Help and guide

Everything you need to set up context-aware automation on your Mac.

Getting started

Profiles Switcher lives in your menu bar. You create a profile, pick the triggers (rules) that should activate it, and pick the actions it should run. When the rules match your current context, the profile activates automatically and runs its actions.

Open Profiles Switcher. Its icon appears in the menu bar.
Click Add new profile and name it Home, Office, or Studio.
Add one or more rules under "Rules".
Add one or more actions under "Actions".
That is it. The profile now activates on its own whenever its rules match.

Permissions

Some triggers need macOS permission so the app can read your context. You only grant what your rules actually use, and everything stays on your Mac.

Location is needed for the Geofence (location) trigger.
Bluetooth is needed for the Bluetooth device trigger.
Notifications are needed for the "Show a notification" action.

If a rule is not firing, the most common cause is a missing permission. Open Preferences and check for a permission warning.

Triggers (rules)

A trigger is a condition Profiles Switcher watches for. You can match if any rule is true, or require that all rules are true.

Wi-Fi network: the wireless network you join.
Time of day: a time or time window.
Geofence (location): arriving at or leaving a region you draw on a map.
Any external display, No external display, or a Named display.
Bluetooth device: a specific device connecting or disconnecting.
Laptop lid: the lid opening or closing.
USB device: a specific USB device attached.
Network service active: a wired or other network link becoming active.
Audio output device: the output device changing.
Headphone jack (3.5 mm): headphones plugged in or out.
AC power (charger): running on battery or plugged in.
Ethernet cable connected: a wired connection.
Volume mounted: a disk or volume such as a specific external drive.
IP address / range: a local or public IP within a range.
Day of the week: specific days, weekdays, or weekends.

Actions

An action is something Profiles Switcher does when a profile activates. A profile can run several at once.

Play a system sound.
Set audio output device, Set system volume, and Mute / unmute audio.
Set microphone input and Mute / unmute microphone.
Set default printer.
Run a Shortcut from the Shortcuts app.
Set desktop wallpaper, including your own custom images.
Launch an app and Open a URL.
Set keyboard input source (language or layout).
Mount a network share (SMB, AFP, NFS, WebDAV, and more).
Prevent sleep to keep your Mac or display awake.
Show a notification.

Priorities and matching

When more than one profile matches at the same time, the one with the lowest priority number wins (1 is highest priority). If two matching profiles share the same priority, the one you edited most recently wins. This lets you layer a specific profile on top of a general one.

Pausing automation

Click the menu bar icon and choose Pause Automation to stop profiles from activating, for example during a presentation. Resume from the same menu.

Things worth knowing

Lid-closed rules on a laptop

A lid-closed rule only stays active while your Mac stays awake (for example in clamshell mode with the charger connected, or with sleep disabled). On a laptop by itself, closing the lid puts the Mac to sleep, so the rule fires once just before sleep and cannot stay active while the Mac is asleep.

Playing sounds with the lid closed

Sounds cannot play on the built-in speakers while the lid is closed or the Mac is asleep. In that case the app reports an honest "no audio output available" message rather than failing silently.

Wallpapers

Profiles Switcher sets still images as your wallpaper, including your own custom images. Some of Apple's dynamic and animated wallpapers cannot be set from a sandboxed app, so those are not offered.

Troubleshooting

A profile is not activating. Check that its rules match right now, and that any required permission (Location, Bluetooth) is granted.
Two profiles fight over the same situation. Give the more specific one a lower priority number so it wins.
An action did nothing. Confirm the target still exists, for example the app, the network share, or the audio device.

Still need help?

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