Tabula Rasa od fcueto

Tabula Rasa: Look ma, no mouse!

A keyboard-first simple tab manager that lets you navigate, search, and close tabs instantly—all without touching your mouse. It also allows to search (and remove) items from your history!

Quick Start

Press Alt+Shift+Period (customizable) to launch, use J/K to navigate, Enter to switch tabs. S to access the search box. Close individual tabs with X, or select multiple tabs with Space and batch-close with Ctrl+Enter.

Use prefixes in the search box (more info below) to restrict your searches.

Core Features

Low-latency tab control for power users:

• Search & filter tabs instantly as you type
• Navigate with Vim-style J/K keys (or jump to top/bottom with Ctrl+J/K)
• Batch operations: Select multiple tabs with Space, close all selected with Ctrl+Enter
• Sort tabs by browser order, most recent, or oldest (1/2/3 keys)
• Two views: Compact popup for quick actions, or full-page view with URL and metadata
• Customizable: Change launch hotkey, default view, layout, and behavior preferences

Keyboard Shortcuts

Once the tab list has focus (press Enter after searching), these shortcuts work:

• Alt-Shift-Period — Launch Tabula Rasa (can be changed in Options)
• J/K — Navigate down/up
• Ctrl/Cmd + J/K — Jump to top/bottom of the list
• Enter — Switch to focused tab
• X — Close focused tab
• Space — Toggle selection
• Ctrl/Cmd + Enter — Close all selected tabs
• P — Toggle pinned tabs
• A — Select/deselect all visible tabs
• 1/2/3 — Switch sorting: Browser / Recent / Oldest
• S / Esc — S focuses search / Esc clears search
• L — Toggle horizontal/vertical layout (Full View only)
• Q — Exit Tabula Rasa (popup or full view)

Privacy First

All tab data stays in your browser. No accounts, no tracking, nothing is ever sent to external servers.

Perfect for developers, researchers, and anyone who manages dozens of tabs and wants to do it efficiently with just the keyboard.

🚀 Full Keyboard Workflow Example 1

Follow this step-by-step example to experience the core value of Tabula Rasa—managing your tabs without touching the mouse.

1. Launch: Press Alt-Shift-Period (the default hotkey, which you can change in the Options panel).
2. Filter/Focus: Since the search box is focused by default (a configurable option), type a substring like "docs" to filter the list. Then press Enter to move the focus from the search box to the list of tabs.
3. Navigate: Use the J key to move focus down the list, and the K key to move focus up.
4. Select Tabs to Close: When focused on a tab you want to close later, press Spacebar to toggle its selection checkbox. Repeat this process for multiple tabs.
5. Close Focused Tab: If you immediately want to close the tab currently in focus, press X. The focus automatically shifts to the next tab.
6. Switch to Tab: Find a tab you want to switch to and continue working on. While it's in focus, press Enter. Tabula Rasa will close, and your browser will immediately jump to that tab.
7. Batch Close: After relaunching, if you have selected tabs remaining, press Ctrl/Cmd + Enter to close all selected tabs at once.
8. Exit: Press Q to exit Tabula Rasa (works in both popup and full views).

🚀 Full Keyboard Workflow Example 2

1. Launch the app
2. Press S to focus on the search bar (if you're not there already)
3. Type a search query to filter the list.
4. Press Enter to go to the tab list.
5. Select the tab you want (using J/K to navigate)
6. Press Enter for the browser to refocus to that tab.

🔍 Advanced Search Features

The search box supports advanced filtering with prefixes and multiple search terms. All searches are case-insensitive.

Field-Specific Search

Use prefixes to restrict your search to specific fields:

• url: prefix restricts search to URLs only.
  Example: url:github finds tabs with "github" in the URL.
• title: prefix restricts search to tab titles only.
  Example: title:docs finds tabs with "docs" in the title.
• history: prefix makes the search on the browser's history instead.
  Example: hist:tutorial finds tabs with "tutorial" in the title and/or URL.
• hist: same as "history:"
• No prefix (default): Terms without prefixes search both title and URL.
  Example: mail finds tabs with "mail" in either the title or URL.

Multiple Terms with AND Logic

Space-separated terms use AND logic—all terms must match for a tab to be shown:

• test url:git finds tabs with "test" (in title or URL) AND "git" in the URL.
• mail sync plus finds tabs containing "mail" AND "sync" AND "plus" anywhere (title or URL).

👁️ Views at a Glance

Both views share the same filters and selections, ensuring a seamless experience when switching.

Popup View: Quick, compact overlay for immediate navigation and closing. Launched via toolbar icon or launch hotkey

Full View: Spacious layout showing URL and Last Accessed metadata.

⚙️ Customization (Options Panel)

Access the Options panel (press O or click the button) to configure persistent preferences:

• Launch Hotkey: Change the keyboard shortcut (e.g., F9, Ctrl+Comma). The author prefers Ctrl+Shift+Comma as it seems to conflict little with other extensions and websites.
• Default View: Always open in the full-page layout.
• Layout: Choose between horizontal or vertical split in full view.
• Behavior: Set defaults for hiding pinned tabs, confirming before close, and more.

Advanced Hotkey Configuration

If the built-in hotkey options are insufficient, you can set a fully custom shortcut directly through Firefox's Add-ons UI under Keyboard Shortcuts.

📜 History

The name "Tabula Rasa" is a playful nod to browser tabs and the Latin phrase meaning "clean slate," tabula rasa. The project began as a quest for a better way to close lots of tabs quickly—wiping the slate clean—but during development it became clear the same keyboard-first interface was equally powerful for searching and navigating through every open tab. That broadened focus shaped the tool into the all-in-one tab triage and navigation experience it is today.

❤️ Supporting the Author

Tabula Rasa is a personal project built and maintained by the developer during free time.
If this tool helps streamline your workflow and you appreciate the dedicated effort involved, please consider sending a thank you or a tip. Your support is instrumental in motivating new feature development and ongoing maintenance.
You can contribute a tip or send a message via the in-app Tip button or directly at:
buymeacoffee.com/fejikso.

📄 License

Tabula Rasa is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0.