Seeking your feedback on Tab Groups

[gharp]

Hi all – I’m Gabriel, on the Firefox team.

We launched Tab Groups half a year ago, and since then we have introduced a number of improvements based on your feedback. You can read more in our starting guide (my personal favorite: previewing tab group contents by hovering). Now that the feature has been in your hands for a while, we would welcome your input on what comes next! 

As we explore future enhancements, we are especially interested to hear your perspective on two areas: 

• Improving the usefulness of saved tab groups. How are you using saved tab groups? What benefits do they bring to your workflow compared to bookmarks (and bookmark folders)? How can we improve the experience? For example, we know there is a strong interest in being able to sync tab groups.
• Workspaces. Some of you have requested a way to separate contexts by creating workspaces – for instance, sets of tabs and tab groups that are entirely isolated from each other, yet remain available within a single browser window. We are eager to learn more about your workspace use cases and where context separation via window management, profiles, and/or containers doesn’t meet your workflow needs. And is collaboration with others an important feature of workspaces for you? 

Thanks in advance!

[Username19]

hey, it would be absolutely wonderful to be able to disable this feature for good, it's making me go insane having to dig through config to disable it after every update. Thanks!

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

Is it your question, browser.tabs.groups.enabled https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/disable-grouping-by-default/idc-p/106732/highlight/true#M56219 for information purposes.
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/disable-grouping-by-default/idc-p/106732/highlight/true#M56219

[Username19]

bad bot

[Agentvirtuel]

About, browser.tabs.groups.enabled, if that's your question.
For information purposes, since the release of Firefox 138.0.3.
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/help-shape-the-future-of-tab-groups-in-firefox/m-p/95970/... Enable tab groups by default on all channels https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1961226

For information purposes to try, if that's your question.

user_pref("browser.tabs.groups.enabled", false);

Copy/paste the code into your notepad
Save
Type: All files
user.js

Go to your profile folder https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profiles-where-firefox-stores-user-data#w_how-do-i-find-my-prof...
Move user.js to your profile folder
Restart Firefox

[Quackster]

Been less stable UI handling the last months for tabs/groups. Now sometimes dragging tabs can push other tabs over each other with the newest stable version, where it looks like text floating over the tabs, instead of tabs working as it should. maybe related to grouping (had no grouped tabs when it happened).

[gharp]

Thanks for the heads up, @Quackster. Would you be able to provide more details to help us troubleshoot this? A screenshot or video would be helpful, as would knowing what device/OS and Firefox version you are using when you experience this. You are welcome to file a bug in Bugzilla (tabbed browser component) or share the details here.

[jonasw]

I love tab groups, they are such a great way of keeping all of my different hobbies, study areas etc separated. I couldn't live without them.

The one thing that's painfully missing for me is syncing. iOS/iPadOS Firefox currently don't have tab groups at all - it needs them, and they need to sync! As much as I hate to say this, Chrome has this nailed - tab groups stay synced across desktop and mobile and any changes are reflected across both.

[firefoxxie]

I have been using the Simple Tab group extension.

The biggest thing I like about that extension is the regexes to move tabs into a specific group. While I appreciate the "AI" suggestions, I'm pretty clear as to what I want where. I know regexes aren't user friendly so I'm not suggesting removing the AI suggestions, but for power users having this is necessary and deserved for those who want guaranteed outcomes.

Second, I would love for the ability to assign a group to a window. Like "This is my mail window and when I reopen firefox after quitting it, I want each window/"workspace" to reopen back with the tab group that was on it". I almost want some of my firefox windows to almost as if they are web apps, but with the reasonableness that I don't want a million windows that are unusuable except for one day. But I do want some baseline consistency in my experience.

I work across two monitors, so being able to open a Google Meet window on my laptop by regex matching the URL is extremely helpful so I can jump right into a meeting without having to manage this new meeting tab. I also work with Jira so having the ability to open all my Jira windows in a dedicated window helps me have both my messaging/chat on one side and my tickets on the other, with little management of the windowing. I don't want a dedicated Jira web app, because sometimes I need to open something else. But having a consistent baseline to know where my important stuff is, is crucial.

