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How to reopen a closed tab in Chrome

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A browser tab being pulled back into a window by a curved arrow

In short: Press Ctrl+Shift+T on Windows or ⌘+Shift+T on Mac. Chrome reopens your closed tabs in the order you closed them, so press it again to go further back.[1] For a page closed days ago, open your history with Ctrl+H (⌘+Y on Mac): it lists the pages you visited in the last 90 days.[1][2]

You meant to close one tab and your finger hit the wrong one. Or you closed a page this morning and now you need it back. Both are fixable in a few seconds.

Reopen the tab you just closed

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+T on Windows, or ⌘+Shift+T on Mac.
  2. Press it again to bring back the tab you closed before that one. Chrome goes back in the order you closed them.[1]

Closed a whole window by mistake? The same shortcut brings it back.[3]

This is the fastest way back, and it works right after a mistake. The further back you go, the more you're guessing.

Find a tab you closed earlier

Your history lists the pages you visited in Chrome over the last 90 days.[2]

  1. Press Ctrl+H on Windows or ⌘+Y on Mac.[1] You can also select More > History > History.[2]
  2. Type a word from the page in the search bar, or browse By date.[2]
  3. Click the page to open it.

Faster still: type @history in the address bar, press Tab or Space, then a few words from the page.[2]

Reopen a whole research session

In the By group tab of your history, Chrome sorts your browsing into topics. Next to a group, select More > Open all in new tab group to bring every page of that topic back at once.[2]

If the whole browser shut down instead, see how to recover tabs after a Chrome crash.

Where Chrome's history falls short

Close tabs without fear. Keeptab saves your tabs in one click, backs them up every hour and notes your open tabs every 5 minutes. Free for Chrome.

Add to Chrome — it's free

Close tabs without the guesswork

Keeptab is our free Chrome extension for closing tabs you'll want later. One click saves a window into a list, and the list is written and read back before a single tab closes.[4] You find it again by word, date or site.[4]

It also notes your open tabs every 5 minutes, and a deleted list sits in a 30-day trash.[4] So the tab you closed on purpose is still one click away next month.

FAQ

What is the shortcut to reopen a closed tab in Chrome?

Ctrl+Shift+T on Windows and ⌘+Shift+T on Mac. Press it several times to reopen tabs in the order you closed them. It also brings back a window closed by mistake.

How far back can I find a closed tab?

Chrome's history lists the pages you visited in the last 90 days. Open it with Ctrl+H, or ⌘+Y on Mac, and search by word.

Can I recover a tab closed in Incognito mode?

Not from history. Chrome doesn't store pages you visited in Incognito mode.

Sources

  1. Google Chrome Help. Chrome keyboard shortcuts. https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/157179?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
  2. Google Chrome Help. Check or delete your Chrome browsing history. https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95589?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
  3. Google Chrome Help. Manage tabs in Chrome. https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2391819?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop
  4. Keeptab. The OneTab alternative to stop losing your tabs. https://keep-tab.com/onetab-alternative

Close tabs without fear

Keeptab saves your tabs in one click, backs them up every hour and notes your open tabs every 5 minutes. Free for Chrome.

Add to Chrome — it's free

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