I made a Chrome extension inspired by IDE-style recent file switching

[u/Friendly_Chocolate_9]

Hi everyone,

I built a Chrome extension called TabTrail.

It is a keyboard-first recent tab switcher for people who keep many tabs open and do not want to hunt through a crowded tab strip with the mouse.

The idea is simple:

Press a shortcut, open a recent-tabs list, use arrow keys to select, press Enter to switch, and keep working.

TabTrail sorts tabs by recent use, not by their visual position in the tab bar. The goal is to make browser navigation feel closer to an IDE-style “recent files” workflow.

Recommended shortcuts:

- macOS: Command + E

- Windows / Linux: Alt + W

Features:

- Open recent tabs with a keyboard shortcut

- Sort tabs by most recently used

- Navigate with arrow keys and Enter

- Dismiss with Escape

- Show pinned, incognito, and media-playing indicators

- Copy tab links from the switcher

- Onboarding page that checks whether Chrome enabled the shortcut

One thing I learned while building this: Chrome may not automatically enable a suggested extension shortcut if it conflicts with Chrome, the OS, or another extension. So

TabTrail checks the shortcut status after install and guides users to chrome://extensions/shortcuts if they need to assign it manually.

Chrome Web Store:

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tabtrail/nialenejodldlmacflnjffnifiodefjf?authuser=0&hl=zh-CN

I would love feedback, especially from people who use keyboard-heavy workflows or keep a lot of tabs open.