Thanks Mozilla for all that you do, I truly stand by you guys and hope to be using this browser for years to come.

[TravisJ]

I agree with all of the things 🙂

[TravisJ]

It would be super awesome to have some criteria/rules which could be user defined:

If this domain -> open in this group
If Tab title contains "X" -> move to this group
If domain AND contains "Y" -> move to this group
...

[molio]

Since the previously posted content has been removed, I am reposting it.

Message to Mozilla
Does Mozilla reject submissions once accepted if circumstances change?

# Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar
11-10-2024 09:27 AM

**Isn’t what firefox needs actually tabs for groups, not tab groups?**

Moreover, we think that we need a group tab for tab groups that further organizes tab groups of about 2 or 3 levels.

Can you understand what I am saying?

It’s not about the concept, but about the UI to be implemented.

Essentially,

[Any Chance Tab Groups Will Ever Come?](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/any-chance-tab-groups-wil...)

## [Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-...)

but I dare to post it in a new topic.

I don’t know how many tabs Mozilla and firefox maintainers are expecting, but if possible, I’d like to see around 2000 tabs. firefox users are probably more likely to keep tabs open than chrome users. I am one of them.

If so, then, if you implement tab groups (tab stacks, tab stashes, workspaces, whatever you want to call them, I don’t care), then you should have 20 tab groups, and if you have 20 tab groups, then you should have 20 tab groups. is implemented, there would be 100 tabs hanging in each of the 20 tab groups.

When there are 100 tabs in one group (even if that is managed in a tree), the amount of scrolling is that much more.

If possible, I would like at least one more level of categorization.

Whether it’s by task, workspace, container, tag (if it’s managed by tags, one tab might be visible on both sides across groups), or whatever classification is up to the user, and I’m not concerned with names or classification methods, even if tab groups are implemented lamely, I’m happier than not, but it’s not enough.

Then again, I think what is needed is not tab groups, but rather tabs representing groups should be implemented. And below that, we need to implement tabs for subgroups, and maybe even tabs for sub-subgroups.

There are 10 large group tabs, 10 medium group tabs below that, 10 more small group tabs, and finally 10 tabs are visible. I don’t know if we need to go this far, but I think we need large and small groups.

Also, I believe they are currently trying to implement vertical tabs, but if the vertical tabs are at the bottom, why not have the small group tabs as horizontal tabs, the medium group tabs as vertical tabs, and the large group tabs as horizontal tabs again?

It is not hard to imagine the accusation of wasting desktop space, but it would be better to **Thin** minimize each group tab when it is not needed and use color coding to identify them.

I would be happy to hear your opinion.

I was looking at the performance of 1700- tabs in 2017 and 7500- users lost tabs in 2024.
I was looking at the performance of 1700- tabs in 2017 and a user losted 7500- tabs in 2024.

I am not asking these users to sort it out on a regular basis.

> Hazel doesn’t close tabs because it’s 'like a trip down memory lane.

I agree with this statement.

I don’t have 7000 tabs open (before that, it would eat up my PC’s memory and slow down performance), but I can have 1000 tabs open in less than a month. Of course, during this period, there are also closed tabs, so if you count only the number of tabs opened, it must be more than 2000, and the number of tabs must be increasing or decreasing by about 10 tabs per second.

I am Japanese, so my English may not be correct, hence I leave the Japanese text below as well.

firefoxに必要なものは実は、タブグループではなく、グループ用タブではないか？

しかも、2，3段階程度のタブグループをさらにまとめるタブグループ用グループタブが必要だと考える。

私の言っていることが伝わるだろうか？

概念の話ではなく、実装するUIの問題だ。

本来、

[Any Chance Tab Groups Will Ever Come?](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/any-chance-tab-groups-wil...)

