Your browsing rolodex — bookmarks that come alive as tabs.
Rolotabs is a Chrome extension that turns your bookmarks into