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How to Reopen a Closed Tab in Chrome

Closing a tab you needed in Chrome is not usually a real problem -- here is how to get it back.

  1. Use the keyboard shortcut

    Press Ctrl+Shift+T on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Shift+T on Mac to instantly reopen the most recently closed tab.

  2. Press it again for tabs closed earlier

    Each additional press of the same shortcut restores the next tab back in your closing history, in order, so pressing it three times brings back the last three tabs you closed.

  3. Right-click any open tab

    Right-clicking on the tab strip itself brings up a context menu with a "Reopen closed tab" option, which does the same thing as the keyboard shortcut.

  4. Check the History menu for older tabs

    Click the three-dot menu, go to History, and the "Recently closed" section near the top lists individually closable tabs and recently closed windows, further back than the shortcut alone covers.

Why Chrome keeps a short list of closed tabs at all

Chrome deliberately keeps recently closed tabs and windows in a temporary list rather than discarding them the instant they are closed, specifically to make an accidental close reversible without needing full browsing history.

What happens if you restart Chrome

A full browser restart, done through "Reopen all tabs" prompts or session restore settings, is different from the closed-tabs shortcut -- but on most setups, "Recently closed" from the History menu also survives across a normal restart, not just a single tab close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this work if I accidentally closed the whole browser window?

Yes -- Ctrl+Shift+T (or Cmd+Shift+T) also restores an entire closed window, not just a single tab, as long as it is near the top of the closed-items list.

Will reopening a closed tab restore what I was doing on the page, like a half-filled form?

Usually not reliably. Reopened tabs typically reload the page fresh, so unsaved form input or scroll position is often lost even though the tab itself comes back.