## [Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-...)

のコメントに書くべきかもしれないが、あえて新規トピックに投稿する。

Mozillaとfirefoxのメンテナーがどの程度のタブ数を想定しているのかは解らないが、可能であれば、2000タブ程度は想定してもらいたい。firefoxのユーザは恐らくchromeユーザよりタブを開いたままにする傾向が高いはずだ。私もその一人だ。

であれば、タブグループ（タブスタック、タブスタッシュ、ワークスペース、呼び名は色々あるだろうが私はどうでも良い。）を実装したとして、20タブグループの各グループに100タブずつぶら下がることになる。

1つのグループに100タブ（それがツリーで管理されていたとしても）ある時点で、スクロール量はそれなりに多くなる。

できれば、最低でももう一段階は分類したい。

タスク毎か、ワークスペース毎か、コンテナ毎か、タグ毎（タグで管理するなら、グループをまたいで1つのタブが双方で見えることになるかもしれない）か、どういった分類をするかは、ユーザ次第だろうし、私は名前や分類法には拘らないが、タブグループをおざなりに実装されても、ないよりはうれしいが、物足りない。

そうすると、必要なのはタブグループではなく、グループを表すタブを実装するべきではないかと考える。そしてその下にはサブグループのタブを実装し、もしかしたらサブサブグループ用のタブも必要になるかもしれない。

10の大グループタブがあり、その下に10の中グループタブ、さらに10小グループタブがあり、やっと10タブが見える。ここまでする必要があるか解らないが、大と小グループは必要ではないかと考える。

また、現在縦タブを実装しようと試みているはずだが、縦タブが一番下にあるとして、小グループタブは横タブに、中グループタブは縦タブに、大グループタブは再び横タブにといった感じに、実装してはどうだろうか？

デスクトップスペースを無駄に消費するという非難は想像に難くないが、それは各グループタブは、必要ないときは最小に捕捉し判別は色分けなどで行えば良いのではないかと考える。

意見を聞かせて貰えれば幸いである。

2017年には1700-のタブ数のパフォーマンスを調べていたし、2024年には7500-のタブ数を失ったユーザがいた。

私はこれらのユーザに定期的に整理しろとは言わない。

> Hazel doesn’t close tabs because it’s 'like a trip down memory lane.

この言葉に共感するからである。

さすがに私は7000ものタブを開いたことは無い（その前に、PCのメモリを食い尽くしてパフォーマンスが落ちるからだ）が、1000タブ程度なら一ヶ月足らずで開いてしまう。もちろんこの間に、閉じたタブも当然ある為、開いたタブ数だけ数えれば、2000はこえるだろうし、1秒間に10数タブ程度は増減しているはずだ。

# Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar
11-10-2024 09:27 AM

**Isn’t what firefox needs actually tabs for groups, not tab groups?**

Moreover, we think that we need a group tab for tab groups that further organizes tab groups of about 2 or 3 levels.

Can you understand what I am saying?

It’s not about the concept, but about the UI to be implemented.

Essentially,

[Any Chance Tab Groups Will Ever Come?](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/any-chance-tab-groups-wil...)

## [Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-...)

but I dare to post it in a new topic.

I don’t know how many tabs Mozilla and firefox maintainers are expecting, but if possible, I’d like to see around 2000 tabs. firefox users are probably more likely to keep tabs open than chrome users. I am one of them.

If so, then, if you implement tab groups (tab stacks, tab stashes, workspaces, whatever you want to call them, I don’t care), then you should have 20 tab groups, and if you have 20 tab groups, then you should have 20 tab groups. is implemented, there would be 100 tabs hanging in each of the 20 tab groups.

When there are 100 tabs in one group (even if that is managed in a tree), the amount of scrolling is that much more.

If possible, I would like at least one more level of categorization.

Whether it’s by task, workspace, container, tag (if it’s managed by tags, one tab might be visible on both sides across groups), or whatever classification is up to the user, and I’m not concerned with names or classification methods, even if tab groups are implemented lamely, I’m happier than not, but it’s not enough.

