A tab group lets you organize multiple browser tabs into labeled folders you can collapse, expand, or hide

A tab group is a folder inside your browser that holds related tabs together. Instead of having 15 tabs spread across your browser window, you can put all your work tabs in one group, all your shopping tabs in another, and all your research tabs in a third. You can collapse a group down to a single button, expand it when you need it, and color-code it so you find what you want faster. Most modern browsers — Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari — have built-in tab grouping, though the exact steps differ slightly between them.

Tab groups solve a real problem: browser clutter. When you have many tabs open, finding the one you need takes longer, your browser uses more memory, and you lose track of what you were doing. Grouping tabs by project, topic, or purpose keeps your workspace organized without closing tabs you might need later.

Key Takeaways

  • Tab groups are built into Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari — you do not need an extension to use them.
  • You create a group by right-clicking a tab, selecting "Add tab to group," and either naming a new group or adding it to an existing one.
  • Collapsed groups take up one button's worth of space, so you can keep dozens of tabs organized without visual clutter.
  • Color-coding groups makes it faster to spot the group you need, especially when you have many groups open at once.

How to create a tab group in Chrome and Edge

Right-click any tab and select "Add tab to group." A menu appears with the option to create a new group. Type a name — "Work," "Shopping," "Research" — and pick a color. The tab moves into that group, and you will see a colored bar at the top of the tab showing which group it belongs to.

To add more tabs to the same group, right-click each one and select "Add tab to group," then choose the group name from the list. You can drag tabs between groups by clicking and holding a tab, then dragging it over the group label. To collapse a group, click the small arrow next to the group name. The group shrinks to a single button showing the group name and how many tabs are inside. Click the button again to expand it.

To rename or change the color of a group, right-click the group name and select "Edit group." To remove a tab from a group without closing it, right-click the tab and select "Remove from group." To delete an entire group, right-click the group name and select "Delete group" — the tabs inside will stay open but no longer grouped.

How to create a tab group in Firefox

Firefox calls tab groups "Multi-Account Containers" in some versions, but the simpler tab grouping feature works differently than Chrome. Right-click a tab and look for "Group tabs" or a similar option. Select it, then type a name for the group. Firefox will show a colored line under grouped tabs.

Firefox's grouping is less visual than Chrome's — the tabs do not collapse into a single button the way they do in Chrome. Instead, grouped tabs stay visible but are marked with a colored underline so you can see which tabs belong together. If you want more powerful grouping with collapsing and hiding, Firefox users often turn to extensions like Tab Groups or Tree Style Tab, which add collapsible folder-like organization.

How to create a tab group in Safari

Safari's tab grouping works through its Tab Groups feature, which is designed to save entire sets of tabs for later. Click the "+" button next to your open tabs and select "Create Tab Group." Name the group, then drag tabs into it. You can also right-click a tab and select "Move to Tab Group," then choose which group to move it to.

Safari's approach is different because tab groups are meant to be saved and reopened later, not just organized within your current session. You can close a tab group entirely and reopen it another day with all the same tabs. This works well if you switch between different projects or topics throughout the week and want to pick up where you left off.

When tab groups help most

Tab groups are most useful when you work on multiple projects at once or research topics that require many open pages. A student might have one group for each class, with all the research tabs, assignment pages, and reference materials grouped together. A freelancer might have groups for each client project. Someone planning a trip might group flight pages, hotel pages, and restaurant pages separately.

Tab groups also help when you need to focus. If you have 20 tabs open but only need 5 of them right now, collapse the other groups. Your browser window looks cleaner, you are less distracted, and you can expand the groups again when you need them. This is especially helpful on smaller screens where tab clutter makes it hard to see what you are doing.

Tab groups versus extensions

Built-in tab grouping in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari is free and requires no setup. It works reliably because it is part of the browser itself. However, some people prefer extensions because they offer more features — like saving groups across browser sessions, syncing groups across devices, or organizing tabs in a sidebar tree view.

Popular tab group extensions include Tab Groups, OneTab, and Tree Style Tab. These extensions take up a small amount of memory and may slow your browser slightly, but they give you more control over how tabs are organized and displayed. If the built-in grouping in your browser does what you need, there is no reason to add an extension. If you find yourself wishing for more features — like the ability to save a group of tabs and reopen them days later — an extension might be worth trying.

Keeping tab groups organized over time

The best way to keep tab groups useful is to review them regularly. Once a week, look at your groups and close tabs you no longer need. A tab group with 30 tabs in it defeats the purpose of organizing. Close what you are done with, and your groups stay lean and useful.

Name your groups clearly so you remember what they are for. "Work" is less helpful than "Q4 Budget Review" or "Client ABC Website Redesign." A specific name helps you find the right group faster and reminds you what you were working on if you come back to it after a break. If a group gets too large, split it into smaller groups — instead of one "Research" group with 20 tabs, try "Research: Competitors," "Research: Pricing," and "Research: Features."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I save a tab group and reopen it later?

In Safari, yes — tab groups are designed to be saved and reopened. In Chrome and Edge, tab groups exist only while your browser is open; closing the browser closes the groups. If you want to save groups across sessions in Chrome or Edge, you will need an extension like OneTab or Session Buddy.

Do tab groups use less memory than having all tabs open?

Collapsing a group does not actually close the tabs, so memory use stays the same. However, collapsed groups make it easier to see which tabs you actually need, so you are more likely to close tabs you forgot about — which does save memory.

Can I move a tab group to a different browser window?

In most browsers, you cannot move an entire group to another window at once. You can drag individual tabs out of a group into a new window, but the group itself stays in the original window. Some extensions offer this feature, but built-in grouping does not.

What happens to a tab group if I close my browser?

In Chrome and Edge, the groups disappear when you close the browser. If you have "Continue where you left off" turned on in settings, the tabs reopen but may not stay grouped. In Safari, saved tab groups persist and reopen when you restart the browser.

Can I color-code groups differently on different devices?

Yes. Each device stores its own group colors and names. If you use Chrome on both a laptop and a phone, you can color your "Work" group blue on the laptop and red on the phone — the colors do not sync across devices.