Tree style tabs in Chrome: your options
Updated October 5, 2026 · By Otter Potter, the maker of Taproot Tabs (not neutral; built-in options first).
On Firefox, Tree Style Tab and Sidebery show your tabs as a tree in a sidebar: a tab you open from a page nests under it, so research sessions stay grouped. Chrome doesn't do this on its own. Here's what Chrome offers, and how to get real tree tabs.
1. Tab groups (built in)
Right-click a tab and choose Add tab to new group to give a set of tabs a name and color, and collapse the group to hide them. Groups are flat (no tabs inside tabs), and you build them by hand, so they suit a few long-lived projects more than branching research.
2. Vertical tabs (built in)
Recent versions of Chrome can show the tab strip down the side of the window. It's easier to read many tab titles that way, but the list is still flat: tabs don't nest under the page that opened them.
3. A tree tabs extension
Extensions draw the tree in Chrome's side panel or in a separate window. The long-standing one is Tabs Outliner, which opens its tree in its own window and is powerful but has a learning curve. A number of newer extensions use the side panel. What to look for: automatic nesting, drag and drop that moves Chrome's real tabs, collapsing branches, and whether your tree survives a Chrome restart.
Taproot Tabs (we make this)
Taproot Tabs shows your tabs as a tree in Chrome's side panel. Tabs nest under the page that opened them; ⌘T / Ctrl+T starts a new tree; drag a branch and Chrome's tab bar follows; close a page and its children move up instead of vanishing; trees come back after a restart. You can save a branch as a workspace and reopen it later. Free covers the tree and one saved workspace; Pro ($9.99 once) adds unlimited workspaces, search, sleeping branches to free memory, tab colors and themes. It reads only tab titles, addresses and icons, and keeps everything in your browser.
Quick comparison
| Tab groups | Vertical tabs | Taproot Tabs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free, or $9.99 once |
| Tabs nest under their opener | No | No | Yes, automatically |
| Collapse a set of tabs | Yes (by hand) | No | Yes (any branch) |
| Save and reopen a set later | Saved groups | No | Workspaces |
Questions
- Can I put the tree on the left?
- Yes: Chrome Settings → Appearance → Side panel position.
- Is Taproot the same as Tree Style Tab?
- No. Tree Style Tab is a Firefox add-on by a different developer. Taproot brings the same idea to Chrome's side panel.