Then again, I think what is needed is not tab groups, but rather tabs representing groups should be implemented. And below that, we need to implement tabs for subgroups, and maybe even tabs for sub-subgroups.

There are 10 large group tabs, 10 medium group tabs below that, 10 more small group tabs, and finally 10 tabs are visible. I don’t know if we need to go this far, but I think we need large and small groups.

Also, I believe they are currently trying to implement vertical tabs, but if the vertical tabs are at the bottom, why not have the small group tabs as horizontal tabs, the medium group tabs as vertical tabs, and the large group tabs as horizontal tabs again?

It is not hard to imagine the accusation of wasting desktop space, but it would be better to **Thin** minimize each group tab when it is not needed and use color coding to identify them.

I would be happy to hear your opinion.

I was looking at the performance of 1700- tabs in 2017 and 7500- users lost tabs in 2024.
I was looking at the performance of 1700- tabs in 2017 and a user losted 7500- tabs in 2024.

I am not asking these users to sort it out on a regular basis.

> Hazel doesn’t close tabs because it’s 'like a trip down memory lane.

I agree with this statement.

I don’t have 7000 tabs open (before that, it would eat up my PC’s memory and slow down performance), but I can have 1000 tabs open in less than a month. Of course, during this period, there are also closed tabs, so if you count only the number of tabs opened, it must be more than 2000, and the number of tabs must be increasing or decreasing by about 10 tabs per second.

----------------------------------

I am Japanese, so my English may not be correct, hence I leave the Japanese text below as well.

firefoxに必要なものは実は、タブグループではなく、グループ用タブではないか？

しかも、2，3段階程度のタブグループをさらにまとめるタブグループ用グループタブが必要だと考える。

私の言っていることが伝わるだろうか？

概念の話ではなく、実装するUIの問題だ。

本来、

[Any Chance Tab Groups Will Ever Come?](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/any-chance-tab-groups-wil...)

## [Native Tab Grouping / More Customizable Tab bar](https://web.archive.org/web/20250118053500/https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-...)

のコメントに書くべきかもしれないが、あえて新規トピックに投稿する。

Mozillaとfirefoxのメンテナーがどの程度のタブ数を想定しているのかは解らないが、可能であれば、2000タブ程度は想定してもらいたい。firefoxのユーザは恐らくchromeユーザよりタブを開いたままにする傾向が高いはずだ。私もその一人だ。

であれば、タブグループ（タブスタック、タブスタッシュ、ワークスペース、呼び名は色々あるだろうが私はどうでも良い。）を実装したとして、20タブグループの各グループに100タブずつぶら下がることになる。

1つのグループに100タブ（それがツリーで管理されていたとしても）ある時点で、スクロール量はそれなりに多くなる。

できれば、最低でももう一段階は分類したい。

タスク毎か、ワークスペース毎か、コンテナ毎か、タグ毎（タグで管理するなら、グループをまたいで1つのタブが双方で見えることになるかもしれない）か、どういった分類をするかは、ユーザ次第だろうし、私は名前や分類法には拘らないが、タブグループをおざなりに実装されても、ないよりはうれしいが、物足りない。

そうすると、必要なのはタブグループではなく、グループを表すタブを実装するべきではないかと考える。そしてその下にはサブグループのタブを実装し、もしかしたらサブサブグループ用のタブも必要になるかもしれない。

10の大グループタブがあり、その下に10の中グループタブ、さらに10小グループタブがあり、やっと10タブが見える。ここまでする必要があるか解らないが、大と小グループは必要ではないかと考える。

また、現在縦タブを実装しようと試みているはずだが、縦タブが一番下にあるとして、小グループタブは横タブに、中グループタブは縦タブに、大グループタブは再び横タブにといった感じに、実装してはどうだろうか？

デスクトップスペースを無駄に消費するという非難は想像に難くないが、それは各グループタブは、必要ないときは最小に捕捉し判別は色分けなどで行えば良いのではないかと考える。

意見を聞かせて貰えれば幸いである。

2017年には1700-のタブ数のパフォーマンスを調べていたし、2024年には7500-のタブ数を失ったユーザがいた。

私はこれらのユーザに定期的に整理しろとは言わない。

> Hazel doesn’t close tabs because it’s 'like a trip down memory lane.

