I had 47 tabs open yesterday. Not a record, but enough that the tab bar had collapsed them all into unreadable favicon slivers.
I'd tried other tab managers. Most either add too much friction (you have to actively "organize" tabs) or too little utility (they just show you a list of what you already have).
So I built Tab Manager & Session Saver — a Firefox extension that lets you save tab sessions, name them, and restore them later.
The core design decision: save vs. organize
Most tab management approaches fall into two camps:
- Organize — sort, group, label your open tabs
- Save — snapshot your current tabs and restore later
I went with save. The reason: I don't want to organize tabs. I want to get rid of them without losing them. The session-save model maps to how I actually work: "I'm done with this research task, save it, close everything, start fresh."
How session saving works in Firefox WebExtensions
The browser.tabs API gives you everything you need:
// Save current session async function saveSession(name) { const tabs = await browser.tabs.query({ currentWindow: true }); const session = { name, created: Date.now(), tabs: tabs.map(t => ({ url: t.url, title: t.title, favicon: t.favIconUrl })) }; const { sessions = [] } = await browser.storage.local.get('sessions'); sessions.push(session); await browser.storage.local.set({ sessions }); } // Restore a session async function restoreSession(session) { for (const tab of session.tabs) { await browser.tabs.create({ url: tab.url }); } } Sessions live in browser.storage.local. Nothing is synced to a server. If you want sync, Firefox Sync will replicate extension storage automatically — no extra work needed.
What I added beyond basic session save
Named sessions — "Research: climate policy", "Work: sprint planning", etc. Naming forces you to have an intent.
One-click restore — open a saved session in a new window without closing your current tabs.
Bookmarks integration — the extension also works as a quick bookmark manager for the current session. Fast save + fast access without leaving the tab bar.
No tab limit — Chrome has had issues with extensions exceeding storage quotas on large sessions. Firefox's storage API is more permissive.
The UX I cut
Auto-save — I prototyped this. It creates noise. If the extension is auto-saving sessions every hour, you end up with 24 sessions named "Auto 2026-11-04 14:00" and you've just moved the problem. Manual save keeps it intentional.
Tab groups — Chrome's native tab groups are useful. Firefox doesn't have a native equivalent yet. I decided not to build a custom tab group system in the extension — it's a lot of UI complexity for something the browser should provide.
Cloud sync — same reasoning as my voice notes extension: a sync server means accounts, auth, and infrastructure costs. Firefox Sync covers this for free if users want it.
Install it
Tab Manager & Session Saver on Firefox Add-ons
It's free, works immediately on install, and stores everything locally.
If you're someone who opens research tabs and never gets back to them, the session-save workflow is worth trying for a week.
The whole extension ecosystem on Firefox AMO is under-explored. If you've been meaning to build a Firefox extension, the WebExtensions API is cleaner than you might expect.
