Contents
Why Tab Warehouse
Developers keep the same page open in many versions: live, test, staging and localhost. Chrome's bookmark bar hides URLs and treats every link the same. Tab Warehouse fixes that:
- Every URL in full. Nothing is truncated, so you always see which host you are about to open.
- Tags. Each link gets a PROD, TEST, STAGE or LOCAL tag, or one of your own (QA, UAT …), from rules you write.
- Tag matrix. See the same page across all versions in one table, and jump from TEST to PROD in one click.
- No lock-in. Your links stay real Chrome bookmarks. They sync with your Google account and show in Chrome's bookmark manager. Uninstall the extension and nothing is lost.
Features
Home
- Opens on every new tab: a large clock, the date and your link tiles.
- Tiles are a normal bookmark folder called Home in Other bookmarks, created empty on first start. Add your own links in Settings › Home page.
- Drag tiles to reorder. Right-click a tile to change its icon (upload or URL), edit it, open it in a new tab or remove it (with undo).
- Official icons for Google apps (Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Keep, Meet, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms); Chrome's favicon for everything else; on Home, Google's favicon service when Chrome has none, then a letter.
- Background image, darkness, blur, color, clock size, 12/24-hour, seconds, icon size and icons per row — all with a live preview.
Sidebar
- A full-width search box with Home and Board tabs under it.
- One entry per folder under your root folder, with link counts.
- Drag folders into your own order. The order is saved in the extension; Chrome's tree is never reordered.
- Categories group folders (for example "Daily" and "Rarely used"), with collapse and drag reorder.
- Give a category, a folder or a section a color (6 presets or any custom color) and one emoji icon from its menu. Backup › Export JSON keeps them.
- Drop a link on a folder to move it there, or on the Home button to add it to Home.
- Resizable (180–440 px) and themeable: a solid color or a blurred copy of your Home background.
Board
- The Board tab next to Home shows every folder as a column of cards, side by side, grouped into lanes by category (or in one row).
- Each card has the favicon, title, full URL and env badge. Folders with sections show them as small headers inside the column.
- Drag cards between columns or onto a section header to move them, or within a column to reorder (Manual sort). Drag a column header to change the folder order.
- Add a link at the bottom of any column, delete one with undo, and filter every column at once.
Folder page
- Full URLs that wrap instead of truncating. Show the title first or the URL first.
- Sort per folder: manual, name, URL, tag, date added or host.
- Sections: split a folder into groups such as "In progress" or "Blocked". Each section is a real subfolder, so it syncs too.
- Inline edit, right-click menus, a folder filter, Open all and Copy all URLs.
- An Open pill marks a link that is open in a tab (also in search and in Today's top list).
- Delete a link and undo it within 8 seconds.
Notes and priority
- Give a link a short note (up to 200 characters) and a priority: High, Medium or Low. Set them in the popup when you save, in the edit form, or from the row menu.
- Priority links come first, under High, Medium and Low headers, with a colored stripe. Your sort still applies inside each group. In folders with sections, priority links go first inside each section.
- Filter buttons: High, Medium, Low or Has note. The folder filter and search also find the text in your notes.
- Drop a link on a priority header to give it that priority.
- Notes stay on this computer. Backup › Export JSON includes them.
Due dates
- Give a link a due date, with a time if you want one. Set it in the popup when you save (press Due), in the edit form, or from the row menu.
- Overdue links show a red chip. The Overdue and Has due date filter buttons find them.
- Today's top list (the row above your folders in the sidebar) is a checklist of every link due today or overdue, plus the upcoming ones. Tick a link (or open it from Today) to mark it done; done links are deleted the next day with Undo. The row shows how many are still open (
99+ above 99), and Home shows the next one as Up next.
- A backup never carries a tick, and Undo of a deleted link brings back its note, priority and date but not its tick, so nothing is deleted by surprise. Only a visible tab deletes done links.
- The due chip sits on the right of the row, so the dates line up.
- Turn on Also add to Google Calendar to open a filled-in Google Calendar event after you save. Google sends the reminder. The extension asks for no extra permission.
Tags
- Your tags: add your own tags, such as QA, UAT or DEMO, next to the built-in PROD, TEST, STAGE and LOCAL. Pick one of 6 colors.
- Tags by address: "if the address contains
-test. give the tag TEST". The first matching rule wins. Without rules, words like PROD or TEST in the title still work.
