Build Chrome-Based Apps from Any Website to Stay Focused and Productive

I hate doing all my work in the browser.

It might be controversial in a world full of browser tabs, extensions, and web-based productivity, but to me, the browser is the most distracting workspace ever invented. Task switching becomes frictionless, and I inevitably end up bouncing between Slack, Gmail, dashboards, Twitter, and whatever shiny object popped into my head mid-task.

And yet, the tools I rely on most to get work done live in the browser: BigQuery, Segment, Snowflake, Meta Ads Manager, and so on.

The Spark: Google Ads Editor

What got me thinking differently was Google Ads Editor. It’s a desktop app. It only does one thing. When I open it, I’m locked into one task: editing campaigns. The UI is focused, snappy, and completely separate from the chaos of the browser.

That’s when I wondered: what if I could make apps like this for every web tool I use?

Turns out, you can.

And it takes less than 30 seconds once it’s set up.

The Solution: Chrome App Mode + a Simple App Generator

Chrome has a built-in feature called App Mode. It lets you launch any site in a standalone, borderless window:

open -na "Google Chrome" --args --app="https://app.segment.com/envorso/destinations"

This opens the site in a clean window:

  • No address bar
  • No tabs
  • No bookmarks
  • Just the app

From there, I wanted to:

  • Turn that into a native-looking Mac app
  • Give it the site’s favicon as its Dock icon
  • Drop it in my Applications folder
  • Make the whole process repeatable with a simple interface

So I built a little Web App Builder app using Platypus, some Bash scripting, and AppleScript dialogs.

How It Works

When you launch the Web App Builder, it prompts you for:

  1. App Name (e.g., “Segment”)
  2. App URL (e.g., https://app.segment.com/envorso/destinations)

Then it:

  • Creates a Chrome App Mode launcher script
  • Downloads the favicon from the site
  • Converts it to a macOS-compatible .icns file
  • Wraps it all into a .app using Platypus
  • Saves the finished app to your ~/Applications folder

You can now open the web tool like a native Mac app, dock it, and treat it as an isolated workspace.

Benefits

This small change had a big impact on my workflow:

  • No more tab overload: Every tool lives in its own window and workspace
  • Less distraction: I don’t get sucked into other tabs or inboxes when I’m working on data
  • Feels faster: Chrome App Mode is leaner than full browser windows
  • More focus: Just like using Google Ads Editor, you’re doing one thing at a time

Tools You’ll Need

Try It Yourself

I’ve published everything you need on GitHub:

👉 https://github.com/noahmanion/web-app-builder

That includes:

  • app_generator.sh: the script that powers the app
  • Instructions to compile it into a .app using Platypus
  • Sample apps for Segment, BigQuery, and Meta Ads

What’s Next

I’m planning to add features like:

  • Launching apps in dedicated Chrome profiles (for account separation)
  • Optional incognito mode
  • Auto-adding apps to Login Items or the Dock

If you want to get away from the distraction machine that is your browser, give this a shot.

GitHub Repo: https://github.com/noahmanion/web-app-builder