It’s quite exasperating to lose all your tabs when you accidentally close them while comfortably browsing the internet. With the multitude of web pages we tend to keep open simultaneously, it’s no wonder that our browsers can slow down over time due to the numerous tabs and extensions. A quick solution is to close some unused tabs to free up RAM space.
But sometimes, we close tabs unintentionally, and that can be infuriating. Fortunately, most modern browsers now have a feature that allows you to reopen closed tabs. In this updated guide for 2025, we will explore how to restore closed tabs in the most popular browsers available today.
Ways to Restore Closed Tabs
Let’s delve into various methods for reopening previously closed tabs on different browsers. These techniques apply to Windows, Linux, and macOS, with only slight variations in the user interface among these operating systems. In fact, most browsers support a universal shortcut. In Windows, you can reopen a closed tab using Ctrl + Shift + T, while Mac users can use Command + Shift + T. Once you learn this trick for Chrome, it will feel familiar when using other major browsers.
Reopening Tabs on Chrome
To open the last closed tab in Chrome, follow these steps:
Step 1: Right-click on the empty space near the + icon, not on a tab, to reveal a drop-down menu with various options. The option to restore tabs won’t be available if you right-click on a tab.
Step 2: Select “Reopen closed tab.” This will restore the tabs in reverse order from when they were closed. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + T, which works for most browsers.
You can repeat these steps as many times as needed to restore tabs in Chrome.
Alternatively, you can use your browsing history to reopen a closed tab in Chrome. This allows you to select the specific tab you want to open. Here are the steps:
1. Click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Move your cursor to History in the drop-down menu, and you’ll see the recently opened tabs.
3. Select the tab you want to open.
Note that if you had previously muted a tab, it may not be muted when you reopen it.
Restoring All Tabs on Google Chrome
In case you closed the entire window and want to bring back all the tabs you closed, follow these steps:
1. Click the 3-dot Chrome menu in the top right corner of the window.
2. Open History.
3. Under “Recently closed,” you’ll find a submenu with the last browsing session’s tabs.
4. Hover over it and click “Restore window.”
This method also works for grouped tabs.
You can also open the history menu using the Ctrl + H keyboard shortcut (Command + H for Mac users).
Similarly, you can open bookmarks using the provided guide to learn how to export bookmarks in Chrome.
Reopening a Closed Tab in Firefox
Mozilla Firefox employs a similar method to reopen closed tabs, like other browsers. Here’s how you can open recently closed tabs in Firefox:
Step 1: Right-click on the space beside the + icon in the tab bar. This will open a drop-down menu with several options.
Step 2: Select “Reopen Closed Tab” to open the latest closed tab. You can also press the underlined letter in “Reopen” on your keyboard, such as “o” in this case.
Step 3: Keep repeating the first two steps to navigate through the tabs you wish to reopen. Remember that this method works only for tabs closed in the current session.
Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut for the same purpose.
You can also achieve the same results by going to the History menu by clicking on the three bars in the top right corner of the browser window and then selecting “History.”
From there, click on “Recently closed tabs” to gain full control over the tabs you wish to restore.
Restoring All Tabs in Firefox
To restore previously closed tabs from a recent Firefox session, open the menu, navigate to “History,” then “Recently closed tabs,” and finally, click the session you want to open. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + H (Command + Shift + H for Mac users) to open the history menu.
Reopening a Closed Tab in Microsoft Edge
Similar to other browsers, reopening closed tabs in Microsoft Edge is a straightforward process. Here’s how:
Step 1: Right-click on the empty space beside the + symbol that opens a new tab. This will trigger a drop-down menu with various options.
Step 2: In the drop-down menu, click on “Reopen closed tab,” and your last closed tab should open in a new tab within the same window.
Feel free to repeat these steps to open previously closed browser tabs.
Alternatively, you can head into the history section in Edge by clicking on the three vertical dots in the top right and selecting “History.” You can also use the Ctrl + H keyboard shortcut to access the History section as a drop-down menu.
For the same purpose, you can use the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut to undo the closed tab, making your browsing experience much more efficient.
Restoring All Closed Tabs in Microsoft Edge
To restore all tabs from a closed Edge session, open the menu, go to “History,” then “Recently closed tabs,” and select the session you want to open. You can also open the history menu with the Ctrl + H keyboard shortcut (Command + H for Mac users).
