Default browser
Set Vivaldi as the macOS default browser so external links stop opening in whatever macOS guessed first.
Vivaldi first, DuckDuckGo by default.
The browser setup is simple on purpose. No Edge, no Chrome-first posture, and no wandering search defaults. Vivaldi is the main browser and DuckDuckGo is the default search engine inside it.
The browsers-ai Homebrew slice installs Vivaldi, DuckDuckGo, VS Code, Codex, Claude, and Antigravity together.
What To Set Immediately
These are the browser checks worth doing before other app state starts piling on.
Default search
Set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine inside Vivaldi, not just in the companion browser app.
Profile restore
Sign into the main Vivaldi profile and let sync pull tabs, workspaces, bookmarks, and extensions back in.
Noise control
Skip the browsers and launchers that are no longer part of the daily stack.
Browser Checklist
A tight browser checklist is better than a long browser essay.
- Install Vivaldi and DuckDuckGo via Homebrew.
- Set Vivaldi as the default browser in macOS.
- Set DuckDuckGo as the default search engine in Vivaldi.
- Restore the Vivaldi profile and confirm workspaces, bookmarks, and extensions are back.
- Pin the core sites and log back into the coding and note-taking tabs that matter daily.