What are tab groups?

Tab groups bundle your open tabs together, with a color and a name. They keep your tabs tidy, much like separators keep your bookmarks bar tidy. In Chrome you can also save a tab group, and a saved group shows on your bookmarks bar. So the two features meet there.

What is a tab group?

A tab group is a set of open tabs under one colored header. You can name it, color it, and collapse it to a small chip to save space. It is handy for a project or a task, so the tabs for one job stay together instead of spreading across the whole tab strip.

How to make one

In Chrome, Edge, and Brave, right click a tab and choose Add tab to new group. Give it a name and a color. Drag other tabs in to add them. Click the header to collapse or expand the group.

How they affect the bookmarks bar

In Chrome, when you save a tab group it appears as a colored chip on the left of the bookmark bar, and Chrome draws a thin built-in separator between the chips and your bookmarks. That is useful, but it also means saved groups and your bookmarks share the same row. A few saved groups plus a long list of bookmarks can get busy. This is where separators help keep the bookmark side easy to read.

You can also turn a group's tabs into a bookmark folder. Right click any tab and choose Bookmark all tabs, or press Ctrl + Shift + D (Cmd + Shift + D on a Mac). Chrome saves every open tab in that window into one new folder, so it works best when the window holds just the group you want. The group then lives on your bar as a folder you can open any time. For how folders work, and how labeled separators keep them tidy, see bookmark folders.

Tabs vs bookmarks

The simple way to think about it: tabs are what you have open now, and bookmarks are what you saved for later. Tab groups organize the first. Separators organize the second. They work well side by side.

Why use them

Tab groups cut down tab clutter, make switching between jobs quicker, and let you save a group to reopen later. For the one or two sites you keep open all day, a pinned tab does the job with even less room. Pair them with a tidy bookmarks bar and both your open tabs and your saved links stay under control. For the bookmark side, see how to organize bookmarks.

Common questions

What is a tab group?

A tab group bundles open tabs under a colored, named header. You can collapse it to save room. It keeps your open tabs tidy, the way separators keep your bookmarks bar tidy.

Do tab groups show on the bookmarks bar?

In Chrome, a saved tab group appears as a colored chip on the left of the bookmarks bar. So saved groups and your bookmarks share the same bar.