Reopening a Closed Tab in Safari
To reopen a closed tab in Safari, follow these steps:
Step 1: Click on “Edit” at the top of the browser window to reveal a drop-down menu.
Step 2: At the top of the menu, select “Undo Close Tab.” This will work only for tabs closed in the current session of the browser.
Step 3: Repeat the previous steps to reopen multiple tabs in the order they were closed.
If you wish to reopen tabs from a previous session, you’ll have to go into the history section. From there, you can select the tab you want to open.
Newer versions of Safari allow you to access the most recently closed tabs through the “New tab” button. Simply click and hold the + icon on the right side of the tab bar, hover over the webpage you wish to reopen from the drop-down menu, and release the button.
You can bring up Safari’s history to check closed tabs using the keyboard shortcut Command + Y.
Reopening the Last Closed Tab in Opera
To reopen a recently closed tab in the Opera browser, follow these steps:
Step 1: Right-click on the empty space in the tab bar beside the + icon at the top of the browser window. This will reveal a drop-down menu.
Step 2: In the drop-down menu, click on “Reopen last closed tab.” This will open the last closed tab in a new tab within the same browser window.
Step 3: You can repeat these steps to keep opening the previously closed tabs, going from the latest to the earliest closed tab.
Shortcuts can significantly reduce the time needed to reopen a closed browser tab. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut to achieve the same result. You can also go to the browser’s history by using the Ctrl + H shortcut and search for your specific tab there.
Opening the Last Closed Tab Using the Taskbar
Interestingly, you can use the taskbar to open previously closed tabs, which many people are not aware of. This method works for most browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
Here’s how:
1. Go to the browser tab in the taskbar.
2. Right-click on the tab to reveal a menu with various options, including recently closed tabs.
3. Click on the tab you want to reopen.
The number of recently closed tabs shown may vary depending on the browser, but you can usually access up to 10 recently closed tabs.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Long Do Recently Closed Tabs Stay?
In the Chrome browser, recently closed tabs usually stay there indefinitely, but there’s a limit of 10 tabs. Once it reaches this limit, the older tabs will be removed and replaced with the new ones recently closed.
2. How Do You Close a Tab With the Keyboard?
To close a tab using the keyboard, go to the tab you want to close, hold down the Control button, and press the F4 key on your keyboard. This action will close the current tab and make the one immediately before it the active tab. For Mac users, you can close the active tab with the keyboard shortcut CMD + W.
3. How Do I Restore All My Closed Tabs?
Some browsers offer the option to restore all closed tabs. If the entire window closed down due to a crash or an unexpected shutdown, the next time the browser opens, simply use the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut to restore the whole window. Mac users should use Command instead of Ctrl. Additionally, you can check the “Sync tabs between devices” option to find all the recently closed tabs.
4. How Do I Recover All Closed Tabs?
If the Ctrl + Shift + T (Command + Shift + T for macOS) doesn’t work, head into the history menu of your browser and click on the recently closed tab’s window.
5. Can You Reopen All Closed Tabs in Chrome?
Yes, Chrome should automatically reopen all closed tabs if the window closed unexpectedly. If not, navigate to the history menu and click the recently closed tab’s window. However, if you accidentally closed Chrome or closed it for any other reason, you should receive a notification when you reopen it, unless you’re working in private browsing mode.
6. Why Did All My Tabs Disappear in Chrome?
Your tabs may have disappeared if you accidentally closed the window. If they no longer exist in your History, it’s likely you were browsing in Incognito mode, where browsing history is not saved.
7. How Do I Reopen a Tab I Just Closed?
For most modern browsers, you can simply reopen a recently closed tab by right-clicking on the empty space in the top bar and selecting “Open recently closed tab.” This will open the most recently closed webpage. You can keep repeating this step to open tabs in the order they were closed. Alternatively, you can also use the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut, which works in most modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge. This method also works for grouped tabs.
Restoring Recently Closed Tabs
Accidentally closing an important tab can be extremely frustrating. However, there are ways to recover closed tabs. We hope that learning how to reopen closed tabs will help you overcome this frustrating experience. Now, once you accidentally close a tab, you can reopen it without any hassle.