Arc
Browser designed for the way we use the internet in 2025
Arc — Official Website
Quick Take: Arc
Arc was the best browser for people with complex browsing workflows, and its innovations (Spaces, vertical tabs, auto-archiving, Boosts) remain genuinely useful for existing users. The Spaces + Profiles combination is still unique — no other browser handles multi-context work as well. However, Arc entered maintenance mode in May 2025 when The Browser Company shifted focus to Dia. For new users in 2026, this is a critical consideration: you are adopting a static, mature product rather than an actively evolving platform. The tradeoffs remain real: Chromium's battery impact, mandatory account login, no Linux support, and a learning curve. Existing Arc power users can continue productively using the browser, but new users should carefully consider whether to adopt a browser that is no longer receiving active development. Active alternatives like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Brave offer continuous updates and clearer long-term roadmaps.
Best For
- •EXISTING USERS who have already built workflows around Spaces, vertical tabs, and auto-archiving
- •Power users comfortable with maintenance mode software who value Arc's specific innovations
- •Not recommended for new users in 2026 due to lack of active development
What is Arc?
Arc is a Chromium-based browser from The Browser Company that reimagined the traditional browser interface with a vertical sidebar, transforming the browser into a workspace manager rather than a simple document viewer. The core idea: tabs are broken. You open 40 of them, they shrink to unreadable slivers, and you lose track of everything. Arc fixed this by organizing tabs vertically in a collapsible sidebar, splitting them into 'Pinned' (permanent, app-like) and 'Today' (temporary, auto-archived after 12 hours). The auto-archiving was the key insight — tabs you didn't pin disappeared after half a day, forcing intentionality about what stayed open. It sounded aggressive, and it was. But after a week, most people realized they were hoarding tabs they'd never look at again. Spaces let you create separate browsing contexts — Work, Personal, Side Project — each with its own pinned tabs, color theme, and optionally separate Profiles (isolated cookies and login sessions). You could be logged into your work Google account in one Space and your personal Google account in another, simultaneously, without browser profile switching or incognito windows. However, in May 2025, The Browser Company announced that Arc was entering maintenance mode. The team shifted focus to Dia, their new AI-first browser. Arc no longer receives active feature development, though it remains stable and available for existing users. This is critical context for 2026: Arc's innovations (Spaces, vertical tabs, Boosts, auto-archiving) remain useful for those who have built workflows around them, but new users should understand they are adopting a mature, static product rather than an actively evolving platform. The honest take for 2026: Existing Arc users who have mastered Spaces and built workflows can continue using it productively. But for new users choosing a browser today, Arc's maintenance mode status is a significant consideration. Active alternatives like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Brave offer continuous development and clearer long-term roadmaps. Arc was a genuine productivity breakthrough, but its evolution has paused.
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask arcDeep Dive: How Arc Reimagined Browser Architecture
Understanding the design philosophy and technical decisions behind Arc's departure from the traditional browser model.
History & Background
Arc was born from The Browser Company, founded in 2019 by Josh Miller and Hursh Agrawal in New York. The thesis was simple: the browser tab bar, unchanged since the 1990s, is fundamentally broken for modern web usage where people routinely have 30-100 tabs open. The team spent over two years in invite-only beta, iterating on the sidebar concept, before the public Mac launch in 2022. The Windows version followed in 2024, built using Swift ported to Windows. The slow, deliberate beta period let them refine Spaces, the auto-archiving system, and the Command Bar based on real user feedback before going public.
How It Works
Arc uses Chromium for web rendering but builds everything above the rendering layer in Swift. The sidebar, Spaces, Command Bar, Split View, and Boosts are all native macOS code. This hybrid approach gives Arc Chrome's web compatibility (websites render identically, extensions work) with native macOS performance and feel. The auto-archiving system runs on configurable timers. Spaces are implemented as isolated browsing contexts with optional Profile separation for cookie/session isolation. The sidebar state syncs through Arc's cloud infrastructure, which is why an account is required.
Ecosystem & Integrations
Arc's ecosystem extends beyond the desktop browser. Arc Search for iOS provides a mobile companion with a 'Browse for Me' AI feature. Arc Max integrates AI features (Tidy Tab Titles, Five Second Previews, Ask on Page) that enhance browsing without being intrusive. The Boosts system creates a user-controlled customization layer that can replace many single-purpose extensions. Air Traffic Control adds automation that no other browser offers — rule-based link routing that keeps Spaces organized automatically.
