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.
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.
Credits: Linuxiac.com
