How to Use Vertical Tabs in Chrome

Vertical tabs in Chrome move your tab strip from the top of the window to the side. That gives each tab more room for its page title, which helps when ten nearly identical document icons are staring back at you. Google announced the built-in feature in April 2026 and says it is useful when your tab count reaches double digits. You no longer need a flag or a separate extension just to put the tab strip on the side.

Vertical tabs do not solve tab clutter by themselves. They make open tabs easier to read and rearrange. If a project is finished for today, saving that set and closing it still gives you a cleaner workspace than keeping every group in the sidebar.

Turn on vertical tabs in Chrome

Update Chrome before you start. The option may be missing on an older version.

1. Open Chrome on your computer.

2. Right-click an empty area of the tab strip, or right-click a tab.

3. Select "Show tabs vertically."

You can also open Chrome Settings, choose Appearance, and change the tab position from horizontal to vertical. Google's current tab management guide documents both routes.

Chrome places the tab strip along the side of the window. Your open tabs and tab groups stay in place. The layout changes, but the pages do not close or reload just because you moved the strip.

To go back, right-click the tab area and choose the horizontal-tabs option. You can also change the tab position under Appearance in Settings.

Get comfortable with the side panel

The biggest benefit is mundane, and that is a compliment. You can read more of each page title. A row of tabs called "Q3 brief," "Q3 brief copy," and "Q3 brief final" is much easier to sort out when Chrome shows more than a tiny favicon.

The vertical strip can be expanded when you need titles or collapsed when you want more space for the page. Chrome also keeps tab groups in the vertical layout. You can name a group, assign a color, move tabs into it, and collapse the whole group. Google's Chrome tips page explains the same group controls in the standard layout.

A simple setup works better than a detailed taxonomy:

• Keep ungrouped tabs for the task in front of you.

• Create one group for each other active project.

• Collapse groups that you are not using during the next hour.

• Close pages that you can find again without effort.

That last step matters. A readable pile is still a pile.

Use vertical tabs with tab groups

Vertical tabs and groups fit together well because group names get their own row. Try names that tell you what action remains, such as "Review today" or "Waiting for reply." Names like "Blue" or "Misc" stop being useful after the second day.

Colors should help you scan, not carry the entire system. You might use one color for client work and another for personal tasks. Keep the names clear enough that the system still makes sense if two groups share a color.

If your browser contains several unrelated projects, create a consistent order. Put the current project near the top, reference groups in the middle, and temporary reading near the bottom. Chrome lets you drag a group by its name to move the group as one unit.

For more ideas, see this guide to browser tabs that pile up. The goal is not a spotless sidebar. It is being able to find the next page without checking six candidates.

Know when vertical tabs are not enough

Vertical tabs only rearrange tabs that remain open. They do not turn old work into an archive. A collapsed group still occupies the browser, and a long list of collapsed groups can become another place you have to search.

Use three states for your browser work:

1. Open tabs are for the task you are doing now.

2. Collapsed groups are for work you expect to resume soon.

3. Saved collections are for work you want to close and reopen later.

Tabox handles the third state. It saves the tabs in a window as a Collection, including tab group names, colors, tab order, titles, and URLs. You can then close that project and reopen the Collection when you need it. If you manage several projects, Tabox folders can keep related Collections together without leaving all of those tabs open.

This division also makes the vertical strip more useful. It stays focused on current work instead of becoming a permanent record of everything you might revisit.

A practical cleanup routine

You do not need to reorganize the sidebar every time a tab appears. Use a short reset when the list starts slowing you down.

First, close obvious dead ends and duplicates. Next, group the pages that belong to the same active task. Give that group a plain name. Then look at the remaining groups and ask when you will use each one.

If the answer is "later today," collapse it. If the answer is "next week" or "when the client replies," save it as a Tabox Collection and close it. This is the part that creates space. Moving a group from the top of a sidebar to the bottom does not.

Tabox can save the current window, or save multiple windows as Collections inside a folder. That works well if each window already represents a different project. The broader tab management guide covers how to reopen those work sessions without rebuilding them page by page.

FAQ

Does Chrome have vertical tabs without an extension?

Yes. Google added a built-in vertical tab option to Chrome. Right-click the tab area and select "Show tabs vertically," or change the tab position under Appearance in Settings. Google's feature announcement shows the built-in layout.

Can vertical tabs show Chrome tab groups?

Yes. Your named and colored tab groups appear in the vertical strip. You can expand, collapse, and move them while using the side layout.

Do vertical tabs reduce Chrome memory use?

Changing the position of the tab strip is an interface choice. It does not close your pages. To reduce the number of open tabs, close what you do not need or save a project as a Collection before closing it.

Can I save my vertical tabs for later?

Chrome can save tab groups, and Tabox can save the tabs and groups in a window as a Collection. The saved data is about the tabs and groups, not whether the Chrome strip was vertical or horizontal.

Clear the sidebar without losing the project

Vertical tabs make active work easier to scan. Tabox gives inactive work somewhere else to live. Install Tabox and save one crowded project as a Collection. Reopen it when the project is active again.