tabs

Interact with the browser's tab system.

Note: When using Manifest V3 or higher, the methods to execute scripts, insert CSS, and remove CSS are provided by the scripting API through the scripting.executeScript(), scripting.insertCSS() and scripting.removeCSS() methods.

You can use this API to get a list of opened tabs, filtered by various criteria, and to open, update, move, reload, and remove tabs. You can't directly access the content hosted by tabs using this API, but you can insert JavaScript and CSS into tabs using the tabs.executeScript() or tabs.insertCSS() APIs.

You can use most of this API without any special permission. However:

To access Tab.url, Tab.title, and Tab.favIconUrl (or to filter by these properties via tabs.query()), you need to have the "tabs" permission, or have host permissions that match Tab.url.
- Access to these properties by host permissions is supported since Firefox 86 and Chrome 50. In Firefox 85 and earlier, the "tabs" permission was required instead.
To use tabs.executeScript() or tabs.insertCSS(), you must have the host permission for the tab

Alternatively, you can get these permissions temporarily, only for the currently active tab and only in response to an explicit user action, by asking for the "activeTab" permission.

Many tab operations use a Tab id. Tab ids are guaranteed to be unique to a single tab only within a browser session. If the browser is restarted, then it can and will reuse tab ids. To associate information with a tab across browser restarts, use sessions.setTabValue().

Types

tabs.MutedInfoReason: Specifies the reason a tab was muted or unmuted.
tabs.MutedInfo: This object contains a boolean indicating whether the tab is muted, and the reason for the last state change.
tabs.PageSettings: Used to control how a tab is rendered as a PDF by the tabs.saveAsPDF() method.
tabs.Tab: This type contains information about a tab.
tabs.TabStatus: Indicates whether the tab has finished loading.
tabs.WindowType: The type of window that hosts this tab.
tabs.ZoomSettingsMode: Defines whether zoom changes are handled by the browser, by the extension, or are disabled.
tabs.ZoomSettingsScope: Defines whether zoom changes will persist for the page's origin, or only take effect in this tab.
tabs.ZoomSettings: Defines zoom settings mode, scope, and default zoom factor.

Properties

tabs.TAB_ID_NONE: A special ID value given to tabs that are not browser tabs (for example, tabs in devtools windows).

Functions

tabs.captureTab(): Creates a data URL encoding an image of the visible area of the given tab.
tabs.captureVisibleTab(): Creates a data URL encoding an image of the visible area of the currently active tab in the specified window.
tabs.connect(): Sets up a messaging connection between the extension's background scripts (or other privileged scripts, such as popup scripts or options page scripts) and any content scripts running in the specified tab.
tabs.create(): Creates a new tab.
tabs.detectLanguage(): Detects the primary language of the content in a tab.
tabs.discard(): Discards one or more tabs.
tabs.duplicate(): Duplicates a tab.
tabs.executeScript() (Manifest V2 only): Injects JavaScript code into a page.
tabs.get(): Retrieves details about the specified tab.
tabs.getAllInWindow() Deprecated: Gets details about all tabs in the specified window.
tabs.getCurrent(): Gets information about the tab that this script is running in, as a tabs.Tab object.
tabs.getSelected() Deprecated: Gets the tab that is selected in the specified window. Deprecated: use tabs.query({active: true}) instead.
tabs.getZoom(): Gets the current zoom factor of the specified tab.
tabs.getZoomSettings(): Gets the current zoom settings for the specified tab.
tabs.goForward(): Go forward to the next page, if one is available.
tabs.goBack(): Go back to the previous page, if one is available.
tabs.hide() Experimental: Hides one or more tabs.
tabs.highlight(): Highlights one or more tabs.
tabs.insertCSS() (Manifest V2 only): Injects CSS into a page.
tabs.move(): Moves one or more tabs to a new position in the same window or to a different window.
tabs.moveInSuccession(): Modifies the succession relationship for a group of tabs.
tabs.print(): Prints the contents of the active tab.
tabs.printPreview(): Opens print preview for the active tab.
tabs.query(): Gets all tabs that have the specified properties, or all tabs if no properties are specified.
tabs.reload(): Reload a tab, optionally bypassing the local web cache.
tabs.remove(): Closes one or more tabs.
tabs.removeCSS() (Manifest V2 only): Removes from a page CSS which was previously injected by calling tabs.insertCSS().
tabs.saveAsPDF(): Saves the current page as a PDF.
tabs.sendMessage(): Sends a single message to the content script(s) in the specified tab.
tabs.sendRequest() Deprecated: Sends a single request to the content script(s) in the specified tab. Deprecated: use tabs.sendMessage() instead.
tabs.setZoom(): Zooms the specified tab.
tabs.setZoomSettings(): Sets the zoom settings for the specified tab.
tabs.show() Experimental: Shows one or more tabs that have been hidden.
tabs.toggleReaderMode(): Toggles Reader mode for the specified tab.
tabs.update(): Navigate the tab to a new URL, or modify other properties of the tab.
tabs.warmup(): Prepare the tab to make a potential following switch faster.

Events

tabs.onActivated: Fires when the active tab in a window changes. Note that the tab's URL may not be set at the time this event fired.
tabs.onActiveChanged Deprecated: Fires when the selected tab in a window changes. Deprecated: use tabs.onActivated instead.
tabs.onAttached: Fired when a tab is attached to a window, for example because it was moved between windows.
tabs.onCreated: Fired when a tab is created. Note that the tab's URL may not be set at the time this event fired.
tabs.onDetached: Fired when a tab is detached from a window, for example because it is being moved between windows.
tabs.onHighlightChanged Deprecated: Fired when the highlighted or selected tabs in a window change. Deprecated: use tabs.onHighlighted instead.
tabs.onHighlighted: Fired when the highlighted or selected tabs in a window change.
tabs.onMoved: Fired when a tab is moved within a window.
tabs.onRemoved: Fired when a tab is closed.
tabs.onReplaced: Fired when a tab is replaced with another tab due to prerendering.
tabs.onSelectionChanged Deprecated: Fires when the selected tab in a window changes. Deprecated: use tabs.onActivated instead.
tabs.onUpdated: Fired when a tab is updated.
tabs.onZoomChange: Fired when a tab is zoomed.

