FAQ
My tabs are not being grouped, why?
Section titled “My tabs are not being grouped, why?”Three conditions must all be met for a group to be created: the global Grouping toggle is on, a domain rule matches the tab’s domain, and the Grouping option is enabled on that rule. See Grouping tabs, conditions.
Another angle: only tabs opened via middle-click or right-click then Open in new tab trigger grouping. Tabs opened from the address bar or via a keyboard shortcut do not.
Also check the badge on the icon: an orange G signals that the global toggle is off.
What is the difference between a pack and a preset?
Section titled “What is the difference between a pack and a preset?”A pack adds several rules to your workspace at once (via the import gallery). A preset prefills a single rule, the one you are currently creating in the wizard. See Categories and packs and Regex presets.
Why does a tab come back after deduplication?
Section titled “Why does a tab come back after deduplication?”If you clicked Undo in the notification, the tab is intentionally reopened and protected for 10 seconds so it is not immediately closed again. See Deduplicating, notification and undo.
If you did not undo and the tab reappears, check that the keep strategy matches what you want: by default (Grouped tab wins, otherwise keep the new one), the extension favors the freshly loaded tab over the existing one when neither belongs to a group.
Does any of my data leave my machine?
Section titled “Does any of my data leave my machine?”No. The extension makes no network requests. Grouping relies on regular expressions executed locally, and all data (rules, sessions, settings) lives in the browser’s browser.storage.local. See Why this extension.
Do my rules and sessions sync across devices?
Section titled “Do my rules and sessions sync across devices?”Not through the extension itself. But if you sync your Chrome or Firefox profile (via Google or Firefox Sync), browser.storage.local is included in that sync, so your rules and sessions follow you. The extension stays compatible with this native mechanism without triggering it itself.
How do I migrate my rules from one browser to another?
Section titled “How do I migrate my rules from one browser to another?”Export your rules from the source browser (Import / Export page, Export button), then import the JSON file into the target browser. For a complete migration (rules + sessions + settings), export the whole workspace instead. See Import / Export, workspaces.
Firefox compatibility
Section titled “Firefox compatibility”Yes, Firefox is supported via a dedicated MV2 build (pnpm build:firefox locally, or Firefox Add-ons for public installs). The APIs used are common to both platforms. See Installation.
Vivaldi compatibility
Section titled “Vivaldi compatibility”Partially. Deduplication, sessions, and regex name extraction work, but automatic grouping has no effect: Vivaldi does not expose Chromium’s tab groups API and relies on its own Tab Stacks, which cannot be controlled by an extension.
Can the extension read the contents of my pages?
Section titled “Can the extension read the contents of my pages?”No. The permissions requested are tabs, storage, notifications, and scripting. scripting is used only to inject a small script that captures clicks on links (so we can remember the target link before the tab opens). Nothing about the DOM or the page contents is ever read.
How do I reset the extension completely?
Section titled “How do I reset the extension completely?”Uninstalling then reinstalling the extension fully wipes browser.storage.local. If you only want to clear counters without removing anything else, use the Reset Stats button on the Statistics page.
Where do I report a bug or suggest a feature?
Section titled “Where do I report a bug or suggest a feature?”On the GitHub issue tracker. Please include the browser (Chrome / Edge / Firefox + version), a description of the expected vs observed behavior, and ideally the steps to reproduce.
Does the extension use AI?
Section titled “Does the extension use AI?”No. No AI, neither local nor remote. Group naming relies solely on regular expressions executed in your browser (your own, or those from a built-in pack). See Why this extension.
Is it really free? What is the business model?
Section titled “Is it really free? What is the business model?”Yes, free with no strings attached: no paid version, no premium tier, no gated feature. The extension is open source under the GPL v3 license, so anyone can audit it and contribute. See the open source attribution page.
How is it different from the browser’s native tab groups?
Section titled “How is it different from the browser’s native tab groups?”Chrome’s native groups are created and named by hand. SmartTab Organizer creates them automatically based on your domain rules, closes duplicates, and saves your tab state as restorable sessions. It builds on native groups, it does not replace them. See Grouping tabs.
Does it work offline?
Section titled “Does it work offline?”Yes. The extension needs no connection: grouping, deduplication, sessions, and statistics all run entirely locally. The only time the network is involved is when you open a page in a tab yourself.