Rolestab

The browser built for multi-role testing. Test admin, manager, customer, and other user roles simultaneously with isolated sessions in one window.

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RolesTab

Inspiration

RolesTab was inspired by a problem I faced while building web applications with multiple user roles. Testing workflows for admins, managers, customers, and support staff meant constantly logging in and out, opening multiple browsers, or maintaining several browser profiles. It quickly became frustrating and inefficient.

I wanted a browser where every tab behaved like a completely independent browser session, allowing developers to test multiple authenticated users side by side without the usual hassle.

What it does

RolesTab is a desktop browser built specifically for developers, QA engineers, and AI-powered development workflows.

Every tab has its own isolated cookies, local storage, IndexedDB, cache, and authentication state. This makes it possible to log into multiple accounts simultaneously within the same window and test complex role-based applications with ease.

Beyond manual testing, RolesTab lays the foundation for AI-assisted browser automation by providing isolated environments where AI agents can safely execute and validate end-to-end user workflows.

How we built it

RolesTab is built with Electron and Chromium, using Electron's session partitioning to create fully isolated browser contexts.

The application includes custom tab management, persistent isolated sessions, and a browser interface optimized for developers. The architecture was designed to be extensible, allowing future integration with AI agents, browser automation, analytics, and developer tooling.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was making every tab behave as if it were its own browser while maintaining excellent performance.

Managing authentication, cookies, storage, downloads, and session persistence across multiple concurrent browser sessions required careful architectural decisions. We also invested significant effort into creating an interface that feels familiar while solving a technically complex problem.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Built a browser where every tab is a truly isolated browser session.
  • Eliminated the need for multiple browsers or browser profiles during multi-role testing.
  • Delivered a familiar browsing experience while supporting complex authentication workflows.
  • Created a scalable foundation for AI-powered browser automation and testing.
  • Successfully launched the first public version of RolesTab for developers and QA engineers.

What we learned

Building RolesTab gave us a much deeper understanding of Chromium internals, Electron architecture, browser session management, and desktop application development.

Most importantly, we learned that developer productivity isn't just about writing code, it's also about removing the friction that slows developers down every day.

What's next for RolesTab

Our vision is to make RolesTab the browser for AI-assisted software development.

Next, we're building AI-powered testing capabilities using OpenAI models, allowing developers to automatically validate multi-user workflows, detect permission issues, reproduce bugs, and simulate real user interactions across isolated browser sessions.

We're also planning support for browser extensions, richer developer tools, collaborative testing features, analytics, and seamless integrations with modern development workflows, making RolesTab the go-to browser for building and testing complex web applications.

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