How to snooze tabs in Chrome
Snoozing a tab means closing it now and having it come back by itself at the time you choose. Here is what that means in Chrome, and how to do it in a few seconds with zzzTab.
What does it mean to snooze a tab?
Snoozing a tab is closing it for now and getting it back later, on its own, on the day and at the time you pick. It is the “remind me later” button, but for web pages.
It is different from a bookmark, which you have to remember to open, and from leaving the tab open, which keeps your tab bar full and your computer busy.
As far as we know, Chrome has no built-in button that reopens a tab at a time you choose. A tab snooze extension adds exactly that.
Snooze a tab with zzzTab, step by step
- Open the page you want to deal with later.
- Click the zzzTab icon in Chrome’s toolbar.
- Pick a time: a quick button (like tomorrow or the weekend), the calendar, or type it in your own words.
- Check the day and time zzzTab shows you, and confirm. The tab closes.
- At the time you chose, the tab opens again. If you left a note, it shows over the page until you close it.
You can snooze the tab, the ones you selected, the whole tab group or the whole window. After snoozing you have 5 seconds to undo it; until then the tab is still open.
Type when you want it back, in your own words
In the box in the popup, type it the way you would say it. Before snoozing, zzzTab shows you which day and time it understood. If it doesn’t understand, it snoozes nothing: it never picks a time for you.
30 min2h3dThat much time from now. Days land on your morning time.tomorrowmonday15 octend of monthThat day, at your morning time.tomorrow 3pmfriday 5pm15/10 18:30That day, at that time. Dates are day/month.tonighttomorrow afternoonThat part of the day.every friday 5pmweekdays 8:3015th of every monthfirst monday of every monthIt repeats: the tab comes back at its time again and again.somedayNo date and no alarm: it stays in your list until you open it.randomA surprise time between tomorrow and 7 days from now, during the day.What if Chrome is closed when the time comes?
An extension can’t wake up a closed Chrome, or a computer that is off or asleep. When you open Chrome, zzzTab opens the tabs that were already due, one at a time. Nothing is lost: they just arrive when you come back.
If several tabs are due at once, they open one by one with a few seconds between them, so they don’t pull you out of what you are doing.
Where your list lives
zzzTab has no account, no servers and no statistics. Your list is saved in your own browser, and Chrome stops the extension from connecting to the internet. The flip side: it doesn’t sync between computers. To move your list, export it and import it on the other one.
Ideas for using it
- An article you want to read tonight, not now.
- A bill or a form to deal with on Friday morning.
- A page to follow up on next Monday at 9.
- Something to look at again on the first Monday of every month.
- Anything that distracts you today but matters tomorrow.
Questions
Is zzzTab free?
Yes. It is free and has no ads.
Does it keep what I was typing in the tab?
No. zzzTab opens the page again by its address. It does not keep what you were typing.
Which browsers does it work in?
It is made for Chrome 116 or newer.
How do I move my snoozed tabs to another computer?
Export your list from Settings, under “Import & export”, and import the file on the other computer.