Previous Tabs - Chrome Extension

Download: Chrome Web Store

Quickly switch between your currently open tabs based on which ones you used most recently.

This extension tracks the order you activate tabs and lets you jump back to previously used tabs with keyboard shortcuts or a visual popup interface.

Watch the demo on Youtube

Features

• Recent Tab Switching: See all your currently open tabs sorted by most recently used
• Keyboard Navigation:
  • Alt + W to open the popup,
  • W or ↑↓ to cycle through tabs
  • Enter or Alt to switch to the selected tab
  • Esc to close the popup if you change your mind
• Quick Switching: Jump to any open tab with just a few keystrokes
• Tab Information: View tab titles, URLs, and favicons at a glance
• Current Tab Indicator: Easily identify which tab you're currently on (highlighted in blue)
• Automatic Tracking: Automatically tracks the order you activate your open tabs (up to 100)
• Clean UI: Modern, intuitive interface with visual feedback
• Persistent Across Sessions: Remembers tab activation order even after browser restart (only for tabs that are still open)

How to Use

Using Keyboard Shortcut (Recommended)

1. Press Alt+W to open the previous tabs popup
2. Press W or ↓ to cycle forward through tabs (or ↑ to go backward)
3. Press Enter or Alt to switch to the selected tab
4. Press Esc to close the popup

Using Extension Icon

1. Click the "Previous Tabs" extension icon in your Chrome toolbar
2. The popup shows all your currently open tabs sorted by most recently used
3. Click on any tab to switch to it directly

Installation

From Chrome Web Store

1. Go to the Chrome Web Store page
2. Click "Add to Chrome"
3. Confirm by clicking "Add extension"

From Source

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/
3. Enable "Developer mode" in the top-right corner
4. Click "Load unpacked"
5. Select the previous_tabs folder

Workflow Example

1. Press Alt + W → Opens popup showing all currently open tabs sorted by recent usage
2. Press W three times → Cycles selection to the 4th most recently used tab
3. Press Enter → Switches to that tab
4. Or simply click on any tab in the list to switch to it immediately

Visual Indicators:

• Blue highlight: Current active tab
• Yellow highlight: Selected tab (when cycling with keyboard)
• Numbers: Show tab order (1 = most recently used, 2 = second most recently used, etc.)

Note: Only shows tabs that are currently open. Closed tabs are automatically removed from the list.

Privacy

This extension is completely privacy-friendly:

• No data collection: Does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data
• Local storage only: Only stores tab IDs (internal Chrome identifiers) for currently open tabs
• No external communication: Never sends data to any external servers
• No browsing history: Does NOT track or access your browsing history - only tracks which of your currently open tabs you've recently switched to
• All data is stored using chrome.storage.local and remains on your device
• Closed tabs are automatically removed from storage

See privacy_policy.md for full details.

License

MIT License - Feel free to use and modify as needed.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to submit issues or pull requests.