How to save tabs in Chrome and get back to them later

Updated 2 November 2026. 2 minute read.

To save every tab in a window, press Ctrl + Shift + D on Windows or ⌘ + Shift + D on a Mac. Chrome puts them in a new bookmarks folder. To save one tab, press Ctrl + D or ⌘ + D.

TabOverview’s Later shelf with a set called Lisbon trip, tagged Trips, showing four saved pages with pictures, one with a return time. — Later keeps each save together as a set, with pictures. Real screenshot of TabOverview. The sites in it are made up.

Save one tab

Press Ctrl + D or ⌘ + D, or select the Bookmark icon to the right of the address bar. To see your bookmarks, turn on the bookmarks bar in the three-dot menu, under Bookmarks and lists.

Save every tab in a window

Press Ctrl + Shift + D or ⌘ + Shift + D, name the folder, and save. Your tabs stay open, so close the window yourself if you wanted the room back.

Save a group of tabs

Put the tabs in a Chrome tab group. If you right-click the group and choose Close group, Chrome keeps it in your bookmarks bar, or in the three-dot menu under Tab groups. Here’s how tab groups work.

Keep your tabs when Chrome closes

In Settings, under On startup, choose Continue where you left off. Chrome reopens what you had open when you quit. This isn’t saving, though: it only remembers the last session. If you need your tabs a week from now, bookmark them.

Why saved tabs get forgotten

A bookmarks folder keeps pages safe, but nothing brings you back to it, and a folder of titles doesn’t remind you why you saved them. So most people keep the tabs open instead, and the tab strip fills up.

Saving tabs so they actually come back

TabOverview adds a Later shelf on top of your normal Chrome bookmarks:

One press. In the grid, ⌘ Delete on a Mac or Ctrl Delete elsewhere saves a tab and closes it. ⌘ ⇧ Delete or Ctrl Shift Delete saves a whole window. Pinned tabs stay.
Sets. Everything you save together stays together, with its pictures. Name a set, tag it, collapse it.
Bring back. Choose this evening, tomorrow morning, Saturday morning, next week, your next Chrome start, or any date and time. The pages reopen quietly at the end of your window.
Open a set. One press opens it asleep, so a big set doesn’t stall Chrome, and takes it off Later, with Undo.
Nothing locked in. Later pages are real bookmarks. They follow Chrome Sync, and they stay in Chrome if you remove TabOverview.

The menu on a Later set, with Tag, Bring back, Rename and Remove. — Tag a set, rename it, or choose when it comes back. Real screenshot of TabOverview. The sites in it are made up.

Questions

How do I save all my tabs before closing Chrome?

Press Ctrl + Shift + D on Windows or ⌘ + Shift + D on a Mac, and Chrome saves them to a new bookmarks folder. To have Chrome reopen them next time instead, set On startup to Continue where you left off.

Does Chrome save tabs when you close it?

Only if On startup is set to Continue where you left off. Otherwise, a window you just closed stays under History, in Recently closed.

How do I save tabs for later without cluttering my bookmarks?

Save them to their own folder, or use a tool that keeps them apart. TabOverview keeps Later pages in one folder of real bookmarks and shows them as a shelf with pictures.