How to Open Recently Closed Tabs in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari
If you’ve closed a tab you didn’t mean to close in your browser, it’s easy to reopen that tab. You can also open other recently closed tabs.
I tend to open a lot of tabs while browsing the web. After a while, I try to close some so the browser doesn’t get sluggish. But, what do I do if I close a tab I didn’t mean to close?
Luckily, it’s easy to open recently closed tabs in your desktop browser, just like it is on your iPhone. We’ll show you how in the four popular browsers on Windows and Mac.
Chrome (Windows and Mac)
To open the most recently closed tab in Chrome, right-click on an empty part of the tab bar and select Reopen closed tab from the popup menu. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac.
NOTE: If you right-click on a tab, instead of on an empty part of the tab bar, the Reopen closed tab option is not available.
Repeatedly selecting Reopen closed tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.
You can also access recently closed tabs in your browsing history. This method allows you to pick which tab you want to open.
To access your browsing history, click the Chrome menu button (three horizontal dots) in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Then, move your mouse over History.
A short list of recently closed tabs displays under Recently closed on the submenu. Select the one you want to open.
Firefox (Windows and Mac)
To open the most recently closed tab in Firefox, right-click on the tab bar and select Undo Close Tab from the popup menu or press Ctrl + Shift + T on Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac.
NOTE: Unlike Chrome, in Firefox you can right-click on any tab or on an empty area on the tab bar to access the Undo Close Tab option. The option is in a different place on the popup menu depending on where you right-clicked.
Repeatedly selecting Undo Close Tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.
You can also open recently closed tabs from the browsing history in Firefox.
Click the menu button in the upper-right corner of the browser window and then select Library.
On the Library menu, click History.
Click Recently Closed Tabs on the History menu.
You can also access recently visited sites under Recent History on the History menu or select View History Sidebar to access lists of previously visited sites by time period. To close the History sidebar, click the X button in the upper-right corner of the pane.
On the Recently Closed Tabs menu, click the site you want to open again.
To open all the recently closed tabs in the list, select Restore All Tabs at the bottom.
You can also access all your browsing history by clicking Show All History at the bottom of the History menu.
On the Library dialog, your browsing history is listed by time periods. Select a time period to show a list of sites visited then. Double-click on a site in the list to open it on the current tab.
You can also delete sites from your browsing history by right-clicking on the site and selecting Delete Page from the popup menu.
Microsoft Edge Chromium (Windows and Mac)
To open the most recently closed tab in Microsoft Edge, right-click on a tab and select Reopen closed tab or press Ctrl + Shift + T in Windows or Command + Shift + T on Mac.
NOTE: Unlike Chrome, in Edge you can right-click on any tab or on an empty area on the tab bar to access the Reopen Closed Tab option. The option is in a different place on the popup menu depending on where you right-clicked.
Repeatedly selecting Reopen closed tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.
You can also access recently closed tabs in Edge in your browsing history. This method allows you to pick which tab you want to open.
To access your browsing history, click the menu button (three horizontal dots) in the upper-right corner of the browser window. Then, move your mouse over History.
A short list of Recently closed tabs displays on the submenu. Click the one you want to open.
Safari (Mac)
To open the most recently closed tab in Safari, go to Edit > Undo Close Tab, or press Command + Z. To close the same tab again go to Edit > Redo Close Tab or press Command + Shift + Z.
Repeatedly selecting Undo Close Tab or pressing the keyboard shortcut opens previously closed tabs in the order they were closed.
NOTE: The keyboard shortcuts won’t work if you perform another undoable action after closing a tab.
To open a specific recently closed tab, go to History > Recently Closed and select a site from the submenu or press Shift + Command + T.
Safari’s New Tab button on the tab bar has a hidden feature. You can use it to access recently closed tabs.
Click and hold the plus icon on the right side of the tab bar. Keep holding the mouse button down while you move the mouse through the list. Pause on the web page you want to open and release the mouse button.
NOTE: This list gets cleared when you exit Safari.
You can also see a list of recently closed web pages on a tab so you can scroll through them.
NOTE: This History list is preserved when you exit Safari so use this method if you want to open a web page you closed in a previous browsing session.
Go to History > Show All History.
Your browsing history is listed on the current tab, grouped by dates.
You can also remove any web page from the history by right-clicking on the web page in the list and selecting Delete.