Open new tabs next to the current one, not at the end of the strip. Per-trigger rules for link clicks, Ctrl+T, and Ctrl+Shift+T.
Users
286
+156 in 30 days
Rating
4.5 / 5
−0.50 in 30 days
Ratings
6
+2 in 30 days
Store rank
#55K
#46K among extensions
Version
1.1.2
updated 10 Oct 2026
Users
monthly, 6 months
Latest, 16 Oct 2026:286 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 6 months
Latest, 16 Oct 2026:6 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About Anchrd Tabs - Open Next to Current
Chrome decides for itself where new tabs land - often at the end of the strip, far from what you were reading. Anchrd Tabs puts you back in control.
Set exactly where new tabs open, independently for each way you open them:
- Link clicks (middle-click, Ctrl+click, target=_blank) - open right of the current tab by default
- Blank new tab (Ctrl+T, the + button) - independently configurable
- Reopened tabs (Ctrl+Shift+T) - independently configurable
Each trigger can be set to: Right of current, Left of current, End of strip, Beginning of strip, or Chrome default.
Extra controls, all optional:
- Focus when opening: decide whether new link-click or blank tabs open in the foreground or background. Useful if you want to queue up links without losing your place.
- After closing a tab, activate: choose which tab gets focus next - the left neighbour, right neighbour, the tab that opened the closed one (the opener), the last tab you used, or Chrome's default.
- Join opener's tab group: tabs opened from a link inside a grouped tab automatically join that group.
- Prevent duplicate tabs: if you open a link that is already open in the window, Anchrd Tabs switches to the existing tab instead of opening a second one - even if that page has since redirected.
Plays nicely with the rest of Chrome
- Split View: a split pair is treated as one unit, so new tabs open beside the pair rather than between its halves.
- Tab groups: tabs Chrome deliberately creates inside a group stay where they are.
- Session restore: when Chrome reopens your previous tabs at startup, Anchrd Tabs leaves their order and groups untouched.
How it works
Anchrd Tabs runs entirely in the background. It has no access to page content - it only reads tab metadata (position, URL, group membership) to decide where to place new tabs. Settings are saved to Chrome Sync, so your preferences follow you across devices.
Privacy
- No data is collected, stored externally, or transmitted anywhere.
- No analytics, no telemetry, no third-party libraries.
- No host permissions - Anchrd Tabs never touches the content of any web page.
- The only permissions declared are tabs, storage and sessions - each used directly for the features described above.
Full privacy policy: https://griffentek.github.io/anchrd/privacy
Known limitations
- Ctrl+N (new window) is not intercepted - Chrome does not give extensions enough information to classify that trigger reliably.
- "Last used" history is kept for the whole browser session. After a full browser restart it is rebuilt from recent tab activity, so the very first close may fall back to Chrome's default.
- Incognito: not enabled by default. You can allow it on the extension's details page at chrome://extensions.