The four to memorise
If you learn nothing else on this page: Ctrl+W closes the tab, Ctrl+Shift+T brings it back, Ctrl+Tab moves to the next one, and Ctrl+Shift+A searches them all. On a Mac, swap Ctrl for Cmd in the first two and the last one; Ctrl+Tab works as it is. Everything else here is a refinement.
Open, close and reopen tabs
| Action | Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New tab | Ctrl + T | Cmd + T |
| Close the current tab | Ctrl + W, or Ctrl + F4 | Cmd + W |
| Reopen the last closed tab or window | Ctrl + Shift + T | Cmd + Shift + T |
| New window | Ctrl + N | Cmd + N |
| Close the current window and all its tabs | Ctrl + Shift + W | Cmd + Shift + W |
| New incognito window | Ctrl + Shift + N | Cmd + Shift + N |
| Quit Chrome | No key; Alt + F4 closes one window | Cmd + Q |
Ctrl+Shift+T walks back through what you closed, one step per press, and reopens a closed window whole. It covers the previous browser session too, so the first press after a restart brings back the last window you had. What it cannot do is reach past a crash; for that, see how to restore tabs in Chrome.
Switch between tabs and jump to one
| Action | Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Next tab | Ctrl + Tab, or Ctrl + Page Down | Cmd + Option + →, or Ctrl + Tab |
| Previous tab | Ctrl + Shift + Tab, or Ctrl + Page Up | Cmd + Option + ←, or Ctrl + Shift + Tab |
| Jump to tab 1 to 8 | Ctrl + 1 … Ctrl + 8 | Cmd + 1 … Cmd + 8 |
| Jump to the last tab | Ctrl + 9 | Cmd + 9 |
| Search open tabs | Ctrl + Shift + A | Cmd + Shift + A |
| Move the current tab left or right | Ctrl + Shift + Page Up / Page Down | Ctrl + Shift + Page Up / Page Down |
Ctrl+9 always goes to the last tab, however many there are, which makes it the quickest way to reach the tab you just opened in the background. Tab search (Ctrl+Shift+A) matches titles and addresses across every window, and it is usually faster than any amount of Ctrl+Tab once you pass fifteen tabs.
Links, bookmarks and history
| Action | Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open a link in a new background tab | Ctrl + click | Cmd + click |
| Open a link in a new tab and switch to it | Ctrl + Shift + click | Cmd + Shift + click |
| Open a link in a new window | Shift + click | Shift + click |
| Bookmark the current page | Ctrl + D | Cmd + D |
| Bookmark all open tabs in a folder | Ctrl + Shift + D | Cmd + Shift + D |
| Open History | Ctrl + H | Cmd + Y |
| Open Downloads | Ctrl + J | Cmd + Shift + J |
| Focus the address bar | Ctrl + L, or Alt + D, or F6 | Cmd + L |
| Reload | Ctrl + R, or F5 | Cmd + R |
| Reload ignoring the cache | Ctrl + Shift + R | Cmd + Shift + R |
Bookmark all tabs (Ctrl+Shift+D) is the built-in way to save a whole window before closing it. It keeps the addresses and drops the tab groups and pinned tabs; the difference is in Save this window vs. bookmark all tabs.
Shortcuts that save the whole window
Chrome has no shortcut that saves a window with its groups and reopens it later. Nest, a free tab manager for Chrome, adds three, and you can change any of them at chrome://extensions/shortcuts:
| Action | Windows, Linux, ChromeOS | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Open Nest | Ctrl + Shift + Space | Cmd + Shift + Space |
| Save this window as a Session | Alt + Shift + S | Ctrl + Shift + S |
| Save this tab group as a Session | Alt + Shift + G | Ctrl + Shift + G |
| Search saved Sessions | Alt + Shift + F | Ctrl + Shift + F |
Save this window keeps every tab, every Chrome tab group with its name and colour, and every pinned tab, as a named Session you can restore in one click. Three Sessions are free; Pro makes them unlimited and syncs them. Nest also lists every tab you close for one-click reopening, and its Autopilot saves windows you close without saving and offers back tabs Chrome drops in a restart.
Shortcuts that do not exist
- Close all tabs except this one: no key. Right-click the tab and choose Close other tabs. More in how to close all tabs in Chrome.
- Pin or mute a tab: no key. Both are in the tab’s right-click menu.
- Duplicate a tab: no single key. Focus the address bar (Ctrl+L) and press Alt+Enter on Windows, or Cmd+Enter on a Mac, to open the same address in a new tab.
- Hide a tab: no key, and no Hide command. The options are in how to hide tabs in Chrome.
Three more shortcuts, for the whole window
Nest adds Alt+Shift+S to save the window as a Session, Alt+Shift+G for the tab group, and Alt+Shift+F to search what you saved. Free, no account.