How to Use Chrome Tab Groups: Create, Save and Sync - Chrome Story

To group tabs in Google Chrome, right-click any tab, choose Add tab to group, then choose New group. Give the group a name and a colour, then drag other tabs into it. Tab groups are built into Chrome now, so there is no flag to turn on.

This guide was written when tab groups still hid behind an experimental flag. That is long gone. The feature ships in Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS and Android, and your groups now save and follow you between devices. Here is how all of it works today.

What do you need before you start?

Google Chrome on a computer or on Android. No flag and no extension.
A Google Account signed in to Chrome, if you want groups to sync between devices.
Sync turned on for history and tabs. That is what carries tab groups across.

How do I create a tab group?

Right-click the tab you want to start with.
Click Add tab to group.
Click New group.
Type a name, pick a colour, then click away to close the box.

Add tab to a new group in Chrome — Right-click a tab and add it to a new group

A coloured label now sits to the left of the tab. Everything in that group shares the label and the colour.

How do I add more tabs to a group?

Drag the tab sideways until it sits inside the coloured band, and let go. It joins the group.

You can also right-click the tab, click Add tab to group, and pick an existing group by name. Chrome does one more thing on its own. Open a link in a new tab from a page that already sits in a group, and the new tab usually joins that same group automatically.

How do I rename a group or change its colour?

Click the group’s name or its coloured circle on the tab strip.
Type a new name in the box.
Pick one of the eight colours below it.
Click anywhere else to save.

Renaming a Chrome tab group — Naming a tab group and choosing its colour

Short names work best. A long name eats the tab strip you were trying to save.

How do I collapse a tab group?

Click the group’s name or coloured circle once. Every tab in the group folds away behind the label, and the rest of your tabs spread back out. Click it again to expand.

Collapsed tabs stay loaded, so nothing is lost and nothing has to reload. This is the single most useful part of the feature. Four collapsed groups take about as much room as four tabs.

How do I remove a tab or ungroup everything?

One tab out: right-click the tab and choose Remove from group. The tab stays open, just outside the group.
Break up the whole group: right-click the group label and choose Ungroup. Every tab stays open and the label disappears.
Close everything in it: right-click the group label and choose Close group.

Ungroup tabs from a Chrome tab group — Ungroup and Close group both live on the group label menu

Are tab groups saved when I close them?

Yes, and this is the biggest change since tab groups arrived. Closing a group no longer throws it away. Chrome saves it, and you can reopen the whole set from the tab group menu or from the bookmarks bar.

To keep saved groups in easy reach, turn on Show tab groups in bookmarks bar in Settings > Appearance. Your saved groups then sit next to your bookmarks, one click from reopening.

Do tab groups sync between my devices?

They do, as long as you are signed in to Chrome and syncing history and tabs. Changes to a group on your laptop show up on your phone and your Chromebook.

Sync is not instant. If a group has not appeared yet, give it a minute and check that the same Google Account is signed in on both devices.

How do tab groups work on Android?

Tap the tab switcher icon next to the address bar.
Long-press a tab and drag it on top of another tab to make a group.
Tap the group to open it, then tap the name at the top to rename it or change the colour.

Groups you make on the phone sync back to the desktop, so a set of tabs you gathered on the bus is waiting for you at your desk.

Frequently asked questions

Do I still need a flag to use tab groups?

No. Tab groups shipped to everyone years ago and the old chrome://flags entry no longer exists. If a guide tells you to enable a Tab Groups flag, it is out of date.

How many tab groups can I have?

Chrome does not set a limit. In practice the tab strip runs out of room long before Chrome does, which is exactly why collapsing groups is so useful.

Do tab groups survive closing Chrome?

Saved groups do. They reappear in the tab group menu and the bookmarks bar when you reopen Chrome. Groups you have not saved go away with the window, the same as ordinary tabs.

Can I search across my tab groups?

Yes. Press Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, or Command + Shift + A on a Mac, to open tab search and type a keyword.

Wrapping up

Tab groups are built in, they save themselves when you close them, and they follow you between devices. Start with one group for whatever you are working on right now, collapse it when you switch tasks, and the rest becomes obvious quickly.