PowerSwitch

Switch tabs by typing

What is PowerSwitch?

PowerSwitch is an innovative Chrome add-on. It is an instant tab switcher that works on your keyboard commands. The tool enables users to bounce between two tabs using a simple command, vastly improving browsing efficiency. This tool is useful when you have multiple tabs open and need to find a specific one just by typing its name. It also resolves issues of switching tabs in full-screen mode. A few bug fixes were introduced in the recent version.

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Extension stats

By: Malcolm Handley

View on Chrome Web Store

Users: 596 ▼ -18

Rating: 4.68 (28)

Version: 2020.4.1 (Last updated: 2020-04-01)

Creation date: 2020-04-01

Risk impact: Moderate risk impact

Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood

Manifest version: 2

Permissions:

tabs

Size: 58.80K

Email: po*****@redheron.com

Ranking

# 38460 ▼ 632

Other rankings

#14032 in Workflow & Planning ▼ 43

#82 in press keyword 9 ▲ 3

#87 in command keyword 10 ▲ 1

#100 in switch keyword 16 ▲ 7

#163 in commands keyword 3

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Other platforms

Not available on Firefox

Not available on Edge

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Extension summary

Analyze keywords

PowerSwitch is a tab switcher that lets you switch tabs instantly with your keyboard. Press command/control-k to open the list of tabs, type to filter the tabs, press enter to select one.

This solves two problems:

you can pop over to a particular tab just by knowing its name. Lost your Gmail tab in ten windows with twelve tabs each? No problem: Just press command-k and type some of the name of the tab.
you can easily bounce between two tabs, the way that you can alt-tab between apps: command-k, enter.

Version 2013.9.21 fixes bugs with full-screen windows and with not bringing a window to the front when switching tabs (apparently because of a change in Chrome's behavior) and removes the toolbar button. Now the keyboard shortcut is the only way to use PowerSwitch.

Version 2013.4.2 fixes a bug that caused the list of tabs to be empty after loading certain kinds of tabs.

(PowerSwitch is similar to Emacs' iswitchb and also to the Recent Files UI in IntelliJ.)

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.

Pros

Indispensable tool for browsing and workflow enhancement.
Highly regarded as one of the best tab switchers available.
Significantly improves user experience with Chrome.
Familiar layout for Emacs users, making it accessible to that audience.

Cons

Lack of customization for keyboard shortcuts.
Issues when used in full screen or presentation mode, leading to tab closing.
Recent updates have caused functionality issues for some users.

Most mentioned

Need for customizable keyboard shortcuts.
Great workflow utility and essential tool.
Problems with full screen mode causing closures.

Recent reviews

This extension is truly indispensable – trying to use a browser without it feels like a torture.

Ric Szopa (Ryszard), 2021-03-03

Love it, it's an essential help on ChromeOS. However, can we get a configurable "pattern matching" UI for, say, 10 presets? I am always bringing up the window and searching "mail" to find my GMail tab. I'd rather just switch straight to it using Ctrl+alt+n or something like that, and continually typing that combo would carousel through all gmail tabs.