Custom Tab Blocker

A Chrome extension that stops sites from spawning new browser tabs. Add a site to your block list and any tab it tries to open is closed automatically. --- ## Features - 🚫 **Block new tabs per site** — listed sites can't spawn pop-ups or `target="_blank"` tabs. - 🌐 **Covers subdomains** — blocking `example.com` also blocks `news.example.com`. - 🎨 **Color-coded toolbar icon** — see each tab's state at a glance (green / red / orange / gray). - 👆 **One-click temporary unblock** — let one blocked tab open links (or block one unlisted tab); it resets when the tab closes. - ⚙️ **Inline options panel** — manage everything in a floating panel on the page, no extra tab. - 🔒 **Private by design** — no accounts, no network calls; your block list stays in your browser. --- ## Installation (unpacked) 1. Open Chrome and go to `chrome://extensions`. 2. Turn on **Developer mode** (top-right toggle). 3. Click **Load unpacked** and select the `Custom Tab Blocker` folder. 4. The icon appears in the toolbar. Pin it (puzzle-piece menu → pin) so you can always see its color. > If you rename or move the folder later, remove the old entry and **Load unpacked** > again from the new path — Chrome tracks unpacked extensions by folder location. --- ## The toolbar icon at a glance The icon color tells you the state of the **current tab**: | Color | Meaning | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 🟢 Green | Not blocked. This site isn't on your list. | | 🔴 Red | Blocked. This site is on your block list. | | 🟠 Orange | Temporary block on this one tab (you turned it on with a click). | | ⚪ Gray | The extension is disabled entirely, **or** this tab is temporarily unblocked (hover the icon to tell which). | Hover the icon to see a short description of the current state. --- ## Blocking a site You have two ways to add a site to the block list: - **Right-click the icon → "Block new tabs from this site"** — blocks the site you're currently on. Right-click again to choose "Remove blocking tabs for this site" to unblock it. - **Options panel** — type a domain (e.g. `example.com`) and click **Add**. You can paste a full URL like `https://www.example.com/page`; it's saved as `example.com`. Once a site is blocked, any new tab it tries to open (pop-ups, `target="_blank"` links, etc.) is closed automatically. Blocking a domain also covers its subdomains (e.g. blocking `example.com` also blocks `news.example.com`). --- ## Temporary override on one tab - **Single-click the icon on a blocked site** to temporarily *unblock* that tab, so it can open links. The icon turns **gray**. - **Single-click on a site that isn't blocked** to temporarily *block* that tab. The icon turns **orange**. - Click again to undo; either ends when the tab closes. (Does nothing while the extension is disabled.) No extra permissions are needed. ## Enabling / disabling the whole extension Right-click the icon and choose **Disable Custom Tab Blocker** (or **Enable…**). While disabled, the icon is gray and no tabs are blocked. Your block list is kept and comes back when you re-enable it. --- ## Opening the options Right-click the icon → **Options**. The settings open as a small floating panel right on the current page (no new tab). On pages that can't show the panel (chrome://, the Web Store, new tab) the full options page opens instead; it also works on blocked tabs. From there you can: - See whether this tab is blocked, temporarily unblocked/blocked, or not blocked. - Enable/disable the extension. - Add or remove blocked sites. ## Notes & troubleshooting - **The extension only blocks tabs opened *from* a blocked site.** It never touches tabs you open yourself (new-tab button, bookmarks, typing a URL). Note that anything opened from a blocked page is closed — including ⌘/middle-click links, "Open in new tab", and sign-in popups. To let those through, single-click the icon on that tab (temporary unblock) or remove the site from your block list. - **Sites on shared domains** (e.g. `me.github.io`, `x.blogspot.com`) are blocked individually, using the Public Suffix List. - **A harmless console warning** like `Unchecked runtime.lastError: No tab with id: …` can appear when a tab is closed at the exact moment its icon is being updated. It doesn't affect blocking and can be ignored. - Changes to the block list and options take effect immediately — no reload needed. > **Features** > • Block new tabs on a per-site basis > • Color-coded toolbar icon shows each tab's state at a glance > • One-click temporary unblock (or block) for a single tab > • Inline options panel — manage everything without opening a new tab > • Private by design: no accounts, no tracking, no network calls > > Right-click the toolbar icon to block the current site, open options, or disable > the extension. Single-click to temporarily unblock (or block) the current tab. > > Note: any tab opened from a blocked site is closed, including sign-in popups; remove > the site from the list first.