Chrome Tab Right-Click Menu: Add Hibernate, Group, and Bulk Close Actions with a Vertical Tab Extension
Chrome now supports native vertical tabs, but the tab strip's right-click menu remains limited — just close, pin, mute, and a handful of other built-in actions. VertiTab 3.7 injects 40+ tab management actions into the browser's native right-click menu using Chrome 150's new contextMenus API. Right-click any tab to hibernate, bulk close, group by AI, sort, snapshot, and more — without opening a side panel. Zero screen space. Works on Chrome (150+), Edge, and Firefox.
👉 Install VertiTab — Vertical Tabs & Tab Manager for Chrome
⚡ Chrome 150 Required for Tab Strip Right-Click Menu — The tab strip right-click menu feature requires Chrome 150, which is scheduled to reach Stable on June 17, 2026 (approximately 3 weeks from now). You can try it today using Chrome Canary (version 150.0.7861.0 or later). Page right-click menu, link context menu, and extension icon menu work on all current Chrome versions.
How to Enable Vertical Tabs in Chrome
Chrome 146 (April 2026) introduced native vertical tabs. To enable them:
- Right-click on an empty area of the tab strip
- Select "Turn on vertical tabs" (some versions say "Move tabs to side")
- Tabs move from the top to a left sidebar showing full page titles
If the option doesn't appear, your Chrome hasn't received the rollout yet. To force-enable:
- Navigate to
chrome://flags/#vertical-tabs - Set Vertical Tabs to Enabled
- Click Relaunch at the bottom
- After restart, right-click the tab strip and select "Turn on vertical tabs"
To switch back, right-click the vertical tab sidebar and choose "Move tabs to top."
Edge and Firefox also support vertical tabs. Edge users can toggle them in Settings → Appearance. Firefox users can enable sidebar tabs in Settings → Tabs.
How to Add Custom Actions to Chrome's Tab Right-Click Menu
Starting with Chrome 150, extensions can register custom menu items directly in the tab strip's right-click menu. When you install an extension that uses this API, its actions appear alongside the built-in "Close", "Pin", and "Mute" options.
VertiTab 3.7 uses this new API to inject tab management features into the tab strip context menu. After installation, right-clicking any tab gives you access to hibernate, bulk close, sort by domain, AI grouping, and snapshot actions — no side panel required.
Before Chrome 150, extensions could only add context menu items to web pages, links, and the extension icon. The tab strip was off-limits. Chrome 150 removes this restriction, giving tab management extensions a native integration point for the first time.
Right-Click Menu vs. Side Panel: When to Use Which
They complement each other. Each has distinct advantages:
| Comparison | Side Panel | Right-Click Menu |
|---|---|---|
| Screen space | 360px minimum | 0px |
| Feature depth | Full (drag & drop, multi-select, tab tree, search) | Limited (single-step actions) |
| Steps | Open panel → find tab → act | Right-click → click action |
| Best for | Global overview, complex batch operations | Quick, targeted single actions |
The side panel excels at rich interactions: drag-to-reorder, multi-select batch operations, tab tree view, search filtering, and bookmark management all require the panel. But browsers enforce a 360px minimum width, which consumes roughly a quarter of the screen on 13–14" laptops.
The right-click menu excels at zero-footprint actions: "hibernate other tabs", "close by domain", or "create snapshot" are goal-oriented single steps. But it can't provide visual previews or drag-and-drop.
VertiTab's right-click menu runs entirely independently of the side panel. Even if you only use Chrome's native vertical tabs and never open the VertiTab side panel, the right-click menu still works.
What Tab Management Actions Does the Right-Click Menu Support?
After installing VertiTab, the tab right-click menu provides the following actions, organized into 9 functional groups:
Hibernate & Memory Management
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Hibernate current tab | Frees memory; tab stays in the tab strip | ✓ |
| Keep tab active | Prevents the current tab from auto-hibernating | ✓ |
| Hibernate other tabs | Hibernates all tabs in the window except the current one | — |
| Hibernate all tabs | Hibernates every tab in the current window | — |
| Hibernate by hostname/domain | Batch-hibernate all tabs from the same site | — |
| Hibernate other windows | One-click hibernate for background windows | — |
| Hibernate inactive tabs | Only hibernates non-active, unpinned tabs | — |
Close & Cleanup
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Close tabs above | Closes all tabs above the current one (skips pinned) | ✓ |
| Close duplicate tabs | Keeps one tab per URL, closes the rest | ✓ |
| Close all hibernated | Removes all hibernated tabs at once | ✓ |
| Close by hostname/domain | Batch-close all tabs from the same site | — |
| Clear tabs | Opens a dialog to filter and batch-close by condition | — |
Reload
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Hard reload (bypass cache) | Equivalent to Ctrl+Shift+R | ✓ |
| Batch reload | Reload all / other / same-site / hibernated tabs | — |
Duplicate & Move
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate to new window | Opens a copy in a new window | ✓ |
| Duplicate to incognito | Opens the tab in an incognito window | ✓ |
| Move to incognito | Moves the tab and closes the original | ✓ |
| Move tab to start / end | Moves the tab to the first or last position | — |
| Move group to start / end | Moves the entire tab group together | — |
Sort
One-click sort all tabs by domain A-Z/Z-A, URL alphabetical order, or most recently accessed.
