I Built a Browser to Solve a Problem Every Developer and QA Engineer Faces

If you've ever worked on an application with multiple user roles, you've probably experienced this. You log in as an Administrator. Then you need to test the Manager. So you log out. Log in as the Customer. Log out again. Then the Support Agent. And maybe another Guest account.

Before long, your browser has turned into a collection of Incognito windows, multiple browser profiles, different browsers, or entirely different devices. I reached a point where I was testing an application with five different user roles simultaneously. Managing all those sessions became more frustrating than the actual testing.

At first, I opened several browser windows. Then multiple browser profiles. Then different browsers. It worked... but it wasn't enjoyable. That was the moment I asked myself: Why isn't there a browser built specifically for developers and QA testers? So I built one.

Meet RolesTab

RolesTab is a Chromium-based browser designed for developers, QA engineers, product teams, and anyone who regularly works with multiple authenticated accounts. Instead of treating each login session as a separate browser profile, RolesTab makes each role feel like its own dedicated workspace.

The goal is simple: Test faster. Switch instantly. Stay organized.

The Problem

Modern web applications rarely have a single type of user. A typical SaaS product may have:

• Super Admin
• Admin
• Manager
• Employee
• Customer
• Vendor
• Guest

Testing interactions between these roles usually means:

• Constant logging in and out
• Maintaining several browser profiles
• Opening multiple Incognito windows
• Using different browsers
• Losing track of which account is where

The more complex the application becomes, the worse this workflow gets.

My First Solution

Initially, I tried using:

• Chrome profiles
• Microsoft Edge profiles
• Firefox
• Incognito windows
• Different browsers at once

While these approaches technically worked, they introduced new problems:

• Too many windows
• Memory usage increased quickly
• Sessions became difficult to identify
• Context switching slowed everything down

None of them felt designed for this use case.

Building RolesTab

I decided to create a browser that treats each role as an independent environment while keeping everything inside one application. RolesTab is built on Electron and Chromium, so developers don't have to learn a new browser engine. The focus has been on making role-based testing feel natural.

Current features include:

• Independent authenticated sessions
• Multiple roles open simultaneously
• Chromium compatibility
• Clean tab organization
• Cross-platform installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Rather than forcing developers to manage browser profiles manually, RolesTab lets them focus on the application they're building.

Why Open Source?

I decided to make the project open source because I believe developer tools become better through community feedback. Every team has slightly different testing workflows. By opening the project, developers can:

• suggest features
• report issues
• contribute improvements
• help shape the future of the browser

What's Next?

RolesTab is still in its early stages, and there are many ideas I'd love to explore, including:

• Workspace management
• Isolated browser extensions
• Session templates
• Team synchronization
• Better developer tooling
• Enhanced debugging features

Some of these features are already being designed, while others are based directly on community feedback.

What I Learned

Building a browser has been one of the most challenging projects I've worked on. Browsers seem simple from the outside. Behind the scenes, they involve window management, navigation, downloads, permissions, security, persistence, updates, installers, session isolation, and countless edge cases. I've gained a much deeper appreciation for the engineering behind browsers like Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and Firefox.

Try RolesTab

If you're a developer, QA engineer, or product tester who regularly works with multiple authenticated users, I'd love for you to give RolesTab a try. Your feedback will directly influence where the project goes next.

Website: https://rolestab.app
GitHub: https://github.com/Usenmfon/rolestab

If RolesTab saves you even a few minutes every day, then it has already achieved its purpose. Thanks for reading. If you've ever struggled with testing multiple user accounts, I'd love to hear how you currently manage it. Feel free to share your workflow or suggest features that would make RolesTab even more useful.