- Same site in each version: list the hosts of a site once, one box per tag. Every link then offers Open on TEST / PROD / ….
- Tag matrix view: one row per page, one column per tag. Empty cells offer + derive.
- A Try it box explains which rule matches a link and why. Copy both lists as text and paste them on another machine.
Search and command palette
⌘⇧K / Ctrl+Shift+K on a Tab Warehouse tab opens the command palette as a toolbar popup, so you can type at once even while the address bar has focus (change the key at chrome://extensions/shortcuts). It finds links, folders and Settings tabs by title, address, folder, note or tag.Enter opens the link in the Tab Warehouse tab, ⌘Enter in a background tab (the palette stays open). A folder, Home, Board, Today's top list or a Settings tab opens on the Tab Warehouse page./ searches every folder from the sidebar box.- Type
tw and a space in Chrome's address bar to search your links from any tab.
Popup (⌘K / Ctrl+K)
- A compact popup: the title and tag on top, then one toolbar row (priority dots, Note, Due, Page / Site), the folder list and a wide Save button.
- Save the current tab into any folder, or create a new folder by typing its name. Folders with subfolders open and close with their arrow or with → / ←; only the way to your last folder is open.
- Pinned and Recent folders: up to 6 chips under the folder search, your pinned folders first, then the folders you saved to last. Click a chip or press
Alt+1 … Alt+6 to pick that folder, then Enter saves. Pin a folder with the pin at the right of its row, or with Pin in save popup in the sidebar folder menu; right-click a pinned chip to unpin it.
- Save the full page or the whole site (
origin/).
- Shows the tag and remembers the last folder.
- Says “✓ Saved in ” (and “+N more”) on the address line when the page is already saved, also when only
?utm_…, #part or a trailing / differ; click it to see each copy and remove one. Save again still saves a second copy.
- Quick save (
⌘⇧S / Ctrl+Shift+S): saves the tab into the last folder you saved to (or the root) without opening the popup. The toolbar icon shows a green NEW for 2.5 s. If the page is already saved, nothing is saved and the popup opens with the “Saved in” line.
- Open this page in: opens the same page in your other versions (from Same site in each version).
- Add a priority, a short note (press the note icon) and a due date before you save.
Settings and backup
- One Settings view with 7 tabs: Appearance, Home page, Bookmarks, Duplicates, Tags, Backup, Shortcuts.
- Shortcuts shows the keys Chrome gives the extension (or Not set), the
tw address bar keyword and the fixed keys of the page. Change shortcuts opens Chrome's shortcuts page, because Chrome does not let an extension change its own keys.
- Duplicates lists links saved more than once. Keep one copy; the others are deleted with Undo.
- Every change saves at once. There is no Save button.
- Text size for the sidebar, the page and the Board (80–140 %).
- Export to JSON (links, sections, sidebar order, categories and preferences) or to HTML (Chrome's bookmark format). Import merges and skips URLs you already have.
Live demo
Try the real extension in your browser, with sample bookmarks and nothing to install: https://sumonta056.github.io/tab-warehouse/#demo.
The website and the demo live in site/. The demo loads the extension's own newtab.html and popup.html with a fake chrome.* API (site/demo/demo-chrome.js), so nothing is saved. The Pages workflow builds and deploys the site after CI passes on main. To preview it locally:
./site/build.sh && python3 -I tests/serve.py 8811 _site
# then open http://127.0.0.1:8811/
Install
Chrome Web Store (recommended)
- Open Tab Warehouse on the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome.
- Open a new tab, then open ⚙ Settings to add your name, your Home sites and your root folder.
If the store page does not open or the add does not work, use the ZIP below.
Download ZIP (if the store does not work)
- Download the latest ZIP from Releases and unzip it. Move the folder to a place where it can stay, for example Documents.
- Open
chrome://extensions and turn on Developer mode (top right).
- Click Load unpacked and choose the unzipped folder (the one that contains
manifest.json).
- Open a new tab. If Chrome asks, click Keep it. Then open ⚙ Settings to add your name, your Home sites and your root folder.
Update: download the new ZIP, replace the old folder, then click ↻ on the extension card. Your bookmarks and settings stay.
From source
git clone https://github.com/Sumonta056/tab-warehouse.git
Load the extension folder of the clone with Load unpacked. It runs as it is, with no build. After a git pull, click ↻ on the extension card.
