# Tips and Tricks

Source: https://metadock.app/docs/tips

# Tips & Tricks

Real workflows from power users. These are the patterns that make MetaDock significantly more productive than a regular browser.

## Power User Workflows

Profiles

### 1\. Multi-Profile Research

Create separate profiles for different research contexts. Each has its own proxy, cookies, history, and bookmarks — nothing bleeds between contexts. Use folders or tags to organize within a profile, and the All Profiles view to search across all of them at once.

**Example:**A competitive analyst creates profiles for “Company A”, “Company B”, and “Public”. Each profile has different search histories and login states, preventing cross-contamination of research data.

Layout

### 2\. Auto-Tile Then Lock

Let auto-tiling build your grid, then lock it to prevent accidental changes.

**Steps:** Open your sites one by one → MetaDock auto-arranges them → press **Ctrl+Alt+E** to equalize sizes → press **F9** to lock → press **Ctrl+S** to save. Done. Your layout is permanent.

API

### 3\. Batch Browser Operations

Control multiple browsers simultaneously with the REST API's batch endpoint.

**Example:** A QA tester uses a Python script to navigate 10 browser panels to different pages, fill out forms in all of them, and take screenshots — all in one API call with up to 100 operations per browser.

AI

### 4\. AI-Powered Automation

Connect Claude or another AI assistant via MCP to automate complex multi-browser workflows.

**Example:**Tell Claude: “Create 5 browser panels, navigate each to a different competitor's pricing page, take screenshots, and save them.” Claude does it all through MCP — creating browsers, navigating, screenshotting, and organizing the results.

Trading

### 5\. Instant Trading Dashboard

Build a complete trading dashboard in under 30 seconds.

**Steps:** Press **F6** → type **AAPL, TSLA, GOOGL, NVDA** → select TradingView for each → click “Open All” → 4 charts appear in a tiled grid → **Ctrl+S**to save → tomorrow, it's one click away.

Research

### 6\. Bookmark-Driven Research

Use bookmarks and batch operations to avoid tab overload during research.

**Workflow:** Reading an article with 20 links → bookmark the interesting ones (**Ctrl+D**) into a “Research” folder → finish the article → batch-open the best bookmarks as new panels → research without losing your flow.

Workspaces

### 7\. Context Switching with Workspaces

Eliminate context-switching friction by creating a workspace for each role.

**Setup:** Create workspaces for “Trading” (12 chart panels), “Development” (IDE + browser + docs), “Communication” (email + Slack + Discord), and “Entertainment” (streaming + social media). Switch between them with **Ctrl+Shift+W**. Each one restores instantly with everything exactly where you left it.

Keyboard

### 8\. Keyboard-First Navigation

Navigate MetaDock entirely from the keyboard.

**The essentials:** **Ctrl+K** (go anywhere), **Ctrl+1-9** (switch tabs), **Ctrl+Shift+W** (switch workspace), **Ctrl+Shift+P** (switch profile), **Ctrl+S** (save). These 5 shortcuts cover 80% of daily usage.

Settings

### 9\. Settings Audit

Quickly review what you've customized.

**Trick:** Open Settings (**Ctrl+,**) → type **@modified**in the search bar. This shows only settings you've changed from defaults. Great for troubleshooting or sharing your setup with someone.

Apps

### 10\. All-in-One Workspace

Combine browsers and native apps in a single workspace.

**Example:** Dock VS Code on the left half, your web app in a browser panel on the right, and a terminal at the bottom. Save the workspace. Browser panels restore with one click. Native apps re-dock automatically if they are still running with the same window title.

## Choosing an Automation Protocol

MetaDock offers 5 different automation protocols. Here's how to pick the right one for your task:

Use Case

Best Protocol

AI assistant control (Claude, Cursor)

MCP — the AI sends tool calls to control MetaDock

Simple scripts (Python, curl, bash)

REST API — standard HTTP requests, easy to write

Real-time event monitoring

WebSocket — subscribe to events, get instant notifications

Existing Selenium test suites

WebDriver — drop-in W3C compatible, minimal code changes

Low-level browser debugging

CDP — full DevTools Protocol, use Puppeteer or Playwright

Complex multi-step automation

REST API + WebSocket — commands via REST, events via WebSocket

Tip

**Starting out?**Use the REST API. It's the simplest — just HTTP requests with JSON. You can automate everything from a 10-line Python script. Add WebSocket later when you need real-time events.

## Performance Tips

Get the most out of MetaDock with these performance practices:

#### Use batch operations

Instead of making 10 separate API calls to navigate 10 browsers, use a single batch request. The batch endpoint supports up to 100 operations per browser. This is dramatically faster and reduces network overhead.

#### Subscribe, don't poll

If you need to know when a page finishes loading, subscribe to WebSocket events instead of polling the REST API in a loop. WebSocket delivers events instantly with zero wasted requests.

#### Isolate with profiles

Running automation across multiple accounts? Use a separate profile for each. This prevents cookie/cache conflicts and ensures each browser instance is truly independent.

#### Lock during automation

Press F9 to lock your layout before running automation scripts. This prevents accidental panel rearrangement if a script interaction triggers a drag event.