Tab Management
Nav0 provides a full-featured tab system designed for efficiency. Open as many tabs as you need, organize them across windows, and let hibernation handle the memory.
Opening & Closing Tabs
| Action | Shortcut (macOS) | Shortcut (Windows/Linux) |
|---|---|---|
| New tab | Cmd+T | Ctrl+T |
| Close tab | Cmd+W | Ctrl+W |
| Reopen last closed tab | Cmd+Shift+T | Ctrl+Shift+T |
- New tabs open in the background — Opening a link in a new tab doesn't steal focus from your current page
- Middle-click to close — Click the middle mouse button on any tab to close it
- Close from context menu — Right-click a tab for Close, Close Other Tabs, and more
Tab Strip
The tab strip is designed for heavy tab use:
- Scrollable — When tabs exceed the window width, the strip scrolls horizontally instead of shrinking tabs to unreadable sizes. Tabs maintain a minimum readable width.
- Drag to reorder — Click and drag any tab to rearrange it within the strip
- Loading indicator — A spinner appears in the favicon area while a page is loading
- Favicon display — Each tab shows the site's favicon for quick identification
Tab Pinning
Pin frequently-used tabs to keep them compact and persistent:
- Right-click a tab → Pin Tab
- The tab compresses to show only the favicon
- Pinned tabs anchor to the left side of the tab strip
Pinned tabs survive browser restarts and stay in place when you open and close other tabs. Unpin anytime with right-click → Unpin Tab.
Tab Context Menu
Right-click any tab to access:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Reload | Refresh the tab's page |
| Duplicate | Open a copy of the tab |
| Pin / Unpin | Toggle tab pinning |
| Mute / Unmute | Toggle audio for the tab |
| Move to New Window | Detach the tab into its own window |
| Close | Close the tab |
| Close Other Tabs | Close all tabs except this one |
Tab Hibernation
Nav0 automatically hibernates tabs that have been inactive for 72 hours or more. Hibernated tabs:
- Free memory and CPU — The tab's web content is unloaded from memory
- Preserve your session — The tab's URL, title, and favicon remain in the tab strip
- Reload on demand — Click a hibernated tab to reload it
This means you can keep dozens of tabs open without the memory cost. Only the tabs you're actively using consume resources.
Hibernation is automatic — there's nothing to configure. Nav0 checks for inactive tabs periodically and suspends them in the background.
Tab Restoration
Nav0 tracks recently closed tabs and windows so you can recover from accidental closes:
- Recently closed tabs — Up to 10 tabs are tracked per window, with URL, title, and favicon preserved
- Recently closed windows — Up to 3 windows are tracked, including their full tab list
- Keyboard shortcut — Cmd+Shift+T / Ctrl+Shift+T reopens the last closed tab
Multi-Window Support
Nav0 supports multiple independent browser windows. Each window has its own tab strip, navigation bar, and session.
Moving Tabs Between Windows
There are two ways to move tabs:
- Context menu — Right-click a tab → Move to New Window (detaches the tab into a new window)
- Cmd+O tab switcher — Drag and drop tabs between windows visually (see below)
Private Windows
Private windows run in a completely separate partition. Tabs from private windows cannot be moved to normal windows, and vice versa. See Private Browsing for details.
Cmd+O Tab Switcher
Press Cmd+O (macOS) or Ctrl+O (Windows/Linux) to open the tab switcher overlay — a visual grid of all open tabs across all windows.
Features
- Window grouping — Tabs are organized by window, with each group color-coded
- Search — Type to filter tabs by title or URL
- Keyboard navigation — Arrow keys to move between tabs, Enter to switch
- Drag and drop — Move tabs between windows by dragging them between groups
- Privacy-aware — Only shows tabs matching the current context (private windows see only private tabs)
The tab switcher is the fastest way to find a specific tab when you have many open across multiple windows.
Command-K Search
Press Cmd+K (macOS) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) to open the command palette — a unified search across everything in your browser:
- Open tabs — Search by title or URL, with a "switch to tab" action
- Bookmarks — Search and navigate to bookmarks
- History — Search your browsing history
- Downloads — Search your download history
- Web search — Fall through to your configured search engine
Search Filtering
Filter results by type using category tabs: All, Tabs, Bookmarks, History, Downloads. Each result shows its favicon, title, and metadata (date, file size, etc.).
Keyboard Shortcuts for Tabs
| Action | macOS | Windows/Linux |
|---|---|---|
| New Tab | Cmd+T | Ctrl+T |
| Close Tab | Cmd+W | Ctrl+W |
| Reopen Closed Tab | Cmd+Shift+T | Ctrl+Shift+T |
| Command Palette | Cmd+K | Ctrl+K |
| Tab Switcher | Cmd+O | Ctrl+O |
| New Window | Cmd+N | Ctrl+N |
| New Private Window | Cmd+Shift+N | Ctrl+Shift+N |
All keyboard shortcuts are customizable. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tabs can I have open?
There is no artificial limit. Nav0 supports unlimited tabs. With tab hibernation, inactive tabs consume minimal resources, so you can keep many tabs open without significant memory impact.
Do pinned tabs persist across restarts?
Yes. Pinned tabs are preserved when you close and reopen the browser.
Can I search across tabs from all windows?
Yes. Both the Cmd+O tab switcher and the Cmd+K command palette search across all open tabs in all windows (filtered by private/non-private context).
Does tab hibernation lose my scroll position or form data?
When a tab is hibernated and later reloaded, the page loads fresh from the server. Scroll position and unsaved form data are not preserved. If you're working on something important, save your work before leaving the tab inactive for extended periods.
Can I disable tab hibernation?
Tab hibernation is automatic and not configurable. Tabs must be inactive for 72 hours before they are considered for hibernation — regular use prevents it entirely.
See also: Keyboard Shortcuts · Private Browsing · Features Overview