You can switch tabs with the keyboard using a few core shortcuts that work in most browsers and apps.

Fast answer

  • Next tab: Ctrl + Tab (Windows/Linux) or Ctrl + Page Down in many apps.
  • Previous tab: Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + Page Up.
  • Jump to tab by number (browser): Ctrl + 1 … Ctrl + 8 to jump to a specific tab, Ctrl + 9 usually goes to the last tab.
  • Switch apps/windows (not just tabs): Alt + Tab on Windows.

On Mac, the idea is the same but with ⌘ (Command) instead of Ctrl in browsers (for example, ⌘ + Option + →/← or ⌘ + number keys in Chrome/Firefox/Safari, depending on your settings).

Common browser shortcuts (Windows/Linux)

Use these when you’re in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, etc.:

  1. Move through tabs in order
    • Next tab to the right: Ctrl + Tab.
 * Previous tab to the left: **Ctrl + Shift + Tab**.
  1. Jump directly to a tab
    • Ctrl + 1 → first tab, Ctrl + 2 → second tab, … up to Ctrl + 8.
 * **Ctrl + 9** → last tab, no matter how many you have.
  1. Move between different windows
    • Alt + Tab cycles through all open apps and browser windows.

These work in most modern browsers and many tabbed apps (like some code editors) because they’ve adopted similar shortcuts.

Quick note on customization and extensions

  • Some browsers let you change or add tab-switching shortcuts in their settings or via extensions.
  • In Chrome, for example, people use extensions that let Alt + key or other combos switch to the last-used tab or show a tab list.

Example: A Chrome extension like “Popup Tab Switcher” lets you customize tab switching keys and even override the default Ctrl + Tab behavior.

Mac-specific idea (if you’re on Mac)

Even though exact key combos differ by browser, the patterns are:

  • Next/previous tab: a combination of ⌘, Option, and the arrow keys or ⌘ + Shift + [ / ] depending on browser.
  • Switch to specific tab: ⌘ + 1 … ⌘ + 9 in Chrome/Firefox/Safari.

If you tell me your OS (Windows, macOS, Linux) and browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, etc.), I can give you a tiny, exact cheat sheet just for that setup.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.