How to Move Tabs Between Windows in Every Browser on Mac (2026)

By Kshetez Vinayak, founder of SupaSidebar. Last updated August 10, 2026.

TL;DR

On a Mac, every major browser lets you move a tab to a new window by dragging it out of the tab strip, and move it into another open window by dragging it onto that window's tab strip. Safari is the only major browser with a one-click "Merge All Windows" command in the Window menu to pull scattered windows back into one. Chrome, Edge, and Brave add a right-click "Move tab to new window" (and "Move tab to another window" when a second window is open); Firefox has "Move to New Window" in its right-click Move Tab submenu but no native move-to-existing-window option. None of these browsers ship a default keyboard shortcut for moving a tab between windows, so dragging is the fastest universal method. If the real problem is that your tabs are scattered across too many windows in the first place, a sidebar like SupaSidebar keeps every tab in one place so you stop juggling windows at all.

Quick navigation:

• Drowning in open tabs across projects? → Too Many Tabs Open on Mac
• Want tabs grouped by project instead of by window? → Organize Browser Tabs by Project on Mac
• Tired of window-juggling entirely? → The Mac Sidebar App That Works With Any Browser
• Just need the steps for your browser? You are in the right place. Keep reading.

At a glance: moving and merging tabs by browser

The two things people mean by "move tabs between windows"

There are really two separate jobs hiding inside this question, and the method differs for each.

The first is splitting: taking one tab (or a few) out of a crowded window and giving them their own window, usually to compare two pages side by side or push a task onto a second monitor. Every browser handles this the same basic way, by pulling the tab out of the tab strip.

The second is merging: you already have five browser windows open and you want them collapsed back into one window full of tabs. This is where browsers differ sharply. Safari has a dedicated command for it; the Chromium browsers and Firefox make you drag windows together by hand. Keep the two jobs distinct as you read, because "move a tab" and "merge windows" are not the same operation.

Chrome: drag, or right-click the tab

In Chrome, the reliable universal method is dragging: click and hold a tab, drag it down and out of the tab strip, and Chrome opens it in a new window. To move it into a different window, drag the tab onto that window's tab strip and drop it where you want it. To move several tabs at once, hold Cmd and click each tab to select them, then drag any one of the selected tabs out, per Google's Chrome tab documentation.

Chrome also has a right-click route. Right-click a single tab and you get Move tab to new window, and when a second Chrome window is already open, a Move tab to another window option appears with the target windows listed. One quirk worth knowing: the right-click move option is intentionally disabled when you have multiple tabs selected, so for bulk moves the drag method is the one that works.

There is no default keyboard shortcut in Chrome for moving a tab to another window. If you want one, that gap is usually filled by an extension rather than a built-in setting.

Safari: the only browser with Merge All Windows

Safari is the standout here because it solves the merging job natively. If your Safari windows have multiplied across the screen, open the Window menu and choose Merge All Windows, and Safari collates every open window into a single window with one tab per former window, as described in Apple's guide to working with app windows.

Going the other direction is just as simple. Select a tab, then choose Window, Move Tab to New Window, or drag the tab out of the tab bar, per Apple's Safari tab documentation. To move a tab into another Safari window, drag it onto that window's tab bar. Merge All Windows is the fastest cleanup tool on the Mac for anyone who lives in Safari, and no other major browser matches it out of the box.

Firefox: drag works, the menu is limited

Firefox handles splitting cleanly and merging poorly. To pull a tab into its own window, drag it out of the tab strip, or Control-click (right-click) the tab and choose Move Tab, then Move to New Window. Firefox's own tab documentation covers organizing tabs within a window; the drag-out gesture is the built-in way to spin a tab off.

The limitation is that Firefox's native Move Tab menu does not include a "move to another existing window" choice. To move a tab from one Firefox window into another, you drag it onto the destination window's tab strip. There is no Merge All Windows equivalent, so combining several Firefox windows means dragging them together one window at a time. Firefox users who move tabs between windows constantly often reach for a dedicated add-on to add that menu option, but nothing native fills the gap.

Edge and Brave: same as Chrome

Microsoft Edge and Brave are both built on Chromium, so they behave exactly like Chrome. Drag a tab out of the strip to spin it into a new window, drag it onto another window's tab strip to move it there, and right-click a single tab for Move tab to new window (plus Move tab to another window when a second window exists). Like Chrome, neither ships a Merge All Windows command, and neither has a default shortcut for cross-window tab moves. If you have used the drag gesture in one Chromium browser, it transfers to every other one.

When moving tabs between windows is the wrong fix

Here is the pattern behind the question. Most people who search for how to move tabs between windows are not doing it for fun, they are managing overflow: one browser window got so crowded that splitting tabs into a second window felt like the only way to see anything. The move is a symptom. The real issue is that tabs live inside browser windows, so the moment you have more contexts than windows can comfortably hold, you are stuck shuffling tabs by hand across windows that then get lost behind each other.

