Duplicate Tab Closer Chrome Extension

A simple Chrome extension that automatically closes duplicate tabs with one click. Keep your browser organized and improve performance by eliminating redundant tabs.

Features

• 🚀 One-click operation - Close all duplicate tabs instantly
• 🧠 Smart detection - Identifies tabs with identical URLs
• 💡 Preserves oldest tabs - Keeps the first opened tab for each URL
• 📊 User feedback - Shows how many duplicates were closed
• 🎨 Clean interface - Modern, intuitive popup design
• ⚡ Fast performance - Processes tabs quickly and efficiently

Installation

Method 1: Load as Unpacked Extension (Developer Mode)

1. Download the extension files

   • Download all the files from this repository
   • Create a new folder on your computer (e.g., duplicate-tab-closer)
   • Save all files in this folder:
     • manifest.json
     • popup.html
     • popup.js
     • background.js

2. Create extension icons (optional)

   • Add icon files: icon16.png, icon48.png, icon128.png
   • Or remove the "icons" section from manifest.json if you skip this step

3. Load the extension in Chrome

   • Open Google Chrome
   • Navigate to chrome://extensions/
   • Enable "Developer mode" using the toggle in the top-right corner
   • Click "Load unpacked"
   • Select the folder containing your extension files
   • The extension should now appear in your extensions list

4. Pin the extension (recommended)

   • Click the puzzle piece icon (🧩) in the Chrome toolbar
   • Find "Duplicate Tab Closer" in the list
   • Click the pin icon to add it to your toolbar for easy access

How to Use

1. Open multiple tabs - Navigate normally and open tabs (some duplicates will naturally occur)

2. Click the extension - Click the "Duplicate Tab Closer" icon in your toolbar

3. View results - The popup will show:

   • A button to close duplicates
   • Status message indicating how many tabs were closed
   • "No duplicate tabs found" if there are no duplicates

How It Works

The extension uses Chrome's tabs API to:

1. Scan all open tabs across all Chrome windows
2. Group tabs by URL to identify duplicates
3. Preserve the oldest tab for each unique URL (based on tab ID)
4. Close duplicate tabs automatically
5. Provide feedback on the number of tabs closed

File Structure

duplicate-tab-closer/
├── manifest.json          # Extension configuration
├── popup.html            # User interface
├── popup.js              # Main logic for closing duplicates
├── background.js         # Background service worker
├── icon16.png           # 16x16 icon (optional)
├── icon48.png           # 48x48 icon (optional)
├── icon128.png          # 128x128 icon (optional)
└── README.md            # This file

Permissions Required

The extension requires the following Chrome permissions:

• tabs - To access and manage browser tabs
• activeTab - To interact with the currently active tab

These permissions are necessary for the extension to detect and close duplicate tabs.

Troubleshooting

Extension doesn't appear after loading

• Make sure all required files are in the same folder
• Check that Developer mode is enabled in chrome://extensions/
• Verify the manifest.json file is properly formatted

"Extensions" page won't load

• Type chrome://extensions/ directly in the address bar
• Make sure you're using Google Chrome (not another browser)

Extension icon is missing

• Either add icon files (icon16.png, icon48.png, icon128.png) to your folder
• Or remove the entire "icons" section from manifest.json

No duplicates found when you expect them

• The extension compares exact URLs, including parameters
• https://example.com and https://example.com/ are considered different
• Query parameters make URLs unique (e.g., ?utm_source=google)

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues, feature requests, or pull requests to improve this extension.

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Version History

• v1.0 - Initial release
  • Basic duplicate tab detection and closing
  • Simple popup interface
  • Status feedback

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Note: This extension is designed for personal use and development purposes. Always review code before installing browser extensions, especially in developer mode.