How to switch to the last active tab in Safari

Suppose you click from a document in tab 2 to a reference in tab 7. Safari’s previous-tab command takes you to tab 6. A most-recently-used (MRU) shortcut returns to tab 2, because it follows your visits rather than the tab bar.

TabBack adds this shortcut with previews of recent tabs. For a fixed pair of pages, you can also use Safari without an extension.

Set up TabBack

1. Install and open TabBack from the Mac App Store.
2. Open Safari > Settings > Extensions, turn on TabBack, and choose Always Allow on Every Website.
3. Open TabBack Settings and choose a shortcut. You can use Control-Tab or choose a combination that feels natural to you.
4. In a Safari window, visit two webpages. Press and release your shortcut to return to the first page.

Website permission lets TabBack track active tabs and create previews. It processes this information on your Mac.

Tap to return; hold to choose

Press and release the shortcut to go back to the tab you just used. Do it again to switch back.

To reach an older tab, keep the modifier keys held. For example, if you chose Control-Tab:

1. Hold Control and press Tab to open the switcher.
2. Keep holding Control and tap Tab to move through recent tabs.
3. Release Control to switch to the selected tab.

You can also select a tab by hovering the pointer over its preview. Keep holding Control while you choose, then release it to switch to that tab.

Use your configured reverse shortcut if you pass the target, or press Esc to cancel.

Use the page previews to distinguish tabs with similar titles.

If the shortcut does not switch tabs

Check the shortcut saved in TabBack Settings, then confirm the extension is enabled in the Safari profile you are using. For another profile, open Safari > Settings > Profiles, select it, and enable TabBack under Extensions.

If the setup is correct but the shortcut still does not respond, restart Safari while TabBack is running. Then restart TabBack while Safari is running.

Which tabs are available?

TabBack keeps recent-tab history per Safari window and switches within the active Tab Group.

TabBack cannot show titles or thumbnails for Safari’s Start Page or local documents. If you closed the page you want, use Safari’s Shift-Command-T to reopen it; the recent-tab switcher is for tabs that are still open.