The release ZIP is built: npm install, then ./tools/package.sh (or npm run build for an unzipped dist/ folder you can load the same way).
Quick start
- Pick your root folder. Open ⚙ Settings → Bookmarks. Its subfolders become the sidebar. By default it uses your bookmarks bar.
- Add tags by address. Settings → Tags → Tags by address. For example:
localhost → LOCAL, -test. → TEST, -stage. → STAGE.
- Link your versions. Settings → Tags → Same site in each version. Add one row per site with its PROD, TEST, STAGE and LOCAL hosts.
- Save a page. On any site, press
⌘K (macOS) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux), pick a folder and press Enter.
- Open the tag matrix. Open a folder and choose View → Tag matrix.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Keys | Action |
|---|
⌘K / Ctrl+K | Open the save popup |
⌘⇧S / Ctrl+Shift+S | Quick save the tab without the popup |
⌘⇧K / Ctrl+Shift+K | Open the command palette (on Tab Warehouse) |
⌘Enter (in the palette) | Open the link in a background tab |
tw + space (in the address bar) | Search all folders from the address bar |
/ | Search all folders |
Enter (in search) | Open the first result |
Esc | Clear search or filter; close Settings |
j / k | Next / previous: Home, Board, Today's top list, folders |
Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ | Move the focused folder or section up / down |
← / → (on the sidebar edge) | Resize the sidebar by 16 px |
← / → (in Settings) | Next / previous tab |
↑ / ↓, Enter (in the popup) | Pick a folder, save |
Alt+1 … Alt+6 (in the popup) | Pick a Pinned or Recent folder chip |
Settings › Shortcuts lists these keys. To change the Chrome keys, click Change shortcuts there (it opens chrome://extensions/shortcuts).
Change ⌘K, ⌘⇧S and ⌘⇧K at chrome://extensions/shortcuts. An install that is already there keeps its old keys after an update: set them there, or paste tools/set-shortcuts.js into the Console of that page. Chrome skips a suggested key that another extension already uses; then the shortcut shows as not set until you pick one there.
⌘K / Ctrl+K opens the save popup on any page. Many sites (GitHub, Slack, Notion) use ⌘K themselves and lose it while the extension has it; if you want it back there, set another key or none. On Windows Chrome may keep Ctrl+K for itself; then the shortcut shows as not set and you can pick a key at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.
Privacy and permissions
Tab Warehouse has no server, no account, no analytics and no tracking. It does not send your bookmarks anywhere.
- Links, titles and folders stay in Chrome's bookmarks.
- Preferences (sidebar order, categories, env rules, Home look) and link notes stay in
chrome.storage.local on your machine. Chrome sync does not copy them.
- The only images loaded from the network are the official Google app icons (from
ssl.gstatic.com), any icon URL you add yourself, and the icon of a Home link that Chrome has no icon for. For that last case the extension asks Google's favicon service (www.google.com/s2/favicons) and sends it only the host name of that link. Local addresses (localhost, IP addresses) are never sent.
| Permission | Why it is needed |
|---|
bookmarks | Read and edit your bookmarks — the core of the extension |
storage | Save sidebar order, per-folder preferences, env rules, link notes and the Home look |
favicon | Show site icons from Chrome's own favicon cache |
activeTab | Read the current tab's title and URL, only when you open the popup or quick save |
tabs | See which saved links are open in a tab, to mark them "Open" in the list (kept only in memory), and to show the Saved mark on the toolbar icon |
The extension has a background service worker (background.js) only for the address bar search (tw), quick save (⌘⇧S) and the palette key (⌘⇧K, so it also works while the address bar has focus). It reads your bookmarks on each keystroke or key press and keeps nothing. The omnibox key is not a permission and shows no install warning.
How it works
Tab Warehouse is plain JavaScript with ES modules. There is no framework and no runtime dependency, and the source runs without a build step. For a release, esbuild bundles each page into one readable (not minified) script and one stylesheet in dist/. npm is used only for dev tools (esbuild, Husky, Prettier, commitlint).
- Chrome's bookmarks are the source of truth. The extension never caches titles or URLs. Every change calls
chrome.bookmarks, and the page re-renders from chrome.bookmarks.getTree() when Chrome reports a change.
- Extension-only data (sidebar order, categories, env rules, Home look) lives in
chrome.storage.local.
