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How to move your Chrome tabs and tab groups to a new computer

Updated October 27, 2026

New computer, or about to reinstall Windows? Your bookmarks and passwords follow your Google Account. Your open tabs and tab groups only do if the right setting is on. 5 people said they have the same question on one Chrome Help thread after it went wrong (Lost Chrome Tab Groups After Windows Reinstallation). Do part 1 before you wipe or hand back the old computer.

Part 1: on the old computer, before you switch

1. Turn on "History and tabs" sync

  1. Sign in to Chrome with your Google Account, if you aren't already.
  2. Open ⋮, then Settings, then You and Google, and select your account name.
  3. Turn on History and tabs (Google's sync help).

With that on, Chrome saves changes to your tab groups and syncs them to your other devices (Google's tab help). Leave the old computer running for a few minutes afterward so it can finish.

2. Bookmark every window, as a backup

In each window, press Ctrl+Shift+D (Mac: ⌘+Shift+D). Chrome saves all of that window's open tabs as bookmarks in a new folder (Google's shortcut list). Name the folder so you'll know it. Bookmarks sync with your Google Account too (Google's sync help), so this is a second route that doesn't depend on tab sync.

3. Keep a safety copy of your Chrome folder

Quit Chrome, then copy this folder to a USB drive or cloud storage (Chromium's user data documentation):

  • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data
  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome

Google doesn't document moving this folder to another computer, so treat it as a safety net, not the main plan. If sync missed something, the old data still exists and a technician can work from it.

Part 2: on the new computer

  1. Install Chrome, sign in with the same Google Account, and check that History and tabs is on.
  2. Open ⋮, then Tab groups, to find your saved groups (Google's tab help).
  3. Open ⋮, then History, then History, and choose Tabs from other devices on the left to see tabs that were open on the old computer (Google's sync help).
  4. For the folders you made in step 2, press Ctrl+Shift+O (Mac: ⌘+Option+B) to open the Bookmark Manager, right-click a folder and choose Open all.

Already reinstalled and the groups are gone?

  • Sign in on the new install with the same account and give sync a few minutes. Then check Tab groups and Tabs from other devices.
  • Check any other computer or phone that's signed in to the same account. Don't delete or ungroup anything there: that removes the group on every device (Google's tab help).
  • If sync for History and tabs was off, your groups lived only on the old drive. Check whether you have a backup of the old computer (for example Windows File History or Mac Time Machine) that includes the Chrome folder above.

Questions

Does signing in to Chrome move my open tabs?

Only if History and tabs is turned on. Bookmarks, passwords and settings are saved to your account when you sign in, but tabs and history are a separate switch (Google's sync help).

I use a work computer. Why didn't my tabs sync?

Your organization may manage Chrome and limit sync. Ask your IT team before the old laptop is wiped, and bookmark every window (step 2) either way.

So it never happens again

Sync helps when it's on, but it's easy to find out too late that it wasn't. That's why we made Never Lose Tabs, a Chrome extension that keeps its own copies of your tabs:

  • Restore points, automatically. As you browse, it saves every window, tab, tab group and pinned tab. There's nothing to click and nothing to remember.
  • An hourly backup file you hold. Every hour you browse, it writes a backup file to Downloads/NeverLoseTabs. It's outside Chrome, so it survives a reinstall of Chrome or of the extension, and you can copy it to a new computer.
  • A Restore button after a crash. If Chrome comes back with a big part of your tabs missing, the icon shows a red !. Click it, then Restore, and every window comes back, with your tab groups' names and colors.
  • Free protection, forever. Everything is unlocked for 14 days. After that, auto-save, crash recovery, backup files and restore stay free. Pro (folders, tags, notes and more) is a one-time $5, not a subscription.

It can't bring back tabs lost before you install it. It protects you from today on. It runs on Chrome on your computer, not on phones.

Add to Chrome: freeHow it works

Moving with Never Lose Tabs: copy the newest file from Downloads/NeverLoseTabs to the new computer, install the extension there, and choose Restore from a backup file on its Shield page. Restoring only adds; it never overwrites what's there.

We make Never Lose Tabs. Chrome is a trademark of Google LLC. Never Lose Tabs is made by Coding Friend LLC and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.