Use These Keyboard Shortcuts to Switch Tabs in Chrome, Safari, & More

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Keyboard hotkeys to switch tabs in any browser on PC & Mac

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: April 4, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Windows (All Browsers)
|
• Safari (Mac)
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• Chrome (Mac)
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• Firefox (Mac)
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• Video

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This wikiHow teaches you how to switch between browser tabs using the keys on your keyboard. You will also learn how to open a new tab, close tabs, and re-open a recently closed tab using easy keyboard shortcuts on your Windows PC or Mac computer.

How to Switch Tabs with a Keyboard on Mac or PC

On Windows in any browser or on Mac in Safari, press Ctrl + Tab and Ctrl + Shift + Tab to move back and forth between your tabs. On Mac in Chrome or Firefox, press Cmd + Option + → and Cmd + Option + ← to move between tabs. Firefox can also move between tabs with Ctrl + PgUp and Ctrl + PgDwn.

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

Switching Tabs on Windows (All Browsers)

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1. 
   1
   Switching between tabs. There are a number of keyboard shortcuts you can use to switch between tabs on Windows. These shortcuts work in any browser, as well (like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge).

   • Ctrl+Tab ↹: Goes to the next open tab. To scroll through your open tabs, hold down Ctrl and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
   • Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Tab ↹: Goes to the previous open tab. To scroll through your open tabs backwards, hold down Ctrl+⇧ Shift and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
   • Ctrl+1-Ctrl+9: Goes to an open tab in that position. For example, pressing Ctrl+3 will bring you to the 3rd open tab.
     • In some browsers, pressing Ctrl+1-Ctrl+8 will bring you to tabs 1 through 8, but pressing Ctrl+9 will bring you to the right-most tab.
2. 
   2
   Open and close tabs. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs in any browser on a Windows computer:

   • Ctrl+T: Open a new tab.
   • Ctrl+⇧ Shift+T: Re-open the tab you just closed.
   • Ctrl+W: Close a tab.
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Section 2 of 4:

Switching Tabs in Safari on macOS

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1. 
   1
   Switching between tabs. Use the keyboard shortcuts below to move between your open tabs in Safari on your Mac.

   • Ctrl+Tab ↹: Goes to the next open tab. To scroll through your open tabs, hold down Ctrl and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
   • Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Tab ↹: Goes to the previous open tab. To scroll through your open tabs backwards, hold down Ctrl+⇧ Shift and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
   • ⌘ Cmd+1-⌘ Cmd+9: Goes to an open tab in that position. For example, pressing ⌘ Cmd+3 will bring you to the 3rd open tab.
2. 
   2
   Open and close tabs. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs in Safari on your Mac:

   • ⌘ Cmd+T: Open a new tab.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+T: Re-open the tab you just closed.
   • ⌘ Cmd+W: Close a tab.
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Section 3 of 4:

Switching Tabs in Chrome on macOS

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1. 
   1
   Switching between tabs. Use the keyboard shortcuts below to move between your open tabs in Chrome on your Mac.

   • ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+→: Goes to the next open tab. To scroll through your open tabs, hold down ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option and keep pressing → until you get to the tab you want.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+←: Goes to the previous open tab. To scroll through your open tabs backwards, hold down ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option and keep pressing ← until you get to the tab you want.
   • ⌘ Cmd+1-⌘ Cmd+8: Goes to an open tab in that position. For example, pressing ⌘ Cmd+3 will bring you to the 3rd open tab.
   • ⌘ Cmd+9: Goes to the right-most open tab.
2. 
   2
   Open and close tabs. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs in Chrome or Firefox on your Mac:

   • ⌘ Cmd+T: Open a new tab.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+T: Re-open the tab you just closed.
   • ⌘ Cmd+W: Close a tab.
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Section 4 of 4:

Switching Tabs in Firefox on macOS

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1. 
   1
   Switching between tabs. Use the keyboard shortcuts below to move between your open tabs in Firefox on your Mac.

   • Ctrl+Tab ↹: Cycles through your tabs in recently used order. To scroll through your open tabs in recently used order, hold down Ctrl and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+→: Goes to the next open tab. To scroll through your open tabs, hold down ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option and keep pressing → until you get to the tab you want.
     • You can also press Ctrl+PgDwn to move to the next open tab.
     • If "Ctrl+Tab cycles through tabs in recently used order" is disabled in your Firefox settings, you can also move to the next tab by pressing Ctrl+Tab ↹.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⌥ Option+←: Goes to the previous open tab. To scroll through your open tabs backwards, hold down Ctrl+⇧ Shift and keep pressing Tab ↹ until you get to the tab you want.
     • You can also press Ctrl+⇞ PgUp to move to the previous open tab.
     • If "Ctrl+Tab cycles through tabs in recently used order" is disabled in your Firefox settings, you can also move to the previous tab by pressing Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Tab ↹.
   • ⌘ Cmd+1-⌘ Cmd+8: Goes to an open tab in that position. For example, pressing ⌘ Cmd+3 will bring you to the 3rd open tab.
   • ⌘ Cmd+9: Goes to the right-most open tab.
2. 
   2
   Open and close tabs. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs in Chrome or Firefox on your Mac:

   • ⌘ Cmd+T: Open a new tab.
   • ⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+T: Re-open the tab you just closed.
   • ⌘ Cmd+W: Close a tab.
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