この言葉に共感するからである。

さすがに私は7000ものタブを開いたことは無い（その前に、PCのメモリを食い尽くしてパフォーマンスが落ちるからだ）が、1000タブ程度なら一ヶ月足らずで開いてしまう。もちろんこの間に、閉じたタブも当然ある為、開いたタブ数だけ数えれば、2000はこえるだろうし、1秒間に10数タブ程度は増減しているはずだ。

[molio]

Previously published evidence images

[vxn]

Feedback on tab groups: there is a usability issue re. the automatic grouping behavior.

My problem: when dragging tabs (a completely standard action), Firefox began automatically creating tab groups without any prior opt-in or warning. The only way to disable this behavior was to manually edit about:config - something the vast majority of users will never know how to do or think to look for.

With due respect, why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? These "smart" ideas are more of a nuisance than smthing useful.

[gharp]

Hi @vxn we are working on a change that will make it easier for people to disable the drag-and-drop method of tab group creation directly in Settings.

[Narrator]

Tab groups broke my laptop twice.
The first time was maybe a year ago, under Win10. I establish a couple of tab groups, then noticed my laptop fan was going so crazy that the laptop eventually froze. I had to hold down the start button to switch it off. Once I got it going again, I culled the tab groups.
About a week ago, I thought I'll try it again. Surely it's been improved. The exact same thing happened, same laptop, now on Win11. I manage to undo a couple of tab groups before it froze.
My laptop is a Lenovo Legion with high specs for gaming, with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, an Intel i7 at 2.6gHz and 16G ram.
Andrew

[gharp]

@Narrator thanks for reporting this -- and we are sorry that you experienced this multiple times. To help us investigate whether the tab groups are the cause of this, it would be helpful if you could file a bug in Bugzilla (the tabbed browser component). Including your hardware, Firefox version, and OS details, as well as any add-ons that you are using, would help with pinpointing this on our end. In addition, if you could start the Firefox profiler https://profiler.firefox.com/ and add a tab group, wait a few seconds, and then remove the tab group, stop the profile, and submit the profile, that could give us a clue about what code is running so much as to cause significant performance problems. Thanks again.

[sirjoef]

Are there plans to add Tab Groups to Firefox on iOS? I found instructions that give the impression this is available on iOS but it’s not working. 

[Quagsire111]

All of my tabs were deleted from the saved tab groups with no notice less then an hour ago.  I thought I needed them for work, and they were very helpful before they suddenly disappeared.  

[brokesc]

Not sure how tab groups actually work, but tab groups, when closed, should have the contained windows as inactive, particularly if they are pinned and open every time the window opens. Other browsers have in the past and apparently still do, keep every tab active eating system resources. If, as soon as you minimize a tab group, it releases those resources as a default (maybe allow, by tab group, that to be overridden) would create a huge reason to utilize multiple tab groups (tab subgroups?) for frequently visited websites...so much so that they could replace bookmark bars for some people

[moz_smplfy]

Syncing tab groups is crucial. It's the only reason I even have Chrome or Edge open. I hate them with a passion and prefer Firefox, but being able to sync tab groups is the most productive feature in terms of continuity and maintaining context in your needs throughout the day and throughout the week. Since the tab groups can't be sync'd right now, I'm not even using Firefox.

[rednishat]

This! And notes too!

[KLZJ]

How can I disable the "Tab Groups" feature? It’s useless and keeps showing annoying tips.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

browser.tabs.groups.enabled ? Is it your question.

1 - Go to configuration editor https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/about-config-editor-firefox
2 - Enter a search term browser.tabs.groups.enabled
You can double-click on the preference to set the value to false

Take a look at https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/disable-grouping-by-default/idc-p/106732/highlight/true#M56219
Or
If you wich to test https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/seeking-your-feedback-on-tab-groups/m-p/117444/highlight/...

