How to use Tabs Manager

Get started

Install and open

Tabs Manager is an extension for Google Chrome 116 or later (and browsers built on Chrome).

• Open the Tabs Manager page on the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome.
• Pin the extension: click the puzzle icon of the toolbar, then the pin next to Tabs Manager.
• Click the Tabs Manager icon: the extension opens in Chrome's side panel, next to the page you are reading. It stays open while you browse.
• The top bar of the panel gives access to everything: copy the link of the page, Chrome pages, developer tools, notes, player and settings.

No account to create and nothing to configure: the extension works as soon as it is installed.

Tabs

Tabs sorted by site

The Current tabs block lists every open tab, grouped by site, so that ten tabs of the same site take a single line until you open it.

• Each site shows its icon, its address and the number of tabs open on it.
• Click a site to unfold its tabs, click a tab to jump to it.
• Close a tab from the panel, without looking for it in the tab strip.
• The search field filters the panel as you type.
• A tab that changes site (a link opened in a new tab) moves to its new group on its own.

Several windows

With more than one Chrome window open, every window gets a number and a color.

• Each tab shows the color of its window, with a colored stripe and a chip.
• The legend under Current tabs lists the windows: click one to bring it to the front.
• Clicking a tab of another window activates the tab and focuses its window.

The extension only sees the tabs of its own Chrome profile: windows of another profile are not listed.

Drag and drop

Reorganize your tabs without touching the tab strip.

• Drop a tab on another tab to move it next to it, in the same window or in another one.
• Drop a tab on a window of the legend to send it to the end of that window.
• Drop a tab on New window (shown while you drag) to open it in a window of its own.

Chrome does not allow moving a tab between a normal window and a private window.

Duplicate tabs

Opened the same page three times? Tabs Manager can close the copies for you.

• Set Allow tabs duplicates to No: extra tabs of the same page are closed, the active or most recent one is kept.
• Choose the rule that defines a duplicate: same site (host) or same address (without the #anchor, the protocol and the trailing slash).
• Allow duplicates site by site, for the sites where you really need several tabs.
• Pinned tabs and tabs playing sound are never closed as duplicates.
• Quick access and favorites: when duplicates from them are not allowed, their pages are hidden from Current tabs and clicking their icon focuses the tab already open instead of opening a new one.

Setting: Settings › Tabs duplicates

Close inactive tabs

Tabs you have not looked at for hours can be closed automatically.

• Enter a number of hours in Current tabs closing delay; 0 turns it off.
• The delay counts from the last time you used the tab, not from when it was opened.

A closed tab may lose unsaved content (a form, a draft): choose a delay that suits the way you work.

Setting: Settings › General

Split view

Show two tabs side by side in one click, with the split button of a tab.

• The tab you click is paired with the active tab of the window.
• On Chrome 155 and later, Tabs Manager uses Chrome's native split view.
• On older versions, the two tabs are placed in two windows, half and half of the screen.
• Click the button of a split tab again to end the split.

On each tab

Unread counters

Many sites write a counter in their title, like (3) Inbox. Tabs Manager turns it into a red badge.

• The badge is shown on the tab, on its site group and on the matching quick access and favorites.
• It follows the title live: new messages appear without reloading anything.

Page load times

Two small pills under each tab show how fast the page loaded, measured by the browser itself.

• The first one is the server response time (time to first byte).
• The second one is the time from the HTML to the page being ready.
• Handy to spot a slow site, or to check your own sites while you develop them.

Setting: Settings › Display › Show load times

Site preview

Hover a tab for a moment to see a card with the page's title, description and sharing image.

• The information comes from the public metadata of the page (title, description, keywords, image).
• Nothing is fetched from the network: the extension reads what the page already loaded.

Setting: Settings › Display › Show a site preview on hover

Media controls

Which tab is playing that video? A badge on its icon tells you, and you can control it from the panel.

• A playing badge appears on tabs with audio or video playing.
• Play, pause and mute buttons act on the media of the tab without leaving the page you are on.
• Decorative videos (muted loops, tiny players) are ignored.

Organize

Quick access and favorites

Keep the sites you use every day one click away.