Future Development
The Browser Company is focused on making Arc the operating system for the internet, not just a tab manager. Future directions include deeper AI integration (smarter search, automated workflows), collaborative features for teams, and potentially an Arc-native approach to bookmarks and saved content. The company's unusual transparency means you can watch their decision-making process through YouTube updates and blog posts.
Key Features
Spaces and Profiles
Spaces are separate browsing contexts you switch between with a swipe or keyboard shortcut. Each Space has its own pinned tabs, folders, and color theme. Profiles are the identity layer — separate cookies, login sessions, and browsing history. The power is combining them: assign a different Profile to each Space, and you can be logged into five different Google accounts simultaneously without conflicts. A freelancer managing three client accounts or a developer working across multiple GitHub organizations can keep everything separated without browser profile switching.
Pinned Tabs and Auto-Archiving
Tabs in Arc are either Pinned (permanent) or Today (temporary). Pinned tabs stay in your sidebar until you manually remove them — treat them like app shortcuts for things you use daily (Gmail, Slack, your project management tool). Today tabs auto-archive after a configurable period (default 12 hours). This aggressive cleanup prevents the tab hoarding that plagues Chrome users. It's jarring at first, but most people find their sidebar stays clean and relevant. If you need a tab back, the archive is searchable.
Command Bar
Hit Cmd+T and you get Arc's Command Bar — a universal search that handles URLs, open tabs, bookmarks, extensions, and actions in one place. Type to search across everything: switch to an open tab in another Space, trigger a bookmarklet, open a bookmark, or navigate to a URL. It's Spotlight for your browser. Once you train yourself to use Cmd+T for everything, you stop clicking around the sidebar entirely. The keyboard-driven workflow is what makes Arc fast for power users.
Split View
Drag any tab to create a side-by-side split — up to four panes in one window. Reference documentation while coding, watch a video while taking notes, compare two designs side by side. Split View is built into Arc, not bolted on. The panes share the sidebar, so you can drag tabs between splits or replace one pane by clicking a different tab. For developers, the common setup is documentation + localhost + terminal (via a web-based terminal) all visible simultaneously.
Little Arc
Click a link from Slack, Mail, or any external app, and it opens in Little Arc — a small, floating browser window. Glance at the content, and either dismiss it or promote it to a full tab. This prevents the common problem of clicking a link in Slack, getting dumped into your browser with 40 tabs, and losing your place. Little Arc keeps external links contained until you decide they're worth full attention.
Boosts
Boosts let you customize any website's appearance with custom CSS and JavaScript. Remove the YouTube Shorts shelf. Hide the Twitter trending sidebar. Change fonts on Medium. Darken a blinding white website. Boosts persist per-domain — set it once, and it applies every time you visit. It's like having a personal extension for every site without installing anything. The CSS editor is visual and beginner-friendly; you don't need to be a developer to hide a distracting element.
Air Traffic Control
Air Traffic Control routes links to specific Spaces based on rules. All github.com links go to your Development Space. All figma.com links go to Design. All Google Docs go to Work. Set this up once, and every link you click automatically opens in the right context. This eliminates manual tab sorting and keeps each Space focused on its intended purpose. Combined with Little Arc, it means external links go to the right place without interrupting your current context.
Easels
Easels are Arc's whiteboard-like canvas for collecting and arranging web content. Screenshot a chart, capture a quote, grab an image — drag them onto an Easel, arrange them visually, and add annotations. Each captured element links back to its source page. It's useful for research, mood boards, competitive analysis, or planning. Not as capable as Figma or Miro for real design work, but useful for quick visual organization without leaving the browser.
Arc Max (AI Features)
Arc Max includes AI-powered features that are genuinely useful rather than gimmicky. Tidy Tab Titles auto-renames tabs from cryptic page titles to readable descriptions. Five Second Previews shows a summary when you hover over a link, saving you a click. Ask on Page lets you ask natural language questions about the current page's content (Cmd+F on steroids). These are opt-in, run quietly, and don't feel like AI for the sake of AI.
Who Should Use Arc?
1Full-Stack Developer
Three Spaces: Frontend (localhost, React docs, Figma), Backend (API docs, database admin, server logs), and Personal (Gmail, calendar, music). Each Space has its own Profile, so work and personal Google accounts stay separate. Split View keeps localhost and React docs visible side by side. When a coworker sends a Jira link in Slack, Air Traffic Control routes it to the Backend Space automatically. Boosts hide distracting elements on Stack Overflow. The workflow eliminates the 50-tab Chrome problem entirely.
