Here is how each way works and where it falls short.

#Why email links open Apple Mail

When you click an email address on a web page or in an app, macOS looks up which app handles mailto: links and gives the link to it. Out of the box that's Mail, so Mail opens and asks you to set up an account, even if you never use it.

There is no Gmail entry in that list, because Gmail lives in your browser. So the job has two halves: get the link to your browser, then get the browser to hand it to Gmail.

#Way 1: Let Gmail handle email links in Chrome

Chrome lets a website register itself as the handler for a kind of link. Gmail does this for email links.

1. Open Gmail in Chrome and sign in.
2. Look at the right end of the address bar for the handler icon, which looks like two overlapping diamonds.
3. Click it, choose to allow Gmail to open email links, and click Done.

If you don't see the icon, open Chrome's Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Protocol handlers (you can also type chrome://settings/handlers in the address bar) and make sure sites are allowed to ask. Google lists this permission on its page about site settings in Chrome.

What it can't do: this only covers email links you click on web pages inside Chrome. Links in other apps still go to Mail. The setting also belongs to one Chrome profile, so each profile that should use Gmail needs it set separately.

#Way 2: Make Chrome the default email reader

To catch email links from other apps too, tell macOS to send them to Chrome. Oddly, the setting lives in the Mail app, not in System Settings. Apple's steps, from Change the default web browser or email app on Mac:

1. Open the Mail app. It must be set up with an email account first. If it isn't, Mail won't let you change this setting, so add any account; Apple notes you can remove or turn it off again afterwards.
2. In the menu bar, choose Mail > Settings.
3. Click General.
4. Open the Default email reader pop-up menu and choose Google Chrome. If it isn't listed, choose Select and pick Chrome in the file dialog.

What it can't do: Apple warns that a browser chosen here might not open webmail automatically when you click email links. You also don't get to choose where the link goes. If you have more than one Chrome profile, or more than one Google account, the email opens wherever Chrome decides, which may not be the address you meant to write from. And setting it up means adding an account to Mail, an app you are trying not to use.

#What about Safari?

Safari has no setting for letting a website like Gmail handle email links. If Safari is your browser, the Mail setting above can still point email links at another app, but there is no built-in way to send them to Gmail in Safari.

#The faster way: LinkRouter

LinkRouter is a small Mac app we make for exactly this. It becomes the app that handles email links, without going through Mail's settings and without needing a Mail account: open LinkRouter's settings and click Use LinkRouter for Email Links.

From then on, clicking an email link shows a small picker at your mouse:

• Every Google account, from every Chrome profile. LinkRouter reads which accounts are signed in to each profile, including Google Workspace accounts and profiles with more than one account signed in.
• Pick one with a number key and Gmail compose opens in the Chrome profile that owns that account, with the To, Cc, Bcc, subject and body from the link already filled in.
• It won't send from the wrong address. If the account you picked is no longer signed in to that profile, Gmail would quietly write from another account, so LinkRouter asks you again instead of opening it.
• Rules by recipient. Hold ⌘ while you pick, or add a rule in settings, so that mail to @northwind.co always composes from your work account.
• Mail apps stay available. Apple Mail and other mail apps are in the picker too, and ⌘C just copies the address.

It costs $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 Macs or $15 for 5 Macs, paid once. The same picker also handles web links; see how to open links in a specific Chrome profile on Mac.

#FAQ

#Can I set Gmail as the default email app on Mac?

Not directly, because Gmail is a website. You can set Chrome as the default email reader in Mail's settings and let Gmail handle email links in Chrome, or use an app such as LinkRouter that opens Gmail compose for you.

#Why is "Default email reader" greyed out or missing in Mail?

Mail only lets you change it once Mail is set up with an email account. Add any account, change the setting, then remove or turn off the account if you don't want it in Mail.

#Why do email links open Gmail with the wrong account?

Gmail composes from an account signed in to the Chrome profile the link landed in. If the link opened in the wrong profile, or that profile has several accounts, you get whichever one Gmail picks. LinkRouter avoids this by opening compose in the profile that owns the account you chose.

#Do I need Apple Mail set up to use LinkRouter for email links?

No. LinkRouter makes itself the handler for email links directly, so Mail doesn't need an account.

#Does this work with Google Workspace accounts?

Yes. Workspace accounts have a Gmail inbox, and LinkRouter lists them next to personal Gmail accounts in the picker.

Below are the manual ways first, with what each one can and can't do.

#Why Chrome picks the profile it does

Every Chrome profile is a folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome. The first one is called Default and the rest are Profile 1, Profile 2 and so on. The names you see in Chrome, like "Work" or "Personal", are only labels stored in a file called Local State next to those folders.

When another app hands Chrome a link, macOS doesn't say anything about profiles. It just gives Chrome the address, and Chrome sends it to the profile you were last using. If you switched to your personal profile to check something five minutes ago, the next work link from Slack lands there too.

#Way 1: Drag or paste the link into the right window

The simplest fix needs no setup.

