Any Chance Tab Groups Will Ever Come?

Firefox Development
#1

Maybe this isn’t the right place to ask about this, so apologies ahead of time.

Do we think Firefox is ever going to get tab groups the way Chromium has them? Before someone says no, I want to know why, is there a technical reason for this?

The reason I’m asking is that some features in browsers are “nice to haves”, but other features are becoming standard features that all browsers kinda need to have to compete in any real way. IMO tab groups has become exactly this and for me it’s the primary reason I do not use Firefox anymore despite how much I prefer certain aspects of it.

The thing is, one can overlook smaller things, like slightly worse performance, some feature differences, etc… But tab groups has become a staple and I think this is something that Mozilla should be looking into. Not only that, but (and I’m by no means a dev), it doesn’t seem like it’d be that hard of a thing to do?

I personally keep huge numbers of tabs open that I do want active and without tab grouping this becomes completely unmanageable.

Lastly I’ll say that a 3rd party extension is not the solution for this, so before someone suggestions it I’m aware things like OneTab and other alternatives exist, but they are by no means user friendly.

15 Likes
Isn't what firefox needs actually tabs for groups, not tab groups?
#2

There are several issues to follow in Bugzilla and Mozilla Connect:




(and probably more)

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=false&q=tab%20groups

And lastly, take another look at the extensions. More may have been added, and the extensions you previously tested might have been improved.

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#3

Hey thanks I really appreciate all the info here!

As for using extensions, even if they work better/more similar to Chrome I personally limit extensions as much as possible for security purposes so I’m not sure I’d consider that a full solution.

This all makes more sense to me now though so thanks for all the resources!

#4

Completely agree. Other than Ublock, NoScript and No-cache, the rest needs to be in Firefox. (and I wouldn’t complain if those were made part of Firefox either) Tab groups would be a welcomed enhancement.

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#5

Yeah for sure, the more “core” like features that can be directly integrated the better IMO. But I’m even more weary with something that has access to all tabs and browser data.

#6

The available extensions do NOT offer the correct functionality, and nobody seems to have any answers about why they haven’t implemented it yet. It seems like a simple UI addition, no? Firefox’s UI is already very modular, so I am confused on what the issue is.

#7

No, it doesn’t seem like a simple UI addition to me. The basics seem relatively simple, but to get everything to work correctly in every situation requires a huge amount of integration and testing – and then maintaining the feature.

(A co-worker and I once implemented a “simple” new feature in three days just to prove it could be done and would be useful. (This wasn’t a Mozilla project.) It took several people three months to get it fully implemented in the code base, with high quality code, looking correct instead of hacked-in, with appropriate documentation, and with automated tests. Simple to describe doesn’t mean simple to make product quality.)

The simple reason for why it hasn’t been implemented is that no one has been willing to put in the resources to implement it fully and correctly.

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#8

Yeah I think you’re right here, it’s still something that keeps me from being willing to use it as my primary browser though. I just worry, Firefox has been losing market share and continues to fall behind other options when it comes to features, things like no tab groups, removal of the SSB (PWA support), etc…

1 Like
#9

Oh, but that’s not true. I can explain it simply:
Mozilla have killed all the API calls required to implement tab groups.

It’s simple as that. With the (web)API change they have killed about 90% of the relevant extensions (which actually made Firefox different from other browsers) on the altar or Stability And Simplicity™. Some open bugs are there since before even the API went public and still unresolved, most others were closed years ago by the developers as “we don’t care”, “sounds nice but no”.

If you check the extensions you’ll find many “tab groups” ones and you will quickly realise that none of them can actually do squat about tabs, they all try to sort them into windows, menus, tree lists and whatever, display or hide them, trying to use the half-baked API collection what there is.

I got tired asking about this, and extremely important stuff like password management, because issues were closed, pushed into oblivion or put into stasis. For years now, and counting.

1 Like
#10

Dear Mrs @Laura_Chambers,

Mozilla Firefox is our beloved browser :orange_heart:. Community members (Mozillians) like us have been using and promoting it for more than a decade and only want it to succeed in its mission to offer a privacy-respecting alternative in a Chromium-dominated browser landscape (for many years to come).

