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I'm using this command

'/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome' --user-data-dir=/foo/bar

to launch a separate instance of Chrome which I use solely for chat (WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.) which is very handy, but when I Command-Tab to switch between it and my primary Chrome instance they both have the same icon.

Is there any way to use a custom icon for this instance?

(I know about apps like Franz and Rambox but they don't allow the use of certain text Services which I need.)

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You could do all this via the Finder instead, along the following lines:

  1. Within Finder, navigate to your Google Chrome app
  2. Select (but do not launch) the Google Chrome app
  3. Press commandC to copy the app
  4. Press commandV to paste the app
  5. Now you will have two copies of the Google Chrome browser
  6. Select the second copy (but do not launch it)
  7. Press commandI to get info of the app
  8. Now navigate to wherever you have the icon you'd like to use and also Get Info (commandI) for that
  9. In the Get Info window for the icon, select the icon at the top left and press commandC to copy the icon
  10. Navigate back to the Get Info window for the second copy of Google Chrome (the one you opened up at Step 7)
  11. Select the Google Chrome icon and paste (commandV) the icon you copied at Step 9
  12. While you're at it, you may want to rename the second copy of Google Chrome

Now when you launch the two copies of Google Chrome, they will each have a separate icon.

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  • Wouldn't this break Google Chrome updates? I'd expect that one of the apps (probably the copy) wouldn't be updated in the future...
    – klanomath
    Mar 29, 2017 at 21:41
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    @klanomath Granted, that could be a possible unintended consequence with Google Chrome. I haven't done this with Google Chrome, only other apps that I update manually (and not for a long time at that). Ze'ev, if you go ahead with this approach, it'd be good if you reported back after the next Google Chrome update.
    – Monomeeth
    Mar 29, 2017 at 21:52

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