1. Bring up a Chrome window that belongs to the profile you want. Each window shows its profile picture or name at the top right of the toolbar.
2. Drag the link from the other app onto that window's tab bar, or right-click the link, copy it, and paste it into a new tab in that window.

What it can't do: it is manual every time, and you need a window of that profile open already. A normal click still goes to the last-used profile.

#Way 2: Open the link from Terminal

Chrome has a command-line switch, --profile-directory, that names the profile folder to open a link in. On a Mac you pass it through the open command.

#Step 1: Find the profile's folder name

The folder name is not the name you gave the profile, so look it up first.

1. Open Chrome in the profile you want.
2. Type chrome://version in the address bar and press Return.
3. Find the line called Profile Path. The last part of that path is the folder name, for example Profile 3.

If you have several profiles, you can list every folder next to its display name in one go. This reads Chrome's Local State file and changes nothing:

python3 -c 'import json,os; c=json.load(open(os.path.expanduser("~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Local State")))["profile"]["info_cache"]; [print(d, "=", v["name"]) for d,v in c.items()]'

Each line looks like Profile 3 = Work. If your Mac has never used python3, macOS offers to install the Command Line Tools first. Don't be surprised by gaps in the numbers: when you delete a profile, its number isn't reused.

#Step 2: Open the link in that profile

open -na "Google Chrome" --args --profile-directory="Profile 3" "https://example.com"

What each part does:

• -n starts a new copy of Chrome even if Chrome is already running. That short-lived copy passes the link to your running Chrome and quits, so you don't end up with two Chromes.
• -a "Google Chrome" picks the app.
• --args hands everything after it to Chrome itself.
• --profile-directory="Profile 3" is the folder from step 1. Keep the quotes, because the name has a space.
• The link goes last.

Two things to watch for, both of which we ran into while testing:

• A typo creates a new profile. If the folder you name doesn't exist, Chrome doesn't complain. It quietly makes a brand-new, empty profile and opens the link there. Copy the folder name exactly.
• Don't put -- before the link. Some command-line habits add -- to mean "end of options". Chrome drops anything that comes after it, so the link never opens.

To save typing, add a small function to your ~/.zshrc:

work() { open -na "Google Chrome" --args --profile-directory="Profile 3" "$@"; }

Open a new Terminal window and work https://example.com opens the link in that profile.

What it can't do: it only works for links you paste into Terminal. Clicking a link in Slack or Mail still sends it to the last-used profile, because macOS gives links to the default browser, not to your shell.

#Brave, Edge and other Chromium browsers

Brave, Microsoft Edge and Vivaldi are built on Chromium and use the same --profile-directory switch. Only the app name and the folder change. For Brave, the profiles live in ~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser, so the command becomes:

open -na "Brave Browser" --args --profile-directory="Profile 1" "https://example.com"

#The faster way: LinkRouter

LinkRouter is a small Mac app we make that does the profile choice for every link you click, not only the ones you type. You make it your default browser once, and from then on any link from any app shows a tiny picker right at your mouse with every browser and every Chrome profile on your Mac, each with its picture and name.

• Press a number key to open the link in that row, or type a few letters to filter. Esc closes the picker.
• Hold ⇧ while you pick to open it in a private window.
• Hold ⌘ while you pick and LinkRouter saves a rule, so that site always opens in that profile without asking. Rules can also go by app, so links from Slack can always open in your work profile.
• Hold ⌥ while clicking a link to get the picker back for a site that already has a rule.
• Opened it in the wrong place anyway? Press ⌃⌥B to bounce the tab to another profile.

LinkRouter reads your profiles from Chrome's own files each time they change and only ever opens a profile folder that still exists, so a deleted profile never turns into a surprise empty one. It lists profiles for Chrome, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi and Firefox-family browsers like Zen, and it also cleans tracking junk out of links before they open. It runs entirely on your Mac.

It costs $5 for 1 Mac, $10 for 3 Macs or $15 for 5 Macs, paid once. It can also open email links in Gmail as the right account, which we cover in how to make email links open Gmail instead of Apple Mail.

#FAQ

#Can I set a default Chrome profile for links on Mac?

Not in Chrome itself. Links from other apps go to the profile you used last. To always use one profile, open it in that profile from Terminal with --profile-directory, or use an app like LinkRouter with a rule.

#How do I find my Chrome profile directory name?

Open Chrome in that profile, go to chrome://version, and look at Profile Path. The last part of the path, such as Default or Profile 2, is the directory name.

#Why did Chrome create a new profile when I used --profile-directory?

The folder name didn't match an existing profile. Chrome treats an unknown name as a request for a new profile and creates it silently. Check the exact name, including capitals and the space in Profile 2.

#Does --profile-directory work if Chrome is already open?

Yes. With open -n, a second copy of Chrome starts, hands the link to the Chrome that's already running, and quits. The link opens in the profile you named.

#Does this work for Safari profiles?

No. The --profile-directory switch is a Chromium feature. Safari doesn't take a profile on the command line.