How-To

How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari

If you’ve closed a tab you didn’t mean to close in your browser, it’s easy to reopen that tab. You can also open other recently closed tabs.

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I tend to open a lot of tabs while browsing the web. After a while, I try to close some so the browser doesn’t get sluggish. But what do I do if I close a tab I didn’t mean to close? Or worse, what if I accidentally close an entire Browser Window that had a dozen tabs? Is there a way to reopen a tab that accidentally closed? Can you undo it and get your tabs back?

Luckily, it’s easy to open recently closed tabs in your desktop browser, just like it is on your iPhone. We’ll show you how to use the four popular browsers on Windows and Mac.

How to Restore Tabs on Chrome

The easiest way to open closed tabs is by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac. You can also use the mouse by right-clicking on an empty part of the tab bar and selecting Reopen closed tab from the popup menu.

NOTE: If you right-click on a tab instead of on an empty part of the tab bar, the Reopen closed tab option is not available.

Repeatedly selecting Reopen closed tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.

Select Reopen closed tab in Chrome

You can also access recently closed tabs in your browsing history. This method allows you to pick which tab you want to open.

To access your browsing history, click the Chrome menu button (three horizontal dots) in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Then, move your mouse over History.

A short list of recently closed tabs is displayed under Recently closed on the submenu. Select the one you want to open.

Go to History > Recently Closed

You can also view a more complete list of your browsing history by selecting History on the History submenu or pressing Ctrl + H on Windows or Command + Y on Mac.

Another way to open your browsing history is to enter chrome://history in the address bar and press Enter.

Your browsing history displays on a new tab, grouped into time periods. Click the link for the page you want to open that webpage on the current tab. To delete a page from your browsing history, click the menu button (three vertical dots) on the right side of that site and select Remove from history.

History screen in Chrome

How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Firefox

To open the most recently closed tab in Firefox, right-click on the tab bar and select Undo Close Tab from the popup menu or press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac.

NOTE: Unlike Chrome, in Firefox, you can right-click on any tab or on an empty area on the tab bar to access the Undo Close Tab option. The option is in a different place on the popup menu, depending on where you right-clicked.

Repeatedly selecting the Undo Close Tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.

Select Undo Close Tab in Firefox

You can also open recently closed tabs from the browsing history in Firefox.

Click the menu button in the upper-right corner of the browser window and then select Library.

Select Library in Firefox

On the Library menu, click History.

Select History in Firefox

Click the Recently Closed Tabs on the History menu.

You can also access recently visited sites under Recent History on the History menu or select View History Sidebar to access lists of previously visited sites by time period. To close the History sidebar, click the X button in the upper-right corner of the pane.

Select Recently Closed Tabs in Firefox

On the Recently Closed Tabs menu, click the site you want to open again.

To open all the recently closed tabs in the list, select Restore All Tabs at the bottom.

Reopen Closed Tab in Firefox

You can also access all your browsing history by clicking Show All History at the bottom of the History menu.

Select Show All History in Firefox

On the Library dialog, your browsing history is listed by time period. Select a time period to show a list of sites visited. Double-click on a site in the list to open it on the current tab.

You can also delete sites from your browsing history by right-clicking on the site and selecting Delete Page from the popup menu.

Delete page in History in Firefox

How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Microsoft Edge

To open the most recently closed tab in Microsoft Edge, right-click on a tab and select Reopen closed tab or press Ctrl + Shift + T in Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac.

NOTE: Unlike Chrome, in Microsoft Edge, you can right-click on any tab or on an empty area on the tab bar to access the Reopen Closed Tab option. The option is in a different place on the popup menu, depending on where you right-clicked.

Repeatedly selecting the Reopen closed tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.

Select Reopen closed tab in Edge

You can also access recently closed tabs in Edge in your browsing history. This method allows you to pick which tab you want to open.

To access your browsing history, click the menu button (three horizontal dots) in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Then, move your mouse over History.

A short list of Recently closed tabs is displayed on the submenu. Click the one you want to open.

Go to History > Reopen tab in Edge

You can also view a more complete list of your browsing history by selecting Manage History on the History submenu or pressing Ctrl + H on Windows or Command + Y on Mac.

Your browsing history displays on a new tab, grouped into time periods. Click on a time period, such as Today or Yesterday. Then, click the link for the page you want to open that webpage on the current tab.

To delete a page from your browsing history, click the X to the right of that page.

History page in Edge

How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Safari

To open the most recently closed tab in Safari, go to Edit > Undo Close Tab, or press Command + Z. To close the same tab again, go to Edit > Redo Close Tab or press Command + Shift + Z.

Repeatedly selecting Undo Close Tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.

NOTE: The keyboard shortcuts won’t work if you perform another undoable action after closing a tab.

Go to Edit > Undo Close Tab in Safari

You can also go to History > Reopen Last Closed Tab or press Shift + Command + T.

Reopen Last Closed Tab in Safari

To open a specific recently closed tab, go to History > Recently Closed and select a site from the submenu or press Shift + Command + T.

Select a Recently Closed Tab in Safari

Safari’s New Tab button on the tab bar has a hidden feature. You can use it to access recently closed tabs.

Click and hold the plus icon on the right side of the tab bar. Keep holding the mouse button down while you move the mouse through the list. Pause on the web page you want to open and release the mouse button.

NOTE: This list gets cleared when you exit Safari.

Click and hold the New Tab button in Safari

You can also see a list of recently closed web pages on a tab so you can scroll through them.

NOTE: This History list is preserved when you exit Safari, so use this method if you want to open a web page you closed in a previous browsing session.

Go to History > Show All History.

Show All History in Safari

Your browsing history is listed on the current tab, grouped by dates.

You can also remove any web page from the history by right-clicking on the web page in the list and selecting Delete.

History page in Safari

 

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