- Sections are real subfolders, so they survive an uninstall and sync with Chrome.
extension/ Everything Chrome loads (choose this folder in Load unpacked)
manifest.json Manifest V3: new tab override, popup, ⌘K, ⌘⇧S and ⌘⇧K commands
newtab.html/.js The main page: sidebar + folder page
popup.html/.js Toolbar popup: save the current tab
constants/ Fixed values: envs, tags, sorts, themes, limits, defaults
domain/ Pure logic: env detection, derive, sort, matrix, search, due dates, backup
services/ The only code that calls Chrome APIs: storage, bookmarks, tabs, omnibox, favicons, import
ui/ Shared DOM pieces: h() helper, toast, menu, badges, icons, pickers, export
state/ Shared page state and the actions that save it
views/ One folder per screen: sidebar, folder, search, schedule, board, home, palette, settings, popup
styles/ tokens.css, base.css, ui/ (one file per ui piece), views/ (one file per screen)
icons/ Extension icons (source: icons/logo.svg)
tools/make-icons.py Build the icon sizes from any logo
tools/build.mjs Release build: bundle extension/ into dist/ with esbuild (npm run build)
tools/package.sh Build dist/ from a clean export and zip it (--store: Web Store ZIP)
tests/ Unit, end-to-end and performance tests
site/ Website, live demo and screenshots (deployed to GitHub Pages)
docs/ Notes and requirements
The full behaviour spec is in .claude/rules/business-logic.md. Every rule there has at least one test.
Contributing
Contributions are welcome — bug reports, ideas and pull requests.
- Read CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, code style and the pull request checklist.
- Run
npm install once. It installs Prettier and the git hooks that format, test and check your commit messages.
- Look at the open issues, or open a new one before a large change.
- Run
./tests/run.sh and make sure it is green before you open a pull request.
Tests
No test dependencies: Node's built-in test runner and headless Chrome.
./tests/run.sh # syntax + unit + coverage gate + e2e on extension/, then build + e2e on dist/
./tests/run.sh popup # only e2e scenarios whose name contains "popup"
node tests/perf/memprobe.mjs # RAM, leak and render-speed check on the real extension
The e2e runner loads the real extension/newtab.html, extension/popup.html and extension/palette.html with a fake chrome.* API, so tests never touch your bookmarks. ./tests/run.sh then runs the same scenarios on the release build (runner.html?root=dist). To watch a scenario run:
python3 -I tests/serve.py 8799
# then open http://127.0.0.1:8799/tests/e2e/runner.html?only=<name>
Changelog
- Unreleased — The command palette opens as a toolbar popup, so its box has focus at once on a fresh new tab. Today's top list checklist, a fixed sidebar row above the folders (tick links, done links are deleted the next day with Undo, count on the row, a wide Up next bar on Home with the title on up to 2 lines); the view tabs are Home and Board again. Backups never carry a tick; only a visible tab deletes done links; Undo never restores a tick. Saved mark: a green ✓ on the toolbar icon, with the tooltip "Saved in ", while the open page is already bookmarked. A compact Save popup (380 px): one toolbar row, collapsible folders (→ / ←), and a one-line “Saved in +N more” in place of the warning box. Pinned and Recent folders as chips in the Save popup (up to 6,
Alt+1 … Alt+6), with a pin on each folder row and Pin in save popup in the sidebar folder menu.
- 2.5.0 — Due dates on links with an optional Google Calendar event; quick save (
⌘K / Ctrl+K) without the popup; the popup warns when a page is already saved and offers Save again; Settings › Shortcuts; the command palette moves to ⌘⇧K / Ctrl+Shift+K. Details in CHANGELOG.md.
- 2.4.0 — Full history in CHANGELOG.md.
- Command palette (⌘K) and
tw search from the address bar.
- Link notes and priority, a duplicate finder and your own tags (QA, UAT …).
- Popup: open this page in your other versions; Save always visible.
- 2.3.0
- Board view: every folder as a column of cards, grouped by category or in one row, with drag to move and reorder, add, delete with undo and a filter.
- Website with a live demo, and a release ZIP to download.
- Shipped files now live in
extension/.
- 2.2.0
- New installs start without built-in links; your name as the brand and a credit footer.
- Home: no Add link tile, space-above-tiles setting, missing icons fixed.
- Delete button on each link row; text size sliders for the sidebar and the page.
- Renamed to Tab Warehouse with a new terminal-style icon.
License
MIT © 2026 Sumonta Saha Mridul
