Force New Tab

Force New Tab

A Firefox extension that forces middle-click on any element to open in a new tab — including JavaScript-driven buttons, cards, and links that normally ignore middle click.

The Problem

Modern websites are often built as Single Page Applications (SPAs) using frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular. Navigation on these sites is handled entirely by JavaScript rather than standard <a href> links. As a result, middle-clicking elements like cards, buttons, and tiles either does nothing or navigates the current tab instead of opening a new one. Force New Tab solves this transparently, without breaking normal browser behaviour.

How It Works

When you middle-click an element, the extension works through a chain of fallbacks in order, stopping as soon as it finds a URL to open:

Real links are ignored — if the clicked element is a genuine <a href> link, the extension does nothing and lets the browser handle it natively. (Opens in new tab by default.)

URL polling — as a last resort, monitors window.location.href for changes after the click replay fires. If the URL changes, the new URL is opened in a new tab and the current tab is snapped back to its original URL.

Compatibility

The extension is designed to work on as many sites as possible. Tested on: Site Status Method used YouTube ✅ Works Page world hooks Reddit ✅ Works Page world hooks Twitter / X ✅ Works Page world hooks Spotify ✅ Works Child anchor search GitHub ✅ Works Real links / page world hooks Twitch ✅ Works Page world hooks Pinterest (cards) ✅ Works Child anchor search Pinterest (filter buttons) ⚠️ Partial URL polling — current tab also navigates, use back button to restore

Known Limitations

Strict CSP sites — some sites (like Pinterest) block page-world script injection via Content Security Policy. The extension degrades gracefully, falling back to DOM-based methods that don't require page-world access. Modal/dialog triggers — buttons that open dialogs rather than navigating to a new page have no URL to open. The extension correctly does nothing in these cases. Internal framework routers — some sites use heavily customised internal routers (like Spotify's) that bypass all standard navigation methods. The child anchor search and click replay fallbacks handle most of these cases.

Permissions

The extension requests the following permissions:

tabs — required to open URLs in new background tabs

No data is collected, stored, or transmitted. The extension has no network access and makes no external requests. All processing happens locally in your browser.

Version History v1.3.0

Added URL polling fallback for sites that bypass all JavaScript hooks Added child anchor search for Spotify-style card components Added history.replaceState interception

v1.2.0

Added location.href, location.assign, and location.replace interception Added click replay fallback

v1.1.0

window.open, history.pushState interception Real link passthrough data-* attribute fallback

v1.0.0

Initial public release

License MIT