Creating your first Unite Pro app

Creating Your First App

Creating a Unite app takes about 30 seconds. This article walks you through every step, from entering a URL to launching your finished app for the first time.

Starting a New App

There are two ways to start:

From the home screen

When Unite Pro opens with no app selected, you'll see a URL input field in the center of the window. Type or paste a website URL here and press Return, or click the arrow button.

From the New Application button

Click the New Application button at the top of the sidebar. A creation sheet will slide open.

You can also browse the suggestion cards on the home screen — popular apps like Gmail, Notion, YouTube, ChatGPT, and Slack are listed by category. Clicking a suggestion pre-fills the URL for you.

Step 1: Enter a URL

Type or paste the URL of the site you want to turn into an app. Unite automatically cleans up the URL (removing unnecessary query parameters and fragments) and fetches the site's icon and name.

Tip: You don't need to type https://       — Unite adds it automatically if it's missing.

Step 2: Name and Icon

Unite detects a clean app name from the website's title or domain. You can edit this name to anything you like — it's what will appear in the dock and app switcher.

The icon is pulled from the site's favicon or a higher-resolution source if available. You can customize it:

• Icon shape — Choose Square, Rounded, or Circle. Rounded (the macOS standard) is the default.
• Background color — Unite picks a color that complements the favicon. Tap the color swatch to choose a custom color.
• Custom icon — Click the icon to browse your Mac for a custom image file.

Step 3: Choose a Display Mode

Pick how your app will run. You can always change this later by editing the app.

See App Modes for a detailed comparison.

Step 4: Configure Options

Below the mode selector, you'll find a set of toggles and options:

• Multiple tabs — Enable to add additional startup tabs. Click the +       button to add each one with its own URL and title.
• App appearance — Choose Auto (follows macOS), Light, or Dark.
• Block ads — Enabled by default. Blocks ads and trackers using a Brave-based content blocking list.
• Launch at startup — Automatically opens this app when you log in to your Mac.
• Link forwarding — Sends external links to your default browser instead of opening them inside the app.
• Show in "Browse In" menus — Makes this app available as an option when choosing where to open a link from other Unite apps.

Step 5: Smart Enhancements

For popular sites, Unite automatically detects which native macOS enhancements apply. If any are available, you'll see a "Smart Enhancements" section with toggles:

• Dock badges — Shows unread counts on the app's dock icon (email, chat, work apps, AI tools)
• AI Companion — Adds a menu bar overlay for quick AI prompts (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
• Meeting notifications — Delivers native macOS notifications for upcoming calendar events (Google Calendar, Outlook)
• Video speed controls — Adds a playback speed overlay for video sites (YouTube, Netflix, etc.)

These are all on by default when detected. You can toggle any of them off if you don't need them.

See Smart Enhancements for a full explanation.

Step 6: Save Location

At the bottom of the sheet, you'll see where the app will be saved. The default is your Applications folder. Click Change to pick a different location (useful for keeping personal and work apps organized, or saving to iCloud Drive).

Building the App

Click Create Application. You'll see a brief progress animation:

1. Preparing icon
2. Building application
3. Finalizing

The whole process takes a few seconds. When it's done, a completion screen appears with two buttons:

• Launch App — Opens the newly created app immediately
• Done — Dismisses the sheet and returns to the app library

Your new app now appears in the Unite Pro sidebar and in your Applications folder. You can launch it from there, from Spotlight, or from the dock just like any other app.

Editing an App Later

You can change any setting after creation. Select the app in the sidebar and click Edit, or right-click the app and choose Edit. The same creation sheet reopens with your current settings pre-filled.

See Managing Your App Library for more.