Firefox Finally Did It

Thousands of users wanted it, so Firefox delivered it. Tab Groups are now live to help you declutter and stay organized while browsing.

Three years, 4,500 up-votes, and several dozen beta builds after the first plea appeared on Mozilla Connect (still the number one most upvoted post), Firefox users are finally getting the feature they have been clamoring for: native Tab Groups.

Starting with Firefox 138, the desktop browser lets anyone corral their tabs into collapsible, color-coded collections, trimming visual clutter and—Mozilla hopes—restoring a bit of cognitive calm.

How does this new feature work? At launch, the functionality is straightforward:

  • Create: Drag one tab over another and pause; Firefox forms a new group.
  • Label: Give the group a name, pick a highlight color, or leave it blank for a minimalist look.
  • Refine: Drag tabs in or out, right-click the group label to move it to a new window, or save-and-close the set to reclaim space on the bar.
  • Navigate: Single-click to collapse or expand; the caret-style “List all tabs” menu keeps dormant groups within reach.
Firefox Tab Groups
Firefox Tab Groups

But that’s just the beginning. While the initial release focuses on manual organization, Firefox Nightly already includes an AI-assisted layer. Here’s how it works.

The prototype scans open tabs locally, suggests topical names, and auto-bundles related pages. Because all processing happens on the user’s computer, the company says, neither raw content nor behavioral signals are uploaded to the cloud.

Mozilla stresses that version 138 is merely “done for now.” Nested groups, rule-based sorting, and richer WebExtension APIs remain on the roadmap, contingent on real-world feedback. Users can file suggestions or vote on existing ones through Mozilla Connect, continuing the feedback loop that birthed the feature in the first place.

Lastly, curious power users can flip the browser.tabs.smartGroups preference in Nightly to preview on-device AI grouping—just remember the prototype tag means rough edges are part of the deal.

For more information, see the announcement on Mozilla’s blog or check out this post.

Bobby Borisov

Bobby Borisov

Bobby, an editor-in-chief at Linuxiac, is a Linux professional with over 20 years of experience. With a strong focus on Linux and open-source software, he has worked as a Senior Linux System Administrator, Software Developer, and DevOps Engineer for small and large multinational companies.

7 Comments

  1. Thomas

    I hope this is not auto enabled and if it is i hope there is a way to disable it since i really dislike group tabs

  2. Dislike group tabs

    I guess its ok for those who like this but i hate this feature on my work computer and some how i end up accidentally doing this on the edge browser i use at work and when you are very busy it is annoying since i then have to figure out how to undo it and my work pc is locked down where i can not just change things. I really do not see the point of group tabs since even when i got a lot of tabs open this feature would still not be helpful. I also will never have so many tabs open all the time that i need to start organizing even more just to keep track of them. I do however like the bookmarks toolbar and have it set to show at all times. i usually have about 9 tabs open at work in a specific order and a group feature is not useful to me since i have each tab open in a specific order that i have memorized.

  3. Ricardo

    I don’t like tab groupng (and I have a lot of tabs open regularly but I manage them the way I want) but I really dislike auto/”smart” tab grouping.

    As long as I can disable that functionality I won’t complain, evidently a lot of people find it useful

  4. james

    Couldnt care less uninstalled firefox 2 Months a go

    1. z

      Cool story bro

  5. severus

    Another bling bling worthless app

  6. Alex Chudnovsky

    The funny thing is that Firefox actually pioneered workspaces but dropped it later.

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