How to add vertical tabs to Chrome browser (there's a free extension for that)
Until you’ve experienced vertical tabs, you have no idea how much better they are at keeping all of your open tabs better organized and viewable. With this feature you can better read the tab names, so you don’t get lost in a sea of tiny favicons. Some vertical tab features also integrate with Workspaces for even better tab management.
Although a few select browsers (such as Arc Browser, Vivaldi, Edge, Brave, and Safari) ship with vertical tabs built-in, the most widely used browser on the market — Chrome — does not. Fortunately, some extensions in the Chrome Web Store add this feature to the browser.
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However, not all of those extensions are created equal. Some are badly designed or poorly executed. But within that pile of subpar extensions are a few that add perfectly good vertical tabs to Chrome. In my opinion, the best of the bunch is tabVertikal. This extension includes all the features you need for improved tab management, such as:
- Workspaces
- Tab suspender (and auto suspension)
- Native Chrome tab group support
- Auto tab grouping based on custom rules
- Import/export tabs
- Custom window titles and tab titles
- Remove duplicates and sort tabs
- Dark mode
- Dozens of themes
- Fuzzy search
This extension is free and can be installed on Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. Let me show you how to install and use tabVertikal.
How to add vertical tabs to Chrome browser
What you’ll need: The only thing you’ll need for this is an updated Chrome browser installed on your desktop of choice.
On the resulting page, click Add to Chrome. When prompted, click “Add extension” to finish the task.
Click Add to Chrome and you’re halfway there.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
To make this extension easier to work with, click the puzzle piece icon in the Chrome toolbar and then click the pin icon for tabVertikal. You should now see the tabVertikal icon to the left of the puzzle piece.
You don’t have to pin the extension, but it makes it easier to access.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Using tabVertikal
Before you dive into tabVertikal, know that there isn’t much in the way of configuration options. You can, however, move the sidebar from the right to the left (which is my preference). To do that, paste the following URL into the Chrome address bar:
chrome://settings/appearance#:~:text=side%20panel
On that page, click “Show on left” under Side panel.
You can use tabVertikal on the left or right.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
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Now, when you click on tabVertikal, the sidebar will appear on the left side of the browser with all of your currently open tabs. As you’ll notice, you cannot hide the top tab bar from view, so with this extension (as with all vertical tab extensions for Chrome) you’ll wind up with both.
The tabVertikal extension also adds Workspaces to Chrome. This feature alone is worth using the extension. If you click the Workspace drop-down, you can start creating new workspaces. Not sure what Workspaces are? Consider them categories for organizing your tabs. For example, you could have workspaces for Productivity, Shopping, News, Entertainment, and Education (or whatever you need). Create those workspaces and then start adding tabs to them. The one thing you cannot do (which the extension’s developer should consider adding) is move tabs from one workspace to another.
Creating custom group rules
Another handy feature is the ability to create custom rules for the auto-grouping of tabs. Here’s how to create a rule.
Click the three-dot menu at the top right corner of the sidebar and click Add Group Rules.
On the resulting page, click Add Rule.
All of your rules will be found here.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
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In the new pop-up, give the rule a name. In the next field, you’ll want to add any text that the title might contain (such as technology or News). For the Domain option, I found the only way to get Auto Grouping to work properly is to select Domain.
Next, give the tabGroup a title and a color, then click Create Rule. Now, when you open a tab that follows the rule you just created, it’ll be added to the group.
Make sure to fill out everything, otherwise the rule won’t be effective.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Once you’ve done that, you’ll then need to enable auto tab grouping. To do that, click the three-dot menu within the sidebar and select Settings. From the tabVertikal Settings page, click the On/Off slide for Enable Auto Tab Grouping until it’s in the On position.
If you don’t enable Auto Tab Grouping, your rules won’t have any effect.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET
The one caveat I will offer is that tabVertikal’s Auto Grouping feature isn’t perfect. Sometimes new tabs will get added to a group in which they do not belong, and removing them from the group requires a second group to be created. There is no remove from group option, so the grouping feature can be problematic. Personally, I don’t use the tab grouping feature and, instead, stick with Workspaces and the basic features, which makes this vertical tabs extension quite good.
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There are other vertical tab extensions for Chrome, such as Vertical Tabs in Side Panel, SideTab Pro, and Vertical Tabs. If tabVertikal isn’t your cup of tea, one of these three should fit the bill.
