Choose direction first
Check the direction of the desired tab and type the shortcut.
Keyboard-first tab navigation for Chrome
Utab is a Chrome extension that helps you switch tabs faster with directional keyboard shortcuts, visual tab offsets, and built-in tab search. Jump across tabs, find or search tabs across windows, bookmarks without leaving your keyboard.
Utab is most useful when your browser is full of mail, docs, code, calendars, research, and the tab you actually want is never just one step away.
How it works
You decide the tab you want, glance, and move through shortcut.
Check the direction of the desired tab and type the shortcut.
Overlay badges reveal the exact offset before you move, so you do not have to count.
Press the offset key and Utab switches to the exact tab, helping you stay focused and move faster.
The flow in practice
Check the direction of the desired tab and type the shortcut.
Overlay badges reveal the exact offset before you move, so you do not have to count.
Press the offset key and Utab switches to the exact tab, helping you stay focused and move faster.
Features
Simple and intentional features to enhance your workflow.
Intuitive controls
Offsets spread naturally across the rows you already know, so larger jumps stay learnable without feeling arbitrary.
Tab search
One overlay can scan open tabs, bookmarks, and fallback web results without breaking your keyboard flow.
Customization
Adjust overlay colors and badge scale to make Utab truly feel like yours.
Intuitive controls
Offsets spread naturally across the rows you already know, so larger jumps stay learnable without feeling arbitrary.
Tab search
Customization
Adjust overlay colors and badge scale to make Utab truly feel like yours. In the case you need them hidden, toggle them off in one click.
Direction is measured from the current tab.
Center stays neutralYou can see the offset before you move, so tab switching stops feeling like a guess.
Choose left or right first, then confirm the precise tab with a single follow-up key.
When tab location is not obvious, search spans open tabs, bookmarks, and a web fallback.
Optimized caches keep Utab responsive even when your windows are crowded.
FAQ
No. Utab is maximally optimized for zero-latency performance. It caches favicon bitmaps, composited overlay data, and tab offset state so it does not keep repeating heavy work.
Yes. The shortcuts adapt to the platform, so the same directional model works whether you browse on macOS, Windows, or Linux.
No. Utab is currently only available on Chrome.
That is exactly where the search overlay helps. When the right tab is not visually obvious, you can search across tabs, bookmarks, and a web fallback from one place.
It works on normal web pages. Restricted browser pages such as chrome://, edge://, about://, finance platforms like stripe.com and extension pages are excluded.
No. Utab works locally in the browser and does not send your tabs or browsing history to external servers.