• Quick access: a row of site icons at the top of the panel. Add the current page in one click.
• Favorites: links sorted in namespaces (one per project, client or topic), each with its own list of links.
• Quick access and favorites are saved as Chrome bookmarks, in a dedicated folder: they follow your Chrome profile.
• A notes button on each favorite opens notes of its own (see Notes).

Notes and pinned notes

Write things down without leaving the page you are working on.

• Open Notes from the top bar: each note has a title and an optional description.
• Filter notes, edit them, copy one note or all of them in one click. Ctrl + Enter adds a note.
• Each favorite has its own notes, with a counter on its button.
• Pin a note (or a todo) with the thumbtack: it shows up on the home of the panel, above Quick access.
• Open in a tab shows your notes in a full page.

Pasting several lines in an empty title splits them: the first line becomes the title, the rest the description.

Setting: Settings › Display › Notes per favorite / Pinned notes

Todo list per site

Every site gets its own todo list, right next to its tabs.

• Click the checklist button of a tab to open the todo list of its site.
• A N todo badge shows how many items are still open, on the tab and on its site group.
• Filter by All, To do or Done, and clear the done items in one click.
• Lists are kept per site (address and port), so each of your projects keeps its own.

Setting: Settings › Display › Todo list per site

History and Chrome shortcuts

Find a page you closed, or reach Chrome's own pages, from the panel.

• The history button shows your recent browsing history.
• The Chrome menu opens settings, extensions, downloads, history, bookmarks, passwords and flags.
• The copy button of the top bar copies the link of the current page.

Setting: Settings › Display › Chrome shortcuts

Player

Listen to music or watch a video while you browse, without keeping a tab open for it.

• Paste a YouTube, Dailymotion, Spotify or SoundCloud link: the title and thumbnail appear and it plays in the panel.
• Pop out plays it in a small window that keeps playing when the side panel is closed.
• A now playing pill reminds you what is playing.
• Recently played keeps your last 30 links.

Setting: Settings › Display › Player

Developer tools

PHP functions

Test PHP functions without a server: more than a hundred PHP 8 functions emulated in the panel.

• Strings, arrays, regular expressions (preg_match, preg_replace…), dates, JSON, encoding.
• See the result as var_dump, print_r, var_export or JSON.
• Your last code is kept when you close the panel.

The functions are emulated in JavaScript: results are indicative and may differ from a real PHP install in edge cases.

Setting: Settings › Developer tools

Icon browser

Search and copy icons from four sets.

• Font Awesome, Bootstrap Icons, Glyphicons and Noto animated emoji.
• Click an icon to copy its code, star it to keep it in your favorites.
• The version of each set and a link to its official site are shown.

Setting: Settings › Developer tools

CSS3 generators

Visual generators that write the CSS for you.

• Gradients (linear, radial, conic) with draggable color stops and presets.
• Colors (HEX, RGB, HSL, OKLCH, with WCAG contrast), palettes from 50 to 950, easing curves, units and clamp().
• Flexbox and grid layouts, filters and clip-path shapes.
• Copy the generated CSS in one click.

Setting: Settings › Developer tools

Components gallery

The daisyUI and Bootstrap 5 components, with a live demo of each.

• 68 daisyUI components and 32 Bootstrap components, forms, tables and grid.
• Copy the HTML of a demo, or one of its classes.
• A link to the official documentation page of each component.

Setting: Settings › Developer tools

Settings

Themes and settings

Tabs Manager adapts to you, not the other way round.

• Light or dark theme.
• Every feature can be turned on or off: load times, preview, todo lists, notes, pinned notes, player, Chrome shortcuts, developer tools… what you turn off disappears from the panel.
• Your data is kept when you hide a feature: turn it back on and everything is still there.
• Group the top bar icons in menus, or show them all.

Setting: Settings (gear icon of the top bar)

Export and import

Move your setup to another computer, or keep a safe copy.

• Export saves everything in one file: settings, quick access, favorites, notes, todo lists and player history.
• Import shows a summary first, then lets you merge with your current data or replace it.
• The file stays on your computer: it is never uploaded anywhere.

Setting: Settings › Backup

Privacy and permissions

All the data of the extension stays in your browser. The terms of use list every permission Chrome asks for, and why.