Tab Tools
A Chrome extension for efficiently managing large numbers of open tabs, built to fill the gap left by Chrome's default tab management with grouping, session saving, batch actions, and keyboard shortcuts.
Overview
GoalEfficiently manage a large number of tabs in Chrome.
InspirationOther browsers offer advanced tab management, but Chrome's default system felt lacking.
The process
This project (along with UI Translator) is one of a series of personal projects where I lean on AI-assisted IDEs like Cursor to accelerate development, while personally driving the project from problem definition through to release rather than just focusing on UX design:
Identify the problemStarted with a real-world issue: Chrome's default tab management couldn't keep up with dozens of open tabs.
Draft requirementsDefined features and success criteria, using AI to generate early concepts and prototypes.
Design & prototypeHand-coded the UI for the popup and options screens to keep the extension lightweight and fast.
Develop the MVPStarted with basic functions and scaffolded the project so new features could be added incrementally.
Test & iterateUsed it as my own daily driver and gathered feedback from friends and family to refine functionality and UX.
Document & reflectKept a readme and roadmap so I could pick the project back up between AI sessions without losing context.
Development highlights
Incremental feature growthStarted with basic functions (downloading a list of open tab URLs and bulk opening of pasted URLs) and expanded to more complex actions like tab grouping, duplicate closures, saving and restoring sessions, import/export capabilities, page URL extraction and batch-opening, along with keyboard shortcuts.
Result & impact
Greater efficiencyMy workflow and browser usage is less stressful and more efficient now, and multiple people have expressed interest in using it themselves.
Ongoing evolutionNew ideas and incremental updates keep Tab Tools relevant and invaluable to my daily routine.
Conclusion
Building Tab Tools gave me a 360-degree view of product creation, from defining the problem through to shipping and gathering real user feedback. It reinforced how much AI-assisted development rewards clear documentation and requirements, much like good teamwork, and it’s a workflow I’ve since carried back into professional projects.