How to Save All Tabs in Chrome (and Get Them Back Later)

To save all tabs in Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+D on Windows or Command+Shift+D on a Mac. Chrome bookmarks every open tab into a new folder, and you can close them knowing they are safe. That one shortcut covers most needs.

But it is not the only way, and it is not always the best one. Tab groups, the reading list, Chrome's own session restore and session manager extensions each fit a different habit. This guide compares the five and helps you pick the one you will actually reopen.

The short answer#

• Ctrl+Shift+D (Command+Shift+D) saves every open tab as bookmarks in a new folder.
• Tab groups save themselves when you close them; reopen from the bookmarks bar.
• Continue where you left off restores only your last session.
• A session manager saves named sets you can reopen any time.

What we measured on a Mac#

Tested on a MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) with 16 GB of RAM, macOS 26.3, Chrome 155, October 21, 2026. We opened ten real sites in a fresh profile, then closed nine of them, which is what saving tabs and closing them does. Memory is the total footprint of every Chrome process in a fresh test profile, read with macOS's footprint tool.

That is 2 GB for nine tabs, about 220 MB each, kept only so you could read them later. Saved as a bookmark folder or a list, the same nine tabs cost nothing.

Why save tabs instead of keeping them open?#

Every open tab can keep its page loaded in memory, even one you have not looked at in days. Forty open "for later" tabs can cost gigabytes and slow everything down. A saved tab costs nothing: it is just an address. You keep the list and give the memory back. If your open tabs are already out of hand, our guide to Chrome tab groups is a good next read.

1. Bookmark all tabs with one shortcut#

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+D (Windows, Linux, ChromeOS) or Command+Shift+D (Mac). Google's shortcut list calls this "Save all open tabs as bookmarks in a new folder."
2. Name the folder, for example "Tax research Oct 2026", and pick where to save it.
3. Close the tabs.

To get them back, right-click the folder on the bookmarks bar or in the Bookmarks manager (Ctrl+Shift+O or Command+Option+B) and choose Open all, Open all in new window or Open all in Incognito window.

Best for: one-off projects you want to park for weeks.

2. Close a tab group instead of the tabs#

Tab groups save themselves. Google's help page says a closed group is not deleted; it is saved in the bookmarks bar or in the menu, and you can reopen it.

1. Select the tabs you want to keep together: hold Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and click each one.
2. Right-click one of them and choose Add tabs to new group (or Add tab to group, then New group). Name it.
3. When you are done, right-click the group name and choose Close group.

To reopen: on the bookmarks bar, select the grid icon and the group name, or open the three-dot menu, then Tab groups. To always see groups there, go to Settings, then Appearance, and turn on Show tab groups in bookmarks bar. Careful: Delete group removes it everywhere you are signed in. More in our Chrome tab groups guide.

Best for: work you come back to every week, like a client, a course or a recurring report.

3. Let Chrome restore your last session#

In Settings, then On startup, choose Continue where you left off. Chrome reopens the tabs and windows you had when you last quit.

This is convenient but fragile. It only remembers the last session. If you close a window by accident, open a new one and quit, the old tabs are not in the "last session" anymore. Use it for comfort, not as your only backup. If tabs do go missing, see restore tabs in Chrome.

4. Add pages to your reading list#

For articles you mean to read later, use the reading list instead of keeping a tab open. Right-click the tab and choose Add tab to reading list. The list lives in Chrome's side panel and syncs across devices signed in to the same account.

Best for: articles and videos, not work you need to resume.

5. Use a session manager extension#

Session managers save named sets of tabs and windows that you can reopen, rename and merge. Two common approaches:

• Collapse to a list. OneTab, which had about 2,000,000 users on the Chrome Web Store when we checked on Oct 18, 2026, turns all your tabs into a list on a single page and closes them.
• Saved sessions inside a tab manager. Our own extension, Cleaner, has a Tab Manager side panel that saves a group of tabs as a session. Free keeps one saved session; Pro, a one-time $19.99, keeps unlimited sessions and also sleeps idle tabs after 30 minutes and closes duplicate tabs in one click.

Best for: people who juggle several projects and want to swap whole workspaces.

Which way should you use?#

Common mistakes#

• Saving and never reopening. If a folder sits untouched for three months, you do not need it. Delete it.
• Deleting a group when you meant to close it. Delete group is permanent across devices; Close group keeps it.
• Relying only on session restore. One wrong window closed last and the session is gone.

The bottom line#

Press Ctrl+Shift+D or Command+Shift+D to save all tabs into a bookmark folder, close tab groups instead of deleting them, and keep Continue where you left off as a safety net, not a filing system. If you swap between several workspaces, a session manager saves time. Then close the tabs: saved tabs use no memory, and your computer will feel the difference. For more on keeping Chrome light, see Chrome using too much memory.