Browser compatibility

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	WebView Android	Chrome Android	Firefox for Android	Opera Android	Safari on IOS	Samsung Internet
`MutedInfo`	46	79	47	?	33	14 `reason` and `extensionId` will not be populated.	?	?	No	?	No	?
`MutedInfoReason`	46	79	47	?	33	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`PageSettings`	No	No	56	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`TAB_ID_NONE`	46	14	45	?	33	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`TabStatus`	5	14	45	?	15	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`WindowType`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`ZoomSettings`	38	79	45	?	25	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`ZoomSettingsMode`	38	79	45	?	25	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`ZoomSettingsScope`	38	79	45	?	25	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`captureTab`	No	No	59	?	No	No	?	?	82	?	No	?
`captureVisibleTab`	5 The default file format is 'jpeg'.	15	47	?	15 The default file format is 'jpeg'.	14 ["The default file format is 'jpeg'.", "`<all_urls>` permission is optional."]	?	?	54	?	15 ["The default file format is 'jpeg'.", "`<all_urls>` permission is optional."]	?
`connect`	5	79	45	?	15	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`create`	5	14	45	?	15	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`detectLanguage`	5	14	45	?	15	14 ["Will return `und` (undefined language) for OS lower than 11.", "Locale identifier will include the country code more often."]	?	?	No	?	15	?
`discard`	54 ["Only accepts a single tab ID as a parameter, not an array.", "The tab ID argument is optional: if it is omitted, the browser discards the least important tab.", "The callback is passed a `Tab` object representing the tab that was discarded.", "Tabs whose document contains a `beforeunload` listener that displays a prompt will be discarded."]	14	58	?	41 ["Only accepts a single tab ID as a parameter, not an array.", "The tab ID argument is optional: if it is omitted, the browser discards the least important tab.", "The callback is passed a `Tab` object representing the tab that was discarded.", "Tabs whose document contains a `beforeunload` listener that displays a prompt will be discarded."]	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`duplicate`	23	79	47	?	15	14	?	?	No	?	15	?
`executeScript`	5 ["Extensions can't inject scripts into their own pages using this API.", "Available for use in Manifest V2 only."]	14 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	43 ["Before version 50, Firefox would pass a single result value into its callback rather than an array, unless 'allFrames' had been set.", "Available for use in Manifest V2 only."]	?	15 ["Extensions can't inject scripts into their own pages using this API.", "Available for use in Manifest V2 only."]	14 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	?	54 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	15 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?
`get`	5	14	45	?	15	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`getAllInWindow`	5	79	No	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`getCurrent`	6	14	45	?	15	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`getSelected`	Yes	79	No	?	No	14	?	?	No	?	15	?
`getZoom`	Yes	79	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	No	?	15	?
`getZoomSettings`	42	79	45	?	29	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`goBack`	72	79	77	?	60	14	?	?	79	?	15	?
`goForward`	72	79	77	?	60	14	?	?	79	?	15	?
`hide`	No	No	61	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`highlight`	Yes	79	63	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`insertCSS`	Yes Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	14 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	47 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	Yes Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	14 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	?	54 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	15 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?
`move`	Yes	79	46	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`moveInSuccession`	No	No	65	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`onActivated`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onActiveChanged`	Yes	79	No	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`onAttached`	Yes	15	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onCreated`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onDetached`	Yes	15	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onHighlightChanged`	Yes	79	No	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`onHighlighted`	Yes	79	63 45–62 Implemented as an alias for `onActivated`.	?	No	14	?	?	54 Implemented as an alias for `onActivated`.	?	15	?
`onMoved`	Yes	79	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	No	?	15	?
`onRemoved`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onReplaced`	Yes	79	No	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`onSelectionChanged`	Yes	79	No	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`onUpdated`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`onZoomChange`	Yes	79	45	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`print`	No	No	56	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`printPreview`	No	No	56	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`query`	Yes	14 The `panel`, `app`, `devtools` and `popup` values for `WindowType` are not supported.	45	?	Yes	14 Pattern matching supports `*` and `?`.	?	?	54	?	15 Pattern matching supports `*` and `?`.	?
`reload`	Yes	17	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`remove`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`removeCSS`	87 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	87 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	49 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	73 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	14 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	?	54 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?	15 Available for use in Manifest V2 only.	?
`saveAsPDF`	No	No	81 56–81 This function does not work on macOS.	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`sendMessage`	Yes	14 No response is sent after the receiving tab is refreshed if there is no `runtime.onMessage` listener.	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`sendRequest`	Yes	79	No	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`setZoom`	Yes	79	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	No	?	15	?
`setZoomSettings`	Yes	79	No	?	Yes	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`show`	No	No	61	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`toggleReaderMode`	No	No	58	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?
`update`	Yes	14	45	?	Yes	14	?	?	54	?	15	?
`warmup`	No	No	79	?	No	No	?	?	No	?	No	?

Example extensions

Note: This API is based on Chromium's chrome.tabs API. This documentation is derived from tabs.json in the Chromium code.

© 2005–2023 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Add-ons/WebExtensions/API/tabs

Docs

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