SupaSidebar: keep every tab in one sidebar instead of juggling windows

SupaSidebar is a macOS app that puts every open tab from every browser into one always-available sidebar, so you switch tasks by clicking in the sidebar instead of dragging tabs between windows. Its Live Tabs section shows the tabs you have open across Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and the rest in a single list, grouped by browser, and clicking a tab activates the existing tab rather than opening a duplicate.

Because the sidebar spans every browser, the thing you were trying to fix by moving tabs into a second window, seeing the right set of tabs for what you are doing right now, happens in the sidebar instead. Spaces take it further: each Space holds its own set of saved links and tabs, so a "Client Work" context and a "Research" context stay separate without a single extra browser window.

Here is what that looks like in practice for someone who kept splitting a crowded window into two:

Switching from Client Work to Research swaps the whole set of links in one click, no window to find, no tab to drag. To search across everything at once, the Command Panel (⌘⌃K) fuzzy-finds any tab, saved link, or recent page in under a second, across every Space.

To be precise about scope: SupaSidebar is not a window manager and it does not merge or tile your browser windows for you the way Safari's Merge All Windows does. It works one level up, by making the sidebar the place your tabs live so the number of open windows stops mattering. It works across 32+ Mac browsers, including Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Arc, Brave, Vivaldi, Dia, and Orion, and it needs no browser extension.

Which method should you use?

• If you just need two pages side by side: drag one tab out into its own window. Works identically in every browser, no menu needed.
• If you live in Safari and windows have piled up: use Window, Merge All Windows. It is the single fastest cleanup on the Mac.
• If you are in Chrome, Edge, or Brave and want to move one tab deliberately: right-click the tab and use Move tab to another window.
• If you are in Firefox and moving tabs between existing windows a lot: drag is your only native option, so consider an add-on or a sidebar approach instead.
• If you keep splitting windows just to manage overload: stop moving tabs and put them in a sidebar. SupaSidebar keeps every tab in one place across browsers, which removes the reason you were juggling windows.

Conclusion

Moving a tab between windows on a Mac comes down to one universal gesture, dragging the tab out of or onto a tab strip, and one browser-specific shortcut for cleanup: Safari's Merge All Windows. Chrome, Edge, and Brave add a right-click Move tab to another window option; Firefox only offers Move to New Window natively and leaves cross-window moves to dragging. No mainstream browser gives you a keyboard shortcut for it, so drag is the method that always works.

Single-browser users who occasionally split a window are well served by these native methods, and Safari users get the best cleanup command of the group. But if you are constantly moving tabs between windows to cope with too many open contexts, that is a signal the window is the wrong container. Anyone juggling several projects across one or more browsers is better off keeping tabs in a cross-browser sidebar, where switching context is a click and no window ever gets lost. Try SupaSidebar (free tier) if window-juggling is the actual problem.

Why we recommend SupaSidebar

SupaSidebar is a macOS app that brings Arc's sidebar to every browser - one sidebar for tabs, bookmarks, files, and apps across 32+ browsers including Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Arc, Brave, Vivaldi, Dia, and Orion. Instead of shuffling tabs between browser windows, you keep every tab in one always-available sidebar, switch contexts with Spaces, and find anything instantly with the Command Panel. It is a native Mac app, not a browser extension, and there is a free version to start with.

FAQ

How do I move a tab to a new window on Mac?

Drag the tab down and out of the tab strip and drop it on an empty part of the screen. Every major browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Brave) opens the tab in its own new window this way. In Chrome, Edge, and Brave you can also right-click the tab and choose Move tab to new window; in Safari, use Window, Move Tab to New Window.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to move a tab between windows?

No major Mac browser ships a default keyboard shortcut for moving a tab to another window. Dragging the tab, or using the right-click menu in Chromium browsers, are the built-in methods. Some people add a shortcut through an extension.

How do I merge all my browser windows into one?

In Safari, choose Window, Merge All Windows, and every open Safari window collapses into one tabbed window. Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Firefox have no native merge command, so you combine windows by dragging tabs from one window onto another's tab strip one at a time.

Can I move multiple tabs to another window at once?

Yes, in Chromium browsers hold Cmd and click each tab to select several, then drag any selected tab out to move them together. Note that Chrome disables the right-click move option when multiple tabs are selected, so use the drag method for bulk moves.

Why does dragging a tab open a whole new window instead of moving it?

If you drag a tab out of the tab strip and release it over empty space, the browser creates a new window on purpose. To move the tab into an existing window instead, drag it onto that window's tab strip and release it there rather than on the desktop.

Is there a way to avoid moving tabs between windows entirely?

Yes. A cross-browser sidebar like SupaSidebar keeps every open tab in one list regardless of which browser or window it is in, so you switch between tabs and contexts from the sidebar instead of rearranging windows. It works across 32+ Mac browsers and needs no extension.

---

By Kshetez Vinayak, founder of SupaSidebar. Last updated August 10, 2026.