burly vs. Finicky, feature by feature
| Feature | Burly | Finicky |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Open source | ✗ | ✓ |
| Opens links in a specific browser profile | ✓ | Chrome and Firefox |
| Targets Safari profiles | ✓ | ✗ |
| Picker at your cursor | Radial, under the cursor | No picker (config only) |
| Works with zero configuration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automatic profile discovery | ✓ | You name profiles by hand |
| Scriptable JavaScript and TypeScript rules | ✗ | ✓ |
| Per-profile keyboard shortcuts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Global hotkey to open a profile (no link needed) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Per-profile emoji, account photo, and color | ✓ | ✗ |
| Native macOS app | ✓ | ✓ |
Features checked against the Finicky site as of September 2026. Finicky lists at Free, open source on the Finicky site.
Where Finicky is the better pick
- Finicky is free and open source, with a config file you can version control and share across machines.
- Its JavaScript config is the most powerful routing language here: regular expressions, custom functions, and arbitrary logic decide where each link goes.
- Because it routes silently from rules, links can open with no picker at all once your rules are dialed in.
The verdict
If you are a developer who wants fully scriptable, version controlled routing and never wants to see a picker, Finicky is excellent and free. Burly is for people who would rather click a profile than write a config file: it discovers your profiles automatically, shows a radial picker, targets Safari profiles Finicky cannot, and needs zero setup.
Other Finicky alternatives
Searching for Finicky alternatives in the plural usually means you want to know which routers replace the config file with something you can click. Burly and Bumpr are the two pickers: Burly chooses between profiles, Bumpr between whole browsers and mail clients for $2.99. Velja ($8) and Choosy ($10) keep rule-based routing but move the rules into a settings UI instead of a file. OpenIn ($11.99) is the one that keeps Finicky's ambition, with regex rewriting and scriptable targets, while also reaching Safari profiles. Here is the shortlist.
- Velja · $8 one-time
A polished $8 router from Sindre Sorhus, built around per-host and per-app rules. - Choosy · $10 one-time
The deepest rules engine of the bunch, at $10, with Share menu, Handoff, and AirDrop routing. - Browserosaurus · Free, open source
A free, open-source browser picker that was retired in 2025 and is no longer maintained. - Bumpr · $2.99 one-time
A $2.99 picker that chooses between browsers and mail clients, but not between profiles. - OpenIn · $11.99 one-time
An $11.99 route-everything utility covering links, mail, files, and phone numbers.
Want them side by side instead? The comparison hub puts every macOS link router in one table, and the Mac link router guide explains what these apps do and how to set one up.
Finicky alternatives: common questions
- Is there a Finicky alternative that does not need a config file?
- Yes. Burly is free and configuration-free: it reads your installed browsers and their profiles automatically and shows them in a picker at your cursor. Velja and Choosy also drop the file, but they move the rules into a settings UI rather than removing them, and both are paid.
- Can Finicky route links to a Safari profile?
- No. Finicky can open a specific Chrome or Firefox profile, but Safari profiles are not addressable from its config. Burly and OpenIn are the two apps on this list that can target a Safari profile.
- Can I run Finicky and Burly at the same time?
- Not usefully. macOS sends http and https links to exactly one default handler, so whichever of the two is set as your default browser gets every link and the other never sees one. Pick one, and keep your Finicky config in case you switch back.
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