How to Reopen Closed Tabs on Mac

To reopen closed tabs on Mac, open Safari and click on History. Then choose from Reopen Last Closed Tab, Reopen Last Closed Window, or press Recently Closed to open every tab from your last session.

Common reasons to reopen closed tabs on Mac

You don’t expect to accidentally close a tab, but when it happens, we know how frustrating bringing back closed tabs on Mac can be.

It's especially irritating as you'll likely need to reopen your lost tabs for one of the following reasons:

• Accidentally closing important work tabs. It’s easy to click the wrong “X” when multitasking, and losing important work tabs can disrupt your workflow.
• Resuming a research session. Whether you're studying or doing research, reopening closed tabs can help you pick up where you left off.
• Retrieving a lost shopping cart. Suddenly closing a shopping tab can mean lost progress. We suggest reopening the tab to restore your saved cart.
• Restoring session after a crash or restart. If your computer crashes or restarts, reopening your last browsing session can restore everything you had open.
• Following up on recent activity. Maybe you forgot to bookmark a page or need to go back to a recently visited site. Using your browser's History tab makes that easy.

A note from our experts: 

 

Believe it or not, cache and cookies stored by your browser can be the culprit behind glitches and closed tabs. That’s why we encourage Mac users to purge their devices of digital junk. For a helping hand, MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup tool can automatically locate and remove digital debris for you, improving browser performance.

 

Here’s how to declutter your browser files with MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup tool:

1. Download MacKeeper.
2. Go to the Safe Cleanup tool.
3. Press Start Scan.
4. Allow the tool to scan your device for Logs, Cache and Trash files.
5. Tick what you want to remove and press Clean Junk Files.
6. Confirm by pressing Remove.

How to get tabs back on Mac

To quickly open closed tabs on Mac, we recommend the Shift + Command + T shortcut. In your browser, this shortcut will reopen the last closed tab—press it again to restore more.

Now, we’ll show you how to open closed tabs in the following browsers on a Mac:

• Safari
• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Microsoft Edge

1. How to reopen tabs in Safari on Mac

It can be a pain when browser tabs close unexpectedly, especially if you can’t remember which ones have just been closed.

Here’s a simple way to reopen lost tabs:

1. Open the Safari browser.
2. Click on History.
3. From the drop-down list, you can choose: Recently Closed, Reopen Last Tab, or Reopen Last Closed Window.

An extra helping hand from us: 

 

A simple software glitch, like missing tabs, can cause further issues, sometimes making Safari bookmarks disappear. To avoid this from being a persistent problem, take back control of Safari on Mac with our dedicated article.  

 

If Safari isn’t loading on your Mac, we recommend trying our handy solutions to get it back up and running. Find them in the attached piece.

 

Finally, we've prepared a separate article to fix the other kind of browser issues, such as Safari keeps crashing. Find the necessary troubleshooting advice and regain peace of mind!

2. How to recover closed tabs in Google Chrome on Mac

For those of you who use Chrome instead of Safari, recovering closed tabs on Mac is a little different. Here’s how to get them back in Google Chrome: click on File and press Reopen Closed Tab. Alternatively, we suggest trying the Command Shift + T shortcut.

3. How to bring back a closed tab in Firefox on Mac

For those of you who want to know how to bring back closed tabs in Firefox, here’s our step-by-step guide: begin by opening the Firefox browser, go to History, look through Recently Closed Tabs or Recently Closed Windows, and click on the tabs you want to bring back.

4. How to reopen closed tabs in Microsoft Edge on Mac

Are you a Microsoft Edge user on Mac? No fret, we can still help you restore lost browser tabs. Here are the steps we recommend you follow:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Click on the three dots in the top-right corner.
3. Select History.
4. Browse Recently Closed and click on the tabs you want to restore.

A hint from our team: The Command + Shift + T shortcut can be used across all four web browsers to help you quickly recover closed tabs on Mac.

What to do if tabs don’t reopen properly on your Mac

If you still can't bring back a closed tab on your Mac, don’t worry—we’ve seen this happen. Sometimes, reopening lost tabs fails if the issue that forced them to close persists.

In these instances, we recommend following our additional troubleshooting steps:

1. Clear browser cache

Too much cache can interfere with your browsing and cause tabs to close unexpectedly. Here’s how to clear cache buildup:

1. Open browser settings.
2. Go to Privacy > Manage Website Data.
3. From here, you’ll be able to clear the cache.

2. Update your browser

We also recommend checking your browser for outstanding updates, as outdated software could be behind your lost tabs. Here’s how to check for updates:

1. Go to System Settings > General > Software Updates.
2. Allow your Mac to scan for Safari updates. If any are available, you’ll see them available along with an Update Now button.  

3. Restart your browser

Do your tabs still keep closing on you? If so, we recommend simply restarting your browser:

1. Quit your browser and then Reopen it.
2. Alternatively, Command + W will immediately close your browser.

Important: 

 

If Google Chrome is not working on your Mac, it’s likely due to outdated software or syncing issues. Our attached article has plenty of advice to help you get it operating again—look it through!

Restoring browser tabs with MacKeeper’s help

Reopening closed tabs on your Mac is simple once you know the steps, whether you're using Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. With built-in shortcuts, menu options, and tab history tools, you can easily recover closed tabs and keep your workflow uninterrupted.

To prevent you from losing important tabs again, we recommend using MacKeeper’s Safe Cleanup. By regularly removing clutter like cached files and digital junk, you reduce the risk of browser crashes.