How to start edge browser with work profile in command line.

Imagine this: It’s Monday morning, you’ve just sat down at your desk, coffee in hand, ready to tackle your inbox. You hit your shiny new Stream Deck button to launch Outlook in Microsoft Edge, expecting your work profile to appear—only to be greeted by your personal account, memes and shopping carts included. Frustrating, right? If you’re juggling multiple profiles in Edge, you know the pain of always landing in the wrong one. Let’s fix that for good.

Why Profiles Matter in Microsoft Edge

Edge does a stellar job separating work and personal profiles, keeping your professional life distinct from your weekend browsing. But when you launch Edge from the command line (or automate it with tools like Stream Deck), it defaults to your personal profile. Not ideal if you’re trying to keep your work and personal worlds apart.

The Command That Gets You There

After some digging (and a few choice words), I found the solution. You can specify which profile Edge should use when launching a site. Here’s the magic command:

start msedge --profile-directory="Profile 1" https://outlook.office.com/owa/

How It Works

• start msedge: Launches Microsoft Edge from the command line.
• --profile-directory="Profile 1": Tells Edge which profile to use. “Profile 1” is usually your first added profile, but it can vary.
• https://outlook.office.com/owa/: Opens Outlook Web Access directly in your chosen profile.

Practical Tips & Gotchas

• Find Your Profile Name: The profile directory name isn’t always obvious. To check yours, go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data and look for folders like Profile 1, Profile 2, etc. Match the folder to your desired profile.
• Spaces in Paths: If your profile name has spaces, keep the quotes around it. Otherwise, Edge will get confused.
• Automating with Shortcuts: You can put this command in a batch file or use it with automation tools like Stream Deck, AutoHotkey, or Windows Task Scheduler.
• Multiple Profiles: If you have more than two profiles, make sure you’re using the correct directory name. “Profile 1” is not always your work profile!

My Take

If you care about keeping your work and personal lives separate (and you should), this command is a must-have in your productivity toolkit. Don’t settle for Edge’s default behavior—take control and make your workflow seamless.

Bonus: Open Any Site with Any Profile

Want to open any site with a specific profile? Just swap out the URL:

start msedge --profile-directory="Profile 2" https://github.com/

Now go automate your day like a pro.