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Vertical tabs in Firefox: Yes, it’s really possible!

Vertical tabs will change the way you browse the web. Here's how to properly set
them up in Firefox, with horizontal tabs hidden.

By Jared Newman
PCWorld AUG 9, 2022 3:30 AM PDT

Image: Jared Newman / Foundry

For a certain kind of power user, Firefox’s lack of vertical tab support might seem
like a dealbreaker.

Vertical tabs are a great way to manage dozens of browser tabs in a single
window. At the expense of some horizontal page real estate—which most websites
don’t use anyway—each tab remains the same size, so you never lose sight of page
titles. And if you open more tabs than your screen can accommodate, it’s easy to
scroll up and down the list with your mousewheel or trackpad.

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I’m admittedly not a regular Firefox user, but I recently started dabbling in a more
privacy-centric fork called Librewolf, and was quickly reminded of a reason I
dri�ed away from Firefox in the �rst place: Unlike Microso� Edge, Vivaldi, and
some other up-and-coming browsers such as Arc, Firefox doesn’t o�cially support
vertical tabs—and neither does Librewolf by extension.

Uno�cially, however, there is a way to set up vertical tabs in Firefox and other
Firefox-based browsers. It involves combining a vertical tab browser extension
with a little-known way of customizing Firefox’s menus, so that the horizontal tab
row becomes hidden. (I’ve seen too many hastily-written guides that omit the
second step, even though it’s critical for maximizing screen real estate.)

While Mozilla is reportedly considering vertical tab support in Firefox, you don’t
have to wait for the company to make up its mind. Here’s how to set them up right
now:

Pick a vertical tab extension

Of all the vertical tab Firefox add-ons I’ve tried, the best is Tree Style Tab. By
default, it preserves the look and feel of Firefox’s current “Proton” design, but you
can also select other designs such as the old “Photon” theme and a high-contrast
layout.

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Tree Style Tab o�ers several styles for the vertical tab row.

Image: Jared Newman / Foundry

Even better, you can easily arrange tabs into groups by dragging and dropping.
Just move one tab on top of the other, and it’ll create a new group. You can then
click the arrow next to any group to expand or collapse the tabs inside. (You’ll �nd
that vertical tabs are especially conducive to grouping as well.)

To get started with Tree Style Tab, just install it from Firefox’s add-ons site. Or, try
out a couple of other extensions instead:

• Tab Center Reborn doesn’t support tab grouping, but it does have a built-in
tab search tool and can show larger thumbnail page previews for each tab
when space permits.
• Sidebery lets you arrange tabs into tree-style subpages, but you can also
create multiple sets of vertical tabs, using the top navigation bar to switch
between them.

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Tab Center Reborn o�ers thumbnail page previews and a built-in search tool.

Image: Jared Newman / Foundry

Hiding Firefox’s top tab

A�er setting up a vertical tab extension in Firefox, it’s time to hide the standard
horizontal tab row at the top.

To do that, you’ll tap into an especially geeky Firefox feature that lets you
customize the menu system using CSS code. Scary as this may sound, the
instructions for setting it up are fairly straightforward.

EXPLORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• How can you enable vertical tabs in Firefox?

• What are the advantages of using vertical tabs in browsers?

• Which browsers o�cially support vertical tabs?

• What is Librewolf and how does it di�er from Firefox?

• Are there any privacy-focused alternatives to Firefox with vertical tab support?

Ask your own question... A.I. Search

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First, you must enable Firefox’s CSS customization feature, which is turned o� by
default:

• Enter about:con�g in the address bar and select “Accept the Risk and
Continue.”
• Under “Search preference name,” paste the following text:
toolkit.legacyUserPro�leCustomizations.stylesheets
• Tap the toggle button on the right so the preference says “true.”

Image: Jared Newman / Foundry

Now, you must create a custom CSS �le to hide the horizontal tab bar:

• Enter about:support in the address bar.

• Scroll down to the section that says “Pro�le Folder,” and click the “Open
Folder” button.

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Image: Jared Newman / Foundry

• Create a new subfolder called “chrome” within the folder you just opened.
• In the new “chrome” folder, create a new text �le.
• Rename the text �le to userChrome.css (with .css instead of .txt as the �le
extension).
• Using a text editor such as NotePad, open the userChrome.css �le.
• Copy all the text on this page, then paste it into the userChrome.css �le.

Your userChrome.css �le should look like this.

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The horizontal tab bar should now be invisible, leaving only a streamlined menu
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window buttons. And if(Education
you enter full-screen mode, the vertical tab bar will
become hidden as well. Discount)

As always, you can customize the top navigation bar by right clicking on it, then

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SPONSOREDselecting
STORIES “Customize Toolbar.” I suggest adding some �exible space next to the
address bar, giving you a space to click and drag the window around.

sponsoredWant to restore
by OVHcloud the top tab row? Simply return to the “chrome” folder as
Global Cloud Providerdelete
described, the userChrome.css �le, and restart Firefox. (You can also
rename the �le to something like hiddentabs.css, then rename it back if you want
to hide the top tab row again.)

Congrats on giving yourself a far superior way to manage tabs in Firefox. With any
luck, Mozilla won’t be too far behind, rendering all this extra work unnecessary.

Sign up for Jared’s Advisorator newsletter to get a tech tip in your inbox every
Tuesday.

Author: Jared Newman

Looking for Reliable VPS? Get Your Project Up and
Discover the Power ofJared
Our Newman has been helping folks make sense of technology for
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Dedicated Servers
over a decade, writing for Worldwide
PCWorld, Datacentres
TechHive, and elsewhere. He also Free Trial' Offer
publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice
and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving money on TV service.

Recent stories by Jared Newman:

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