Add to Chrome — free

How to export a Chrome session to a portable file

Reinstall Chrome, switch to a new laptop, or wipe a profile and the 200 tabs across six windows you had open are gone — Chrome keeps the live session on one device and offers no way to carry it off the machine as a file. To export a Chrome session you need a record you can move: every window, each tab's title and URL, and the Chrome tab group each tab belonged to, written to a file you control. Tabwell does this from its snapshots. It reads your open windows through the chrome.tabs and chrome.tabGroups MV3 APIs, saves them as a snapshot in local IndexedDB, and then exports your snapshots as a single JSON file you can copy anywhere — the way to backup Chrome tabs to file without an account or a server. The export keeps the structure intact: window layout, tab order, and each group's name, color, and collapsed state travel inside the file. This guide covers what the export contains, how to write it out, and how to import it on another machine to rebuild the session exactly as you left it.

What the export actually contains

A Tabwell snapshot is a JSON record of your session — each window, each tab's title and URL, and each tab's group assignment read through chrome.tabs and chrome.tabGroups. The export bundles your snapshots into one JSON file, so everything that lives in a snapshot lives in the file: the window layout, the tab order, and for every Chrome tab group its name, color, and collapsed state. Nothing is flattened to a bare URL list. Because the data is stored locally in IndexedDB via dexie, the export is a plain copy of what is already on your device — no upload, no account, no server round-trip.

Export your session to a file

The export turns a saved snapshot into a portable backup. Save first, then export:

  1. Install Tabwell from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to the toolbar.
  2. Open the Tabwell side panel and click Save snapshot to capture the windows, tabs, and groups you want to keep.
  3. Export your snapshots as JSON from the side panel — Tabwell writes a single file containing every snapshot.
  4. Store the JSON file wherever you keep backups; it is the full session, portable and readable.

Import on another machine to restore

The export is only half the round-trip — the file is there so you can rebuild the session elsewhere. On the second machine, install Tabwell, open the side panel, and import the JSON file you exported. Tabwell reads the snapshots back into local IndexedDB, and a restore recreates the windows and rebuilds each Chrome tab group through chrome.tabGroups with the original name, color, and collapsed state. You get the session as it was, not a wall of ungrouped tabs.

Export, backup, and tiers

JSON export is available on every tier, so backing up your tabs to a file does not require Pro. Every install starts with a 14-day Pro trial; after it, the Free tier keeps your latest 5 snapshots with manual save, restore, and JSON export, and runs a 60-minute auto-snapshot. Pro lifts the 5-snapshot cap to unlimited, indexes every saved tab for full-text search, auto-snapshots every 5 minutes, and adds importers for OneTab, Session Buddy, and Tab Session Manager exports — $3.99/month, $29/year, or $19 one-time for the first 1,000 Founders buyers. For the broader backup workflow — auto-snapshots, crash recovery, and what to keep before a Chrome update — see the dedicated backup guide linked below; this page stays on the export-to-file path.

FAQ

Is exporting a Chrome session a paid feature?

No. JSON export is available on every tier, including Free, so you can back up your tabs to a file without paying. Every install also starts with a 14-day Pro trial. The importers for third-party tools like OneTab, Session Buddy, and Tab Session Manager are the Pro-only part — exporting and re-importing your own Tabwell JSON is not gated.

What format does Tabwell export my session in?

A single JSON file containing your snapshots. Each snapshot records every window, each tab's title and URL, and each tab's group assignment with the group name, color, and collapsed state. It is plain JSON, so you can read it in any text editor and store it alongside your other backups.

How do I move my exported session to a new computer?

Copy the exported JSON file to the new machine by any method you use for files. Install Tabwell there, open the side panel, and import the file. Tabwell loads the snapshots back into local IndexedDB, and restoring one recreates the windows and tab groups exactly as they were when you exported.

Does the export keep my Chrome tab groups?

Yes. The export carries each tab's group assignment, including the group name, color, and collapsed state, because that data is part of every snapshot. When you import the file and restore, Tabwell rebuilds the groups through the chrome.tabGroups API rather than handing you a flat list of URLs.

Does export work on Chrome 114?

Yes. Chrome 114 is the minimum version Tabwell supports, because it relies on the chrome.sidePanel API introduced in that release. Export reads from snapshots already stored in IndexedDB, so it does not need a newer Chrome. Edge and other Chromium browsers may work but are not officially supported, and Firefox and Safari are not supported.

Where is my session data while it waits to be exported?

Snapshots are stored locally in IndexedDB on your own device via the dexie library. Tab titles and URLs never leave the machine until you export the file and move it yourself. The only network call Tabwell makes is to Polar for license verification, which carries no tab data.