2Freelancer Managing Multiple Clients
A Space per client, each with its own Profile. Client A's Slack, project board, and Google Drive in one Space. Client B's in another. No cross-contamination of cookies, no accidental messages in the wrong Slack workspace, no logging in and out. The sidebar color changes with each Space — blue for Client A, green for Client B — providing instant visual context about which client you're working for.
3Researcher or Grad Student
A 'Thesis' Space with pinned tabs for Google Scholar, the university library, and Overleaf. Folders in the sidebar organize research by chapter. Little Arc is the superpower: click citation links in a paper, glance at them in the floating window, and only promote genuinely relevant sources to full tabs. Easels collect key findings, charts, and quotes with links back to the original sources. Auto-archiving prevents the 200-tab research rabbit hole.
How to Install Arc on Mac
Arc is a native macOS application available through Homebrew or direct download from arc.net.
Install via Homebrew
Run: brew install --cask arc. This downloads and installs Arc to your Applications folder.
Create an Account
Launch Arc. You'll need to create an Arc account (email-based) — this is required for sidebar syncing and persistence. The account requirement is Arc's most controversial decision, but it's non-negotiable.
Import from Your Current Browser
Arc offers to import bookmarks, history, and extensions from Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. Accept the import to bring your Chrome extensions over — they all work in Arc since it's Chromium-based.
Set Arc as Default Browser
Set Arc as your default in System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Default web browser. This enables Little Arc functionality for links from external apps.
Pro Tips
- • Spend 10 minutes setting up Spaces and Air Traffic Control rules on day one — the upfront investment pays off immediately
- • Set auto-archive to 24 hours instead of 12 if the default feels too aggressive while you're adjusting
- • Pin your essential web apps (Gmail, Slack, Notion) in the sidebar — treat them like native Mac apps
- • Enable iCloud Sync if you use Arc on multiple Macs or the iOS companion app
Configuration Tips
Set Up Air Traffic Control First
Go to Settings > Links > Air Traffic Control. Add rules: github.com → Development Space, figma.com → Design Space, docs.google.com → Work Space. This one-time setup means every link from Slack, email, or other apps automatically goes to the right Space. It eliminates manual tab organization permanently.
Adjust Archive Timing to Your Style
Settings > General > Archive tabs after. Default is 12 hours, which is aggressive. Try 24 hours for a week, then tighten to 12 once you're comfortable with the concept. If you're a tab hoarder recovering from Chrome, 30 days is available but defeats the purpose. The point is to force intentionality about what stays open.
Master the Command Bar (Cmd+T)
The Command Bar is Arc's most powerful feature. Use it for everything: search open tabs across all Spaces, navigate to URLs, run extension commands, switch Spaces, and perform quick calculations. Stop clicking the sidebar; use Cmd+T. Once this becomes muscle memory, Arc's speed advantage over Chrome is dramatic.
Create Useful Boosts for Frequently Visited Sites
Right-click any page element > Boost > Hide. Start with the easy wins: YouTube Shorts shelf, Reddit promoted posts, Twitter trending sidebar, LinkedIn feed ads. Each Boost persists for that domain. Over time, your most-visited sites become cleaner and less distracting without any browser extensions.
Color-Code Your Spaces
Assign distinct colors to each Space. When you switch Spaces, the entire sidebar and toolbar change color. This provides immediate visual context — you know whether you're in Work or Personal at a glance. It sounds trivial, but it prevents the accidental cross-context mistakes that happen with Chrome profiles.
Alternatives to Arc
Arc isn't the only browser trying to improve on Chrome's tab model. Here's how alternatives compare.
Chrome
Chrome is the default. It's fast, it has every extension, and if you don't have a tab problem, there's no reason to switch. But Chrome's horizontal tabs break down past 15-20 tabs, it has no workspace concept, and Google tracks everything. Arc exists because Chrome's interface hasn't changed meaningfully since 2008. If you manage fewer than 15 tabs and don't need separated contexts, Chrome is fine. If you're drowning in tabs and juggling multiple projects, Arc solves problems Chrome ignores.
Brave
Brave is about privacy — built-in ad blocking, tracker protection, and optional Tor. It's Chromium-based like Arc, so extensions work. But Brave keeps Chrome's traditional tab interface. If your primary concern is privacy and ad blocking, Brave is excellent. If your primary concern is workspace organization, Arc is better. They solve different problems.