In this blog post (https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/a-new-chapter-for-mozilla-laura-chambers-expanded-role/), written right after your appointment as the new CEO of Mozilla Corporation, we could read the following:

2. Outstanding Execution: Focus, Processes, Capabilities: Doubling down on our core products, like Firefox, and building out our capabilities and innovation pipeline to bring new compelling products to market.

:pray: May I suggest to let the Firefox development team focus on Tab Grouping functionality and that you assign enough resources (UI designers, engineers and testers) to this crucial feature? Other browsers (Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi …) already offer this functionality. It is essential for modern day browsing in which people have tens or hundreds of tabs opened at the same time. On the Mozilla Connect portal, it is the no. 1 most requested feature: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-more-customizable-tab-bar/idi-p/303.

Please let Firefox grow by providing useful features like these, not (only) by inserting AI into the browser. Community will love this and will help boost Firefox’s adoption numbers.

Thank you for taking this into consideration.

PS. I invite others to spread this message through social media :loudspeaker:. Please refrain from impolite responses.

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#11

Hello! Thanks for reaching out. I have some good news! I checked in with the team, and they have prioritized the work and have a people assigned to work on it.

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#12

This is great news, so cool seeing the CEO reply here too, love it!

Thanks for the update, absolutely stoked!

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#13

This is great news! :orange_heart:

And the fact that Mozilla’s CEO takes the time to get in touch with the community is even more amazing. Thank you so much. This inspires confidence for the future of Firefox.

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#14

Love having you here Laura!

I’m afraid to point out, though, that Mozilla has not only blatantly ignored the issue for years, but also didn’t give any feedback to the many users asking for it to be solved.

You did it, so thank you.

However I fear many many more users have been disappointed by Mozilla’s dullness and I believe you, as the CEO, should dig a bit deeper to understand the root cause of this unacceptable behaviour, and also release some kind of official communication (if not changing completely Mozilla’s marketing strategy, very different story though).

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#15

Thanks for inviting me in to the conversation! I’d love any advice as I ramp up - good communities / discussions to join, things I should work with the teams to prioritize, etc etc. Thanks!

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#16

How a great news. Little trivia: Firefox was the first browser to implement tab groups -Panorama- landed in 2011*; now we won’t be the last to have it either.

* https://wiki.mozilla.org/Panorama

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#18

Please don’t copy Google Chrome blindly, I feel Mozilla is operated like a big Cooperation these days.

By default default it should work like Google Chrome to attract new users, but have advance features, hence, I want to see Workspaces (Like how it used to be on Firefox before addon architect changed) in addition to Tab-Gouping like Google Chrome. I moved to Firefox because of advance features and now other browsers like Vivaldi and others are tempting me.

Also, bring back Bookmark comments, and Better bookmark management features. it is crucial

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#19

I hope you will bring a breath of fresh air and try to do what the previous people did not, evolve Firefox.
Let’s hope that within 2024 we will see the missing features other browsers have for years now, and make Firefox relevant again.
Also something needs to be done for the engine as well. Gecko/Quantum does not seem to cut it anymore at its current state.
In general please do some meetings with the teams. I understand that Mozilla is a company and the board and shareholders are financially invested, but the browser is used by normal users and these are the people that eventually keep the company afloat in presence.
Try to take some risks. eg. for the engine, change to servo, or work with Apple on webkit or whatever makes sense if continue developing the current one is not efficient.

Looking forward to see your work in action. All the best!!

2 Likes
#20

Incredible, thanks for letting us know the status of tab grouping @Laura_Chambers

The big three to me would be

  • Tab grouping
  • Native sidebar tabs without needing an extension
  • Two finger swiping through containers in the sidebar tabs to switch containers/workspaces

Arc is an up and coming browser and the number one complaint I see from their users is that they should have built it on Firefox’s base instead of Chromium. Firefox can take these users back with a good modern design and implementing those key Arc features.

Either way, just happy to see tab grouping and love seeing a CEO that actually cares and is engaging with the community!

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#22

Finally! It will work on Android? It will work as good as Chrome? Like, when you click an hyperlink it will automatically open and create a tab group? That would be nice.