Setting Rio as your default browser on Mac
To make Rio your default browser on Mac, choose Rio, Set as Default Browser in the menu bar and confirm the dialog macOS shows. You can also click Make Default in Rio's Settings, General, or pick Rio under Default web browser in System Settings, Desktop & Dock. Links from other apps then open in a Rio Mini window.
Before you start
Rio has to be in your Applications folder to become the default browser. Rio.dmg opens as an install window where you drag Rio into Applications. If you open Rio straight from the disk image or from Downloads, it offers to move itself there. Say yes.
Four ways to do it
1. On first launch. Rio's setup has a step called Make Rio your default browser. Click Set as default browser and macOS shows its own dialog to confirm the change. Choose Rio. If Rio is already your default, the step says so and you click Continue.
2. From the Rio menu. In the menu bar, choose Rio, then Set as Default Browser. It sits right under Settings. macOS asks you to confirm.
3. From Rio's Settings. Press Cmd+, and open General. The Default browser row says whether Rio is your default. Click Make Default and confirm in the macOS dialog. Once it's done, the row reads Rio is your default browser.
4. From System Settings. Choose Apple menu, System Settings, then Desktop & Dock in the sidebar. Scroll to Default web browser and pick Rio from the menu. This is the route Apple documents for macOS 13 and later.
Whichever you use, macOS makes the final change, so nothing switches without your click.
What changes
Links you click in other apps now open in Rio: in Mail, Messages, Slack, Notes, a PDF or a calendar invite.
By default those links open in a Mini window, a small, simple Rio window for a quick look. A friend sends you an article in Messages. You click it, the Mini window opens over Messages, you read it, and Cmd+W closes it. You are back in the conversation, and your sidebar has no stray tab in it.
When a link turns out to be worth keeping:
- Cmd+O moves the page into a space as a tab.
- Cmd+Shift+O lets you pick which space it goes to.
Cmd+Option+N opens a Mini window with the command bar ready, when you want a quick search without disturbing your spaces.
If you'd rather have tabs
Open Settings, Links and turn off Links from other apps open in a Mini window. Links from other apps then open in your main Rio window instead.
The same Links tab has the Peek switches: Shift-click opens a link in Peek, and links from your favorites and pinned tabs to other sites open in Peek too. Both are on by default.
Coming from Arc
If Arc was your default browser, nothing changes for Arc until you switch. Rio reads Arc's files without changing them, so you can import your spaces first, make Rio the default when you are ready, and keep Arc around until it stops working on December 22, 2026.
Questions
Why doesn't Rio offer to become my default browser?
Rio needs to be in your Applications folder first. If you opened it from the disk image or Downloads, accept its offer to move itself into Applications, then try again.
What is a Mini window?
A small, simple Rio window for a quick look at a link you clicked in another app, such as Slack or Mail. Cmd+O moves its page into your current space.
Can links from other apps open in my main Rio window instead?
Yes. Turn off Links from other apps open in a Mini window in Settings, Links.
Does Rio set itself as default without asking?
No. Rio asks macOS, and macOS shows its own dialog for you to confirm the change.
Sources
- Apple Support, Change the default web browser or email app on Mac
- Rio source, the default browser step on first launch (Onboarding.tsx)
- Rio source, the Default browser row in Settings (defaultBrowser.ts)
- Rio source, the Set as Default Browser command (commands/platform.ts)
- Rio source, the Links settings tab (LinksPane.tsx)
- Rio source, Mini window commands (commands/multitask.ts)
- Rio releases, build 1446: Rio offers to move itself into Applications (November 12, 2026)
