To close all tabs in a Chrome window at once, press Ctrl+Shift+W on Windows or ⌘+Shift+W on Mac. To close every tab except one, right-click it and choose Close other tabs. Before you close, save the tabs you may need — with Ctrl+Shift+D (⌘+Shift+D) or a tab manager — so closing doesn’t mean losing.
Every way to close tabs in bulk
| What you want | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Close the current tab | Ctrl+W | ⌘+W |
| Close all tabs in this window | Ctrl+Shift+W | ⌘+Shift+W |
| Close several chosen tabs | Ctrl+click or Shift+click the tabs, then Ctrl+W | ⌘+click or Shift+click, then ⌘+W |
| Close every tab except one | Right-click the tab → Close other tabs | |
| Close the tabs to the right | Right-click a tab → Close tabs to the right | |
| Quit Chrome (all windows) | ⋮ menu → Exit | ⌘+Q |
Ctrl+Shift+W: close the whole window
This is the real “close all tabs” shortcut. It closes the window you are in, with every tab inside it. If you have several Chrome windows, the others stay open. On a Mac, ⌘+Shift+W does the same.
Close several tabs you choose
Hold Ctrl (⌘ on Mac) and click tabs one by one to select them, or click the first tab and Shift-click the last to select everything in between. Then press Ctrl+W (⌘+W). Only the selected tabs close.
Close other tabs, close tabs to the right
Right-click the tab you want to keep and choose Close other tabs. Everything else in that window closes. Close tabs to the right is handy when your newest tabs pile up at the end of the row.
Quit Chrome completely
On Mac, ⌘+Q quits Chrome with all its windows. On Windows, use the ⋮ menu → Exit. Note that if Chrome is set to Continue where you left off (Settings → On startup), your tabs will come back the next time you open it — which may not be what you want when you are trying to start fresh.
Mouse-only ways to close tabs
- Middle-click a tab (press the scroll wheel) to close it without aiming for the small ×.
- Use the tab search list. Press Ctrl+Shift+A (⌘+Shift+A on Mac), hover over the tabs you don’t need, and click × on each. Handy when your tabs are spread over several windows.
- Close a Chrome tab group. If you use Chrome’s own tab groups, right-click the group’s label and choose Close group.
Closed too much? Get it back
Press Ctrl+Shift+T (⌘+Shift+T on Mac) straight away. If the last thing you closed was a whole window, it comes back with all its tabs. For older tabs, see how to reopen closed tabs in Chrome.
It works, but it is a rescue, not a plan. “Recently closed” only remembers so much, and history can be cleared.
Save first, then close
The reason most of us don’t close tabs is fear: “I might need that.” An open tab works as a reminder, a to-do list and a bookmark all at once, so closing it feels like throwing away a note. The shortcuts above are fast, but they don’t touch that feeling — which is why the tab bar fills up again by the next afternoon. Take the fear away and closing becomes easy.
- Bookmark all tabs: press Ctrl+Shift+D (⌘+Shift+D on Mac) to bookmark every tab in the window into one new folder. Then press Ctrl+Shift+W. Simple — but you end up with a pile of folders named by date that nobody sorts.
- Save them into groups: a tab manager keeps sets of tabs sorted by project, so you can reopen exactly the set you need. See how to save all open tabs in Chrome for the options.
Close all tabs with LB TAB Layers
LB TAB Layers sits in Chrome’s side panel (open it with Alt+T, or Option+T on Mac). Your groups are saved as real Chrome bookmark folders, so closing their tabs is always safe.
- ■ on a group — closes all of that group’s tabs. They stay saved.
- ▶ on a group — opens them all again, any time.
The tabs you haven’t sorted yet
Open tabs that aren’t in any group yet are listed under Solo Tabs at the bottom of the panel (for the current window). Two buttons there matter when you want a clean slate:
- Group all into a new group (the folder icon) — asks for a name and saves every Solo Tab into a new group, as bookmarks. Then press ■ on that group to close them all. This is the safe way to close everything.
- More actions → Close all tabs except active — closes every Solo Tab except the one you are looking at. These tabs are not saved, so use it only for tabs you are sure you don’t need. Tabs that are saved in a group are never closed by this button.
The free version allows up to 5 groups. If you hit the limit, drag the tabs into an existing group instead, or name the new group “Inbox” and sort it later.
A five-second routine for the end of the day
- Press ■ on each project group you worked on today.
- Look at Solo Tabs. Drag anything worth keeping into a group.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+W (⌘+Shift+W). Whatever is left was never worth keeping.
Tomorrow, press ▶ on the group you need, and you are back where you were. More on this rhythm in close all at once, open all at once, and on keyboard shortcuts in Chrome extension keyboard shortcuts.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What is the shortcut to close all tabs in Chrome?
Ctrl+Shift+W on Windows and ⌘+Shift+W on Mac close the current window with all its tabs. Other Chrome windows stay open.
Q. How do I close all tabs except the current one?
Right-click the tab you want to keep and choose Close other tabs. Every other tab in that window closes.
Q. How do I get my tabs back after closing the window by mistake?
Press Ctrl+Shift+T (⌘+Shift+T on Mac) right away. If the last thing you closed was a window, Chrome reopens it with all its tabs.
Q. How do I close all tabs without losing them?
Save them first. Ctrl+Shift+D (⌘+Shift+D) bookmarks every tab in the window into a folder. In LB TAB Layers, tabs in a group are saved as bookmarks, so ■ closes them and ▶ reopens them later.
▶ See it in action
Managing bookmarks and tabs together in the sidebar. (The video shows the Japanese UI.)
Close everything. Lose nothing.
Every group is a Chrome bookmark folder: ■ to close, ▶ to reopen. Try every feature free for 3 months.
Add to Chrome — it's free →