Tab Grouping
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Group by domain | Automatically creates groups by domain | ✓ |
| AI smart grouping | AI categorizes tabs by content | ✓ |
| Ungroup all | Dissolves all groups in the window | ✓ |
| Merge groups | Combines multiple groups into one | — |
Tab Snapshots
Create a snapshot of all window tabs, browse snapshot history, or open snapshot settings. All free.
Tab Info
Rename a tab, copy tab information, generate a QR code, view browsing history, or create a scheduled task.
Split View
| Action | Description | Free |
|---|---|---|
| Side by Side | Split the current tab into a side-by-side view with the rest of the window | ✓ |
| Top and Bottom | Split the current tab into a top-and-bottom view | ✓ |
| Cancel Split View | Merge all split windows back into one maximized window | ✓ |
The context menu's split view creates two tiled windows — the current tab moves to a new window while the original window keeps its remaining tabs. For advanced multi-tab tiling (3–4 tabs with custom layouts), use the side panel's multi-select menu (Premium).
Due to browser API limitations, split view currently works by creating separate windows. We'll switch to native split once the API becomes available.
Site Data & Quick Actions
Clear the current site's cookies and storage. Mute all playing tabs. Switch to the last visited tab. Lock the current tab to prevent accidental closure.
How Does the Right-Click Menu Adapt to the Current Tab?
VertiTab's right-click menu is dynamic. Menu items involving "same site" update their titles and counts based on the current tab in real time.
Titles show the actual domain. When you right-click a GitHub tab, the menu reads "Close all github.com tabs" instead of a generic "Close same-site tabs."
Titles include live counts. For example, "Close all github.com tabs (5)" tells you the impact before you act.
Irrelevant actions auto-hide. When the current site has only 1 tab in the window, the "close all" option hides. When a tab isn't in a group, "move group" hides. The menu only shows actions that apply to the current context.
Which Browser Contexts Support the Right-Click Menu?
VertiTab's context menu covers 4 browser contexts:
| Entry Point | Trigger | Scope | Browser Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tab strip right-click | Right-click a tab title | All tab management actions | Chrome 150+, Edge, Firefox |
| Page right-click | Right-click on page content | All tab management actions | All versions |
| Link right-click | Right-click a link | Open in popup window | All versions |
| Extension icon right-click | Right-click the toolbar icon | Snapshot / sidebar / group management | All versions |
The tab strip context menu requires Chrome 150 or later. Page and link context menus work on all Chrome versions.
How to Customize the Chrome Tab Right-Click Menu
VertiTab's options page provides full right-click menu customization:
- Per-context toggles — e.g. enable the tab strip menu but disable the page menu
- Per-item toggles — individually enable or disable each menu item
- Drag-to-reorder — arrange menu items in your preferred order, putting frequent actions at the top
- One-click reset — restore defaults per section or for all menus at once
When Is the Right-Click Menu the Best Way to Manage Tabs?
Laptop users — screen space is limited, and opening a side panel just to hibernate a few tabs feels wasteful. Right-click a tab → Hibernate other tabs — two clicks, done.
Quick cleanup during tab overload — you've opened 30 tabs, many from the same site. Right-click → Close all stackoverflow.com tabs (12) — instant cleanup.
Frontend developers — hard reload, clear site data, open in incognito — all available from the right-click menu without opening DevTools.
Native vertical tab users — Chrome and Edge ship native vertical tabs. Install VertiTab and even without opening the side panel, the right-click menu unlocks AI grouping, bulk close, snapshots, and more.
How to Get Started
- Install VertiTab — from the Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons, or Firefox Add-ons
- Right-click any tab or page — VertiTab's menu items appear inside the browser's native context menu
- Customize — go to VertiTab Options → Context Menu Settings to adjust toggles and order
The context menu is enabled by default after installation. No additional configuration needed.
FAQ
Q: I installed VertiTab but don't see anything in the tab right-click menu.
A: The tab strip context menu requires Chrome 150 or later. If your Chrome version is below 150, the page right-click menu and extension icon menu still work. Check VertiTab Options → Context Menu Settings to confirm the relevant context toggles are enabled.
Q: Does the context menu affect browser performance?
A: No. Menu items are registered once when the extension starts and rendered natively by the browser. VertiTab only executes logic when the menu is shown or an item is clicked — it doesn't consume resources in the background.
Q: Can free users use the context menu?
A: Yes. Hibernate current tab, hard reload, close duplicates, duplicate to new window, AI grouping, group by domain, and snapshots are all free. Batch operations and per-site actions require Premium. Free users see all menu items; clicking a Premium action prompts an upgrade notice.
Q: Can I completely disable the context menu?
A: Yes. Turn off all context toggles in VertiTab's options page to remove all context menu items.
Q: Does the right-click menu work if I don't use the VertiTab side panel?
A: Yes. The right-click menu operates independently of the side panel. Even if you never open the side panel, the context menu functions normally.
Q: Do Firefox and Edge support the tab strip right-click menu?
A: Yes. Firefox uses the browser.menus API and Edge shares Chromium's API — both provide tab strip context menus. The feature experience is consistent across all three browsers.
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