Navigating your Unite app

Once you've created a Unite app, you interact with it much like a browser — but with a cleaner, more focused interface. This article covers the toolbar, tabs, navigation controls, and other day-to-day usage.

The toolbar runs along the top of the window in Normal mode. It contains:

Sidebar mode — Convert all the apps windows to sidebar mode
Menu bar mode — Convert all the apps windows to menu bar mode
Back / Forward — Navigate through your browsing history within the app
Reload — Refresh the current page (⌘R); hard reload bypasses cache (⌘⇧R)
Home — Navigate to the app's primary URL
Stop — Cancel a page load in progress
URL bar — Shows the current page address. Click to edit and navigate to a new URL within the app's allowed domains.
Add tab — Adds a new tab
Site customizer — Edit and remove elements from a web page
Quick settings — Quickly change your app's settings
Collapse toolbar — Hide the app's toolbar

The toolbar can be hidden entirely in Appearance settings if you prefer a cleaner look.

Tabs

Opening a New Tab

Press ⌘T to open a new tab.
Right-click a link and choose Open in New Tab.
Middle-click a link (if supported by your trackpad/mouse).

Closing a Tab

Press ⌘W to close the current tab.
Click the × on the tab.

Switching Between Tabs

Press ⌘⇧] for the next tab or ⌘⇧[ for the previous tab.
Click any tab directly.

Pinned Tabs

Pin a tab to keep it permanently at the left of the tab bar, preventing accidental closure. Right-click a tab and choose Pin Tab, or use the keyboard shortcut configured in Keyboard Shortcuts.

Pinned tabs are slightly narrower, display only the favicon, and are restored when you relaunch the app.

Tab Isolation

Each Unite app runs in its own isolated process and web storage context. Cookies, sessions, and local storage are completely separate between different Unite apps — and separate from Safari or any browser.

In Sidebar mode, open tabs appear as a vertical list in the left panel instead of in a top tab bar. Each entry shows the page title and favicon. Click any entry to switch to that tab. Pinned tabs stay at the top of the list.

Resize the sidebar by dragging its edge. Toggle it with the keyboard shortcut ⌘⇧S (configurable in Shortcuts settings).

Find in Page

Press ⌘F to open a Find bar at the top or bottom of the window. Type to search within the current page. Navigate matches with ⌘G (next) and ⌘⇧G (previous). Press Escape or click the × to close Find.

Opening Links

Links within the app's domain open inside the app by default.

External links (to other domains) depend on your Link Forwarding settings:

If link forwarding is off, external links open in a new tab inside the app.
If link forwarding is on, external links open in your default browser.

See Link Forwarding for detailed control over which URLs stay in-app and which go to the browser.

Quick Settings

Click the Quick Settings button in the toolbar (or use the keyboard shortcut) to access a panel with instant toggles for the most commonly changed settings: zoom level, user agent, ad blocking, and link forwarding — without opening the full Settings window.

Downloads

When a file download starts, a Download Banner appears at the top of the window showing the filename and progress. Click Show in Finder when complete. Access all downloads via the Download Manager (⌘⇧J or the toolbar button if shown).