Chrome Tab Groups Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

The Shortcut Gap in Chrome Tab Groups

Chrome tab groups are a powerful organizational tool, but they have a notable weakness: there are almost no dedicated keyboard shortcuts for group-specific actions. You cannot create a group, collapse a group, or switch between groups using the keyboard alone. All group-specific interactions require the mouse.

This is a significant productivity gap for keyboard-centric users who prefer to keep their hands on the keyboard. The good news is that Chrome's general tab shortcuts still work with grouped tabs, and you can assign custom shortcuts to extensions that add group functionality.

This cheat sheet covers everything available: general Chrome tab shortcuts that work with groups, extension shortcuts you can configure, and equivalent shortcuts for Edge and Brave.

Essential Chrome Tab Shortcuts (Work With Groups)

These shortcuts work whether your tabs are grouped or not. They are the foundation of keyboard-based tab management.

Action	Windows / Linux	Mac
Open new tab	Ctrl + T	Cmd + T
Close current tab	Ctrl + W	Cmd + W
Reopen last closed tab	Ctrl + Shift + T	Cmd + Shift + T
Switch to next tab	Ctrl + Tab	Cmd + Option + Right Arrow
Switch to previous tab	Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Cmd + Option + Left Arrow
Go to specific tab (1-8)	Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 8	Cmd + 1 through Cmd + 8
Go to last tab	Ctrl + 9	Cmd + 9
Move tab left	Ctrl + Shift + Page Up	Not available
Move tab right	Ctrl + Shift + Page Down	Not available
Search open tabs	Ctrl + Shift + A	Cmd + Shift + A
Bookmark all open tabs	Ctrl + Shift + D	Cmd + Shift + D
Bookmark current tab	Ctrl + D	Cmd + D
Open new window	Ctrl + N	Cmd + N
Close current window	Ctrl + Shift + W	Cmd + Shift + W
Reopen closed window	Ctrl + Shift + T (repeated)	Cmd + Shift + T (repeated)
Select multiple tabs	Ctrl + Click each tab	Cmd + Click each tab

What Chrome Is Missing: Group-Specific Shortcuts

Here are the actions that Chrome does not provide keyboard shortcuts for, which would make tab groups significantly more powerful:

Desired Action	Keyboard Shortcut	Current Workaround
Create new group from selected tabs	None	Right-click selected tabs
Collapse/expand a group	None	Click the group label
Switch to next group	None	Click the group label
Move tab to a specific group	None	Right-click > Add to group
Rename a group	None	Click the group label
Close a group	None	Right-click group label > Close group
Save a group	None	Right-click group label > Save group

This is a significant gap in Chrome's keyboard accessibility. Users have requested these shortcuts for years in Chromium bug reports, but as of early 2026, they have not been implemented.

Extension Shortcuts: Filling the Gap

Chrome allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to extension actions. This means you can add shortcuts for saving, restoring, and managing tab groups through extensions like TabGroup Vault.

How to Set Up Extension Shortcuts

1. Navigate to chrome://extensions/shortcuts in your address bar.
2. Find the extension you want to configure (for example, TabGroup Vault).
3. Click the pencil icon next to the shortcut field.
4. Press the key combination you want to assign (for example, Ctrl+Shift+S).
5. The shortcut is now active.

Microsoft Edge Tab Shortcuts

Microsoft Edge is built on Chromium, so it shares most of Chrome's keyboard shortcuts. Edge also adds a few tab-related features of its own.

Action	Windows Shortcut	Notes
Open new tab	Ctrl + T	Same as Chrome
Close tab	Ctrl + W	Same as Chrome
Switch tabs	Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab	Same as Chrome
Search tabs	Ctrl + Shift + A	Same as Chrome
Open vertical tabs	Ctrl + Shift + , (comma)	Edge-exclusive feature
Create/manage group	None	Same limitation as Chrome

Edge adds vertical tabs (accessible via Ctrl+Shift+comma), which can work well alongside tab groups by giving you more visual space. However, Edge shares Chrome's lack of dedicated group shortcuts.

Brave Browser Tab Shortcuts

Brave is another Chromium-based browser that supports tab groups. Its shortcuts are nearly identical to Chrome's.

Action	Windows / Linux	Mac
Open new tab	Ctrl + T	Cmd + T
Close tab	Ctrl + W	Cmd + W
Reopen closed tab	Ctrl + Shift + T	Cmd + Shift + T
Search tabs	Ctrl + Shift + A	Cmd + Shift + A
Bookmark all tabs	Ctrl + Shift + D	Cmd + Shift + D
Tab group actions	None	None

Brave supports Chrome extensions, so you can use the same extension shortcut configuration (brave://extensions/shortcuts) to add tab group shortcuts.

Power User Workflow: Combining Shortcuts

Here is a keyboard-heavy workflow for managing tab groups efficiently, combining built-in shortcuts with extension shortcuts:

Morning Setup

1. Press your custom shortcut (e.g., Ctrl+Shift+S) to open TabGroup Vault.
2. Restore yesterday's snapshot with a click.
3. Use Ctrl+Shift+A to search for the specific tab you want to start with.

During Work

1. Use Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab to navigate between tabs within your current group.
2. Use Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8 to jump to specific tab positions.
3. When you need to find a tab in a collapsed group, use Ctrl+Shift+A to search.
4. Open new tabs with Ctrl+T and then right-click to add them to a group (this step still requires the mouse).

End of Day

1. Press your custom snapshot shortcut to save your current state.
2. Close Chrome knowing your groups are safely stored.

Requesting New Shortcuts from Google

If you want to see dedicated tab group shortcuts added to Chrome, you can voice your support in the Chromium issue tracker. Google prioritizes features based on user demand, and multiple requests for the same feature increase the likelihood of implementation.

In the meantime, the combination of Chrome's built-in tab shortcuts and configurable extension shortcuts provides a workable, if imperfect, keyboard-driven workflow for tab group management.

For a complete overview of tab groups, see our complete guide to Chrome tab groups. If you are new to tab groups, start with our beginner's tutorial on how to use tab groups.