How to Group Tabs in Chrome Using Tab Groups

Introduction

Chrome tab groups are a useful feature, but actually managing them can be surprisingly cumbersome.

While Chrome lets you create tab groups, rename them, and move them between windows, most actions rely on precise manual steps. As soon as you start working with many tabs or multiple windows, simple tasks like adding tabs to a group or reorganizing groups become slow and frustrating.

Grouping tabs isn’t hard. Managing tab groups efficiently is.

What Chrome Tab Groups Support Natively

Out of the box, Chrome allows you to:

• Create a tab group by right-clicking a tab
• Assign a name and color to the group
• Add tabs to a group by dragging them
• Move a tab group to another window by dragging it
• Collapse or expand tab groups

These features work fine when you only have a few tabs open.

But once tab counts grow, the friction becomes obvious.

Where Chrome Tab Group Management Becomes Frustrating

Chrome relies almost entirely on manual drag-and-drop and context menus for tab group management.

In practice, this means:

• Adding tabs to a group requires dragging them precisely into place
• Adding multiple tabs to a group means repeating that action again and again
• Renaming a group requires opening a small context menu and editing inline
• Changing a group’s color requires navigating the same menu each time
• Managing groups across multiple windows requires careful mouse movement

When you have many tabs, many windows, or many groups, these small interactions add up quickly.

What should feel like organization starts to feel like micromanagement.

Group Tabs Without Constant Dragging

Using a tab management extension changes how you interact with tab groups.

Instead of dragging tabs one by one, you can select multiple tabs and group them intentionally. This makes it much easier to create, reorganize, or clean up tab groups when working with large sets of tabs.

Managing tab groups becomes a deliberate action instead of a series of precise mouse movements.

Rename, Recolor, and Adjust Groups More Easily

Chrome technically supports naming and coloring tab groups, but changing these settings repeatedly through context menus is slow.

With an extension, updating a group’s name or color is more accessible and easier to repeat. This makes it practical to keep tab groups meaningful as your work evolves, instead of setting them once and leaving them unchanged.

This matters when tab groups represent:

• Ongoing projects
• Research topics
• Temporary tasks that change over time

Move Entire Tab Groups Without Precision Gestures

Chrome allows moving a tab group to another window, but doing so requires careful dragging and accurate placement, especially difficult when multiple windows are open.

Using an extension turns this into a clear action instead of a fragile gesture.

This makes reorganizing windows faster and far less error-prone.

Why Better Tab Group Management Matters

As your tab count grows, Chrome’s native tab group UX doesn’t scale well.

Efficient tab group management becomes important when:

• You work with dozens of tabs daily
• You frequently add or remove tabs from groups
• You rename or reorganize groups as tasks evolve
• You use multiple windows throughout the day

Reducing friction in these small interactions makes tab groups genuinely useful — not just theoretically helpful.

Summary

Chrome tab groups are a solid foundation, but managing them relies heavily on manual, repetitive actions.

When grouping tabs, adding tabs to groups, renaming groups, changing colors, and moving groups can be done more deliberately, tab groups become much easier to use at scale.

TabsPrompt builds on Chrome’s tab groups to make managing them faster, clearer, and less frustrating.