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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about saving and managing your browser tabs

Getting Started with Tab Saving

How do I save tabs in Chrome?

Click the Tab Session Manager icon in your browser toolbar and click "Save Session". All your open tabs will be saved instantly. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S (Cmd+Shift+S on Mac) for quick saving. This is the easiest way to save all your Chrome tabs at once.

How do I restore my saved browser session?

Open Tab Session Manager, find the session you want to restore, and click the restore button. You can restore all tabs at once in the current window or a new window. You can also click on individual tabs to open them one by one.

Can I save only selected tabs instead of all tabs?

Yes! Click on the tabs you want to save in the Tab Session Manager popup to select them, then click "Save Selected". This is perfect when you only want to save specific tabs from your current session.

Where are my saved tabs stored?

All your saved sessions are stored locally on your computer using Chrome's built-in storage. Your data never leaves your device and is completely private. No cloud servers, no accounts, no tracking.

Chrome Tab Groups Support

Does Tab Session Manager save Chrome tab groups?

Yes! Tab Session Manager fully supports Chrome tab groups. When you save a session, it preserves your tab group names, colors, and organization. When you restore the session, your tab groups are recreated exactly as they were.

Why are my tab groups important to save?

Chrome tab groups help you organize related tabs together. If you're working on multiple projects, tab groups keep everything organized. Tab Session Manager ensures you don't lose this organization when saving and restoring sessions.

Can I restore tabs without their groups?

Currently, when you restore a session with tab groups, the groups are automatically recreated. Individual tab restore opens tabs without groups, which is useful when you just need a specific page.

OneTab Alternative

Is Tab Session Manager a good OneTab alternative?

Yes! Tab Session Manager offers similar functionality to OneTab with additional features:

  • Chrome tab groups support - OneTab doesn't preserve tab groups
  • Session search - Quickly find tabs across all sessions
  • Memory savings tracking - See how much RAM you've freed
  • Modern architecture - Built on Manifest V3 for better security
  • Active development - Regular updates and new features

Can I import my tabs from OneTab?

You can export your OneTab list as a text file and manually recreate sessions in Tab Session Manager. We're working on a direct import feature for a future update.

What makes Tab Session Manager better than other tab managers?

Tab Session Manager focuses on simplicity and reliability. Unlike Session Buddy (stuck on old architecture) or The Great Suspender (removed for security issues), Tab Session Manager is built on modern Chrome standards with privacy as a priority.

Managing Your Sessions

How many sessions can I save?

The free version allows up to 20 saved sessions. This is enough for most users. If you need unlimited sessions, you can upgrade to Pro for $29/year or $4/month.

Can I rename my saved sessions?

Yes! Click on the session name to rename it. Give your sessions descriptive names like "Work Project", "Research", or "Shopping" to find them easily later.

How do I search across my saved sessions?

Use the search bar at the top of the Tab Session Manager popup. It searches both session names and individual tab titles/URLs, making it easy to find that specific page you saved weeks ago.

Can I organize sessions into folders?

Yes! Create folders to organize your sessions by project, topic, or any category that makes sense for you. Drag sessions into folders or assign them when saving.

Memory Savings & Performance

How much memory does closing tabs actually save?

Each Chrome tab typically uses 50-150MB of RAM. If you have 30 tabs open, that's potentially 1.5-4.5GB of memory. By saving and closing tabs with Tab Session Manager, you can significantly improve your computer's performance.

Does Tab Session Manager show memory savings?

Yes! The extension tracks and displays your estimated memory savings. It's satisfying to see how much RAM you've recovered by saving and closing unused tabs.

Should I close tabs after saving?

That's up to you. You can enable "Close tabs after saving" in settings for automatic cleanup, or manually close tabs when you want. Closing tabs frees memory immediately.

Privacy & Security

Is Tab Session Manager safe to use?

Absolutely. Tab Session Manager is built with privacy-first principles:

  • All data stored locally on your device
  • No accounts or sign-ups required
  • No analytics or tracking
  • No data sent to external servers
  • Open-source friendly architecture

What permissions does the extension need?

Tab Session Manager requires minimal permissions:

  • tabs - To read and save your open tabs
  • storage - To save sessions locally
  • tabGroups - To preserve Chrome tab groups

We request only the permissions necessary for core functionality.

Can I export my saved sessions?

Yes! You can export all your sessions as a JSON file from the settings page. This backup file can be imported on another computer or kept as a backup.

Troubleshooting

Why can't I see the extension icon?

After installing, click the puzzle piece icon in Chrome's toolbar, find Tab Session Manager, and click the pin icon to add it to your toolbar for easy access.

My session didn't restore all tabs. What happened?

Some URLs (like chrome:// pages or other extension pages) cannot be restored by Chrome extensions for security reasons. These are automatically filtered when saving. Regular web pages should always restore correctly.

The extension seems slow. How can I fix it?

If you have many saved sessions, the extension might take a moment to load. Try archiving old sessions you no longer need, or upgrade to Pro for optimized performance with large numbers of sessions.

Still have questions?

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