How to open specific pages when Chrome starts (and a more flexible way)

Go to Settings → On startup, choose Open a specific page or set of pages, and add the pages you want — or click Use current pages. Chrome will open them every time it starts. If your daily set changes by day or project, save each set as a group and open it with one click instead.

Mail, calendar, the team chat, the project board. If you open the same pages every morning, Chrome can do it for you. Here is how to set it up, where the built-in option runs out, and what to do when one fixed set isn’t enough.

Chrome’s three startup options

Open the ⋮ menu → Settings → On startup (or type chrome://settings/onStartup). You will see three choices:

You can only pick one. That matters later.

How to open specific pages on startup

1. Open chrome://settings/onStartup.
2. Select Open a specific page or set of pages.
3. Click Add a new page and paste an address. Repeat for each page.
4. Or open all the pages you want in tabs first, then click Use current pages to add them in one go.
5. Close Chrome completely and open it again to check.

To change the list later, click the ⋮ next to a page to edit or remove it.

Startup pages vs. the home page

These two are easy to mix up. Startup pages open automatically when Chrome starts. The home page is what opens when you click the house-shaped Home button next to the address bar. The Home button is hidden by default; turn it on under Settings → Appearance → Show home button, and choose what it opens there.

A common setup is to put your most important page on both: it opens at launch, and the Home button takes you back to it during the day.

Which pages belong on the list?

Keep the list short. Every page on it loads at the same moment, which slows down the start, and a page you rarely use becomes one more tab to close. A good test: if you would open the page on at least four days out of five, it belongs. If not, it belongs in a set you open on demand (more on that below).

Things that can get in the way

• Chrome never really closed. On Windows, Chrome may keep running in the background, and on Mac closing the last window doesn’t quit the app. Startup pages only open on a real start. Quit Chrome from the menu (on Mac, Chrome → Quit Google Chrome).
• The setting is managed. On a work or school computer, the startup pages may be set by your organization. Chrome shows a note when a setting is managed.
• An extension took over. Some extensions change the startup page. If your list keeps changing, check chrome://extensions.
• Several profiles. Each Chrome profile has its own startup setting.

Where the built-in setting falls short

• One list for every day. Monday’s planning pages and Friday’s report pages can’t be separate.
• It replaces “continue where you left off.” If you choose specific pages, Chrome won’t bring back yesterday’s tabs. (For that side of things, see how to reopen closed tabs.)
• Only at launch. If Chrome is already open, there is no button to open the set again.
• All or nothing. Every page on the list opens, even on days you don’t need them.

A more flexible way: daily sets as groups

Instead of one fixed list, keep each routine as a group in LB TAB Layers and open it when you need it:

1. Make a “Morning” group. Open your daily pages, then drag them from Solo Tabs into the group. If you are starting fresh, the presets include a ready-made Morning Routine group you can edit.
2. Make other sets the same way — “Monday planning,” “Client A,” “Month-end report.”
3. Open a set with one click. Press ▶ on a group, or click the group name, to open all of its tabs at once.
4. Close it when you are done. Press ■ and the tabs close but stay saved.

Because each group is a Chrome bookmark folder, your sets sync to other computers with your bookmarks and survive restarts and updates. Press Alt+T (Option+T on Mac) to open the panel from anywhere. For opening many links in one go, see how to open multiple tabs at once.

Combine the two

A setup that works for many people:

• Set Chrome to Open a specific page or set of pages with only the one or two pages you truly open every day, like mail and calendar.
• Keep everything else as groups and open them with ▶ when the day calls for it.

Chrome starts quickly because it only loads a couple of pages, and the rest of your routine is one click away instead of twenty. On a slow morning you open one group; on a busy Monday you open three. The decision about what to load moves from a settings page you set up once to the moment you actually need the tabs.

If you want the panel itself in front of you at launch, LB TAB Layers has a Startup Display setting with Off, Peek and Always open. With Peek, the sidebar slides out once on the first web page you open after Chrome starts, then tucks away — a reminder that your groups are there. It works in the Overlay display mode, which is a PRO feature (included in the free trial), and not on the new tab page or chrome:// pages.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How do I make Chrome open specific pages when it starts?

Go to Settings → On startup, choose Open a specific page or set of pages, then click Add a new page for each one, or Use current pages to add the tabs you have open.

Q. Why doesn’t Chrome open my startup pages?

Usually because Chrome never fully closed: it may keep running in the background on Windows, and on Mac closing the window doesn’t quit the app. Other causes are a setting managed by your organization or an extension that changes the startup page.

Q. Can I have different startup pages for different days?

Not with the built-in setting, which allows one list. Saving each set of pages as a group in LB TAB Layers lets you open whichever set you need with one click.

Q. Can I open specific pages and also continue where I left off?

No, Chrome lets you choose only one startup option. A common workaround is to continue where you left off and keep your daily set as a group you open when needed.

▶ See it in action

Managing bookmarks and tabs together in the sidebar. (The video shows the Japanese UI.)