How to hide your bookmarks bar except when you open a new tab

Most browsers show your bookmarks bar on every page you visit, which takes up space you might want for content. You can configure your bookmarks to appear only when you open a new tab — the bar will hide on regular web pages and reappear when you start a fresh tab. The steps differ slightly between Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari, but all of them offer this option in their settings.

This setup works best if you use your bookmarks mainly for navigation rather than constant reference. If you jump between bookmarked sites frequently throughout your browsing, keeping the bar visible on every page may be more practical.

Key Takeaways

  • Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari all let you show the bookmarks bar only on new tab pages through their settings menus.
  • In Chrome and Edge, you toggle this in Settings under Appearance; in Firefox, you use the toolbar customization panel; in Safari, it is under View.
  • The bookmarks bar will still be accessible on other pages through keyboard shortcuts or the menu, even when hidden from view.
  • You can also hide the bookmarks bar entirely and access bookmarks through a folder icon or keyboard shortcut instead.

Chrome: Show bookmarks bar on new tab only

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner, then select Settings. Go to the Appearance section on the left sidebar. Under "Bookmarks bar," you will see three options: Always show, Only show on new tab, and Never show. Select Only show on new tab.

Once you make this change, your bookmarks bar will disappear from regular web pages when ready. When you open a new tab (by pressing Ctrl+T on Windows or Cmd+T on Mac, or clicking the plus icon next to your current tab), the bookmarks bar will appear at the top of the page. You can still access your bookmarks on other pages by pressing Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+B (Mac) to toggle the bar temporarily, or by clicking the menu icon and selecting Bookmarks.

Firefox: Show bookmarks bar on new tab only

Firefox does not have a built-in "new tab only" setting like Chrome, but you can achieve the same effect by customizing your toolbar. Right-click on any empty space in your toolbar and select Customize toolbar. This opens the toolbar customization panel.

Find the Bookmarks section in the customization panel and drag it into the toolbar area where you want it to appear. Then close the customization panel. The bookmarks bar will now show on all pages. To make it appear only on new tabs, you will need to use a browser extension like "Bookmarks Bar Only on New Tab" from the Firefox add-ons store, or manually hide the bookmarks bar and access bookmarks through the menu instead.

Edge: Show bookmarks bar on new tab only

Click the three horizontal dots in the top right corner and select Settings. Go to Appearance in the left sidebar. Under "Bookmarks bar," select Only show on new tab from the dropdown menu.

Your bookmarks bar will now hide on regular pages and appear only when you open a new tab. Like Chrome, you can still access bookmarks on other pages by pressing Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows) or through the menu.

Safari: Show bookmarks bar on new tab only

Safari does not have a direct "new tab only" setting for the bookmarks bar. Instead, you can hide the bookmarks bar entirely and access your bookmarks through the menu or sidebar. Click View in the top menu bar and uncheck Show Bookmarks Bar to hide it from all pages.

When you want to access a bookmark, click Bookmarks in the menu bar or press Cmd+Option+B to open the bookmarks sidebar. If you want the bookmarks bar to appear automatically on new tabs, you can create a custom new tab page using an extension from the App Store, though this requires more setup than the native browser options.

Alternative: Hide the bookmarks bar and use keyboard shortcuts instead

If you rarely use your bookmarks bar, you might prefer to hide it completely and access bookmarks through a keyboard shortcut or menu instead. This frees up the most screen space. In Chrome and Edge, select Never show in the Appearance settings. In Firefox, right-click the toolbar, select Customize toolbar, and drag the Bookmarks section out of the toolbar. In Safari, uncheck Show Bookmarks Bar under the View menu.

Once hidden, you can still reach your bookmarks by pressing Ctrl+B (Windows) or Cmd+B (Mac) in most browsers, or by clicking the menu and selecting Bookmarks. This approach works well if you have organized your bookmarks into folders and do not need to see them constantly.

Troubleshooting: Bookmarks bar not appearing on new tab

If you set your bookmarks bar to show only on new tab but it is not appearing, first check that you actually have bookmarks saved. Open your bookmarks manager (Ctrl+Shift+B in Chrome or Edge, Cmd+Shift+B on Mac) and confirm that at least one bookmark exists in your bookmarks bar folder. If the folder is empty, add a bookmark by clicking the star icon in your address bar and selecting Bookmarks bar as the location.

If bookmarks exist but the bar still does not show, try clearing your browser cache and restarting the browser. In some cases, a browser extension can interfere with toolbar display — try disabling extensions temporarily to see if one is causing the issue. If the problem persists, you can reset your browser settings to default and reconfigure the bookmarks bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I show the bookmarks bar on specific pages instead of just new tabs?

Most browsers do not offer this level of control natively. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox show the bar on all pages or none. If you need the bar on specific sites, you could use a browser extension that lets you toggle the bar with a keyboard shortcut, or keep the bar visible on all pages and accept the screen space trade-off.

Will my bookmarks still work if I hide the bar?

Yes. Your bookmarks remain accessible through the menu, keyboard shortcuts, and the bookmarks manager. Hiding the bar only removes the visual display — it does not delete or disable your bookmarks.

What if I want different bookmarks on my new tab page?

You can customize which bookmarks appear in the bar by organizing them into folders. Only bookmarks in the "Bookmarks Bar" folder (or equivalent in your browser) will display in the bar. Move bookmarks you do not want to see into other folders, and they will disappear from the bar but remain in your bookmarks menu.

Does hiding the bookmarks bar speed up my browser?

Hiding the bar frees up a small amount of screen space and may slightly reduce memory use, but the performance difference is negligible. The main benefit is having more room for web page content, not speed improvement.