[slargon]

It is too easy to accidentally make a tab group. Please make it so accidentally dragging a tab doesn't automatically make a group. 

The right click menu to ungroup could have improved usability as well. 

I don't have a use for tab groups and an option to disable them would be appreciated.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

For information, https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2005628

Drag tabs together to create tab groups

[RobotNinja05]

I would really really really appreciate if we could get tab grouls in firefox mobile.

[rednishat]

Saved tab groups are my most-used feature. I like this feature a lot because it is saving me a lot of time.

But Saved tab groups get lost when I accidentally close Firefox or lose my session. Firefox should remember my tab groups and Saved tab groups, save them, and sync them with my Mozilla account. 

When I lose saved tab groups, I have to manually create them and save them again and again, which is very frustrating.

Saved tab groups and notes are very underrated Firefox features that should be synced with my Mozilla account so I can restore them anytime. It will save lots of time and mental peace!

Saved tab groups should be saved and always accessible under "List All Tabs" whenever we open Firefox again.

[Masal]

"Add tab to group" with tab from existing group.
I began to use tab groups 2 months ago and now I heavily use them. They're very useful!
However I noticed a (perhaps) little bug when moving a tab previously saved in a group to another group: if the tab has been updated (has changed address etc... ) if it is moved to another group (i.e. a closed one) it loose the current status and it is moved with the status/address of the tab when it was previously saved with the group. Also sometimes the tab is copied but not moved (probably when detaching from group first, as I tried it as workaround).
Same status losing problem when duplicating a tab that was already existing the group before reopening it, and has changed status/problem.
I also find that the idea of workspace or tree structure is very useful.
Thanks for your work!
Marco

[TheKenWiley]

I hate tab groups!  More specifically, I hate that tabs are always read to group!  It usually happens when I'm trying to move a tab, and I don't stop at exactly the right spot, BAM!, its now grouped!  Getting them ungrouped is a lot harder than grouping them.  Is there a way to turn grouping off?  I never use them.

[Agentvirtuel]

Hello

https://www.firefox.com/en-US/firefox/150.0/releasenotes

---

If you prefer creating tab groups from the context menu, you can now turn off drag-and-drop group creation in Settings > Tabs > Drag tabs to create tab groups.

[reddotmozillar]

I have Ideas/Feedback to improve Tab groups:

1. 📂 Disable auto unfold tab groups when new tab was added, this should be default
2. 🖐 Disable auto open tab when it add to tab groups: So when a tab in hibernate mode, and tab group in folded mode, when I add that tab to that tab groups, Firefox auto jump into that tab and open it, which is frustrating and cause laggy. I have to scroll back down to my list of opening tabs.
3. 🐦 Disable auto scroll to tab groups when new tab was added, this should be default. When I have a long list of tabs, and if I add a tab in lower position into some tab group above, Firefox automatically scroll up to that tab group and I have to scroll down to continue add others opening tabs to tab groups above (and the cycle repeat).
4. 📑 Give users options to add tab groups to bookmarks as a groups, similiar to Sidebery Sidebar does. This feature should work on active tab groups and closed tab groups too.
5. ➕ Add Tab to Group > "New Group" options should be always visible: because when I have a long list of tab groups, and if I can't find a suitable match of group to add my tab into it, I need to create new tab group, but the "New Group" options is way on top, so I have to scoll back up to click on it.

[reddotmozillar]

I added more descriptions and now I have 5 Ideas/Feedback instead of 3

[myspace]

Another request after using this feature for a few months now. I would like to be able to go into "focus mode" on a single tab group, to avoid distractions in other tabs and tab groups. Often times my tab groups are based on something I'm working on, and it would be nice to concentrate only on that specific task. So maybe it would hide the other tab groups. 

[JuggleFable]

Are there any updates on the progress of workspaces?