Firefox
Firefox is the non-Chromium alternative — independent engine, strong privacy, excellent DevTools. Its Multi-Account Containers feature provides some of what Arc's Profiles offer (separated cookie jars per container). But Firefox's tab management is still traditional horizontal tabs. If you want to avoid Chromium entirely and care about the open web, Firefox is the principled choice. If you want the best workspace browser regardless of engine, Arc wins.
Orion
Orion uses WebKit (Safari's engine) but supports Chrome and Firefox extensions. It's dramatically better for battery life than any Chromium browser. If battery life is your top priority on a MacBook, Orion is worth trying. But it doesn't have Arc's Spaces, Split View, or workspace features. It's a better Safari, not a browser reimagining.
Pricing
Arc is completely free for personal use. All features — Spaces, Split View, Boosts, Little Arc, Arc Max AI — are included. The Browser Company makes money from 'Arc for Teams,' an enterprise tier with collaborative shared spaces, centralized billing, and admin controls. There's no freemium gatekeeping — every feature works for individual users at no cost.
Pros
- ✓Spaces + Profiles completely solve multi-context workflows — no other browser does this as well
- ✓Vertical sidebar with auto-archiving keeps tabs organized without manual cleanup
- ✓Split View for side-by-side browsing is built-in and fluid
- ✓Little Arc prevents link clicks from derailing your current context
- ✓Command Bar (Cmd+T) is faster than Chrome's address bar for everything
- ✓Air Traffic Control automates tab routing to the right Space
- ✓Full Chrome extension compatibility — zero compromise on your toolkit
- ✓Native Swift UI feels fast and responsive on macOS
- ✓Boosts let you customize any site's appearance without extensions
Cons
- ✗MAINTENANCE MODE (2025) — Arc no longer receives active feature development as of May 2025. The Browser Company shifted focus to Dia. New users should understand they are adopting a static, mature product.
- ✗Mandatory account login — you can't use Arc without creating an account, which bothers privacy-conscious users
- ✗Chromium engine uses more battery and memory than Safari/WebKit
- ✗Auto-archiving is aggressive — tab hoarders will fight it for the first week
- ✗Steep learning curve — Chrome muscle memory takes time to unlearn
- ✗Arc Search (iOS) is a separate, simpler app, not a 1:1 mobile replica
- ✗Not open-source — you're trusting The Browser Company's privacy claims without code verification
- ✗Some developers tried Arc for a month and went back to Chrome — the sidebar workflow isn't for everyone
- ✗Requires macOS or Windows 11 — no Linux support
Community & Support
Arc has one of the most engaged browser communities online. The r/ArcBrowser subreddit has tens of thousands of members sharing Boost configurations, Space setups, and workflow tips. However, following the May 2025 announcement that Arc entered maintenance mode, community activity has shifted toward discussing alternatives and maintaining existing workflows rather than anticipating new features. The Browser Company has reduced public updates as they focus on Dia. Bug reports and support requests are still handled, but users should not expect the rapid iteration and feature development that characterized Arc's earlier years. The community remains valuable for workflow tips and troubleshooting, but the 'productivity enthusiasts sharing workflows' vibe has evolved into a 'maintaining existing setups' posture.
Video Tutorials
Getting Started with Arc
More Tutorials
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Frequently Asked Questions about Arc
Our Verdict
Arc was the best browser for people with complex browsing workflows, and its innovations (Spaces, vertical tabs, auto-archiving, Boosts) remain genuinely useful for existing users. The Spaces + Profiles combination is still unique — no other browser handles multi-context work as well. However, Arc entered maintenance mode in May 2025 when The Browser Company shifted focus to Dia. For new users in 2026, this is a critical consideration: you are adopting a static, mature product rather than an actively evolving platform. The tradeoffs remain real: Chromium's battery impact, mandatory account login, no Linux support, and a learning curve. Existing Arc power users can continue productively using the browser, but new users should carefully consider whether to adopt a browser that is no longer receiving active development. Active alternatives like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Brave offer continuous updates and clearer long-term roadmaps.
About the Author
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Productivity Browsers
Browsers designed for workflow organization and multitasking.
Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Feb 23, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Arc is built on the Chromium engine with a Swift-based custom UI.[cite-1]
- Arc is free for individual use, with monetization through team features.[cite-1, cite-2]
- 1Arc from The Browser Company
Accessed Feb 23, 2026
- 2Arc Privacy Policy
Accessed Feb 23, 2026
Research queries: Arc browser Mac 2026 features review