Getting Started

Requirements

SplitLane requires macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. It doesn’t establish VPN connections itself — it manages routing for a VPN connection you already have (an existing corporate VPN, L2TP, IKEv2, WireGuard, etc.).

SplitLane isn’t distributed on the Mac App Store. App Store sandboxing doesn’t permit the routing-table changes this app fundamentally requires, so it’s distributed directly: Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. See FAQ for the full explanation.

Install

1. Download the DMG from the SplitLane releases page.
2. Open the DMG and drag SplitLane.app to your Applications folder.

Moving the app to /Applications isn’t optional. SplitLane’s privileged helper is registered against the app bundle’s path — if the app later runs from anywhere else (Downloads, a mounted DMG, an external volume), the helper won’t start. If you ever move SplitLane.app after installing it, put it back in /Applications before reporting a helper problem.

First launch

The first time you open SplitLane, a short setup walks you through:

1. What this app does — routes only the destinations you specify through the VPN; everything else stays direct.
2. Why a helper is needed — changing macOS’s routing table requires administrator privileges. The main app never runs as admin; a separate, signed helper performs only a fixed set of routing operations on its behalf.
3. Supported VPN types — SplitLane works with VPNs that create ppp*, utun*, or ipsec* network interfaces (L2TP, IKEv2, and most WireGuard/IKEv2-based clients). VPN clients that re-assert their own routes may not be fully controllable — see Troubleshooting.
4. Helper install and approval — described in detail below.
5. VPN interface selection — described in detail below.
6. Your first rule — you can skip this step and add rules later from the Rules screen.

Approving the helper

Clicking “Install Helper” triggers a macOS system prompt requesting your permission to run a background item. This is normal, and while you’re waiting for it, SplitLane shows a “Waiting for approval…” state rather than an error — approval-pending is expected, not a failure.

To approve it:

1. Open System Settings > Login Items & Extensions.
2. Find SplitLane in the list and allow it.
3. Confirm SplitLane.app is in your Applications folder — helper installation only works from there.

SplitLane polls for approval in the background and moves on automatically once you’ve allowed it — you don’t need to relaunch the app.

Choosing a VPN interface

SplitLane can only route traffic once it knows which network interface is your VPN. It lists interface candidates it finds (ppp*, utun*, ipsec*) and lets you choose how to match them:

• All ppp interfaces — matches any ppp[0-9]+ interface. Good default for PPP-based VPNs.
• Fixed utun — pins to one specific utun interface name. This is an advanced option: some VPN clients (e.g. ones that renegotiate a new utun number on each connection) won’t keep the same name over time, so this option is best reserved for VPNs you’ve confirmed use a stable interface name.
• Auto — presents current candidates each time and asks you to confirm, rather than guessing on your behalf.

If no candidates appear, connect your VPN first and check again — you can always revisit this in Settings later.

Your first rule and Apply

From the Rules screen, add a rule for a destination that should go through the VPN — an IP/CIDR block (e.g. 10.0.1.0/24) or a domain name (e.g. wiki.example.com). Domain rules are resolved to IP addresses automatically in the background.

Adding, editing, or toggling a rule marks your rule set as having unapplied changes (shown as a “dirty” warning). Nothing changes on your Mac’s actual routing until you press Apply on the Dashboard or Rules screen.

Once applied, the Dashboard shows your current traffic mode, the number of active rules, and the time of the last successful apply. From here on, see Core Concepts for how split routing actually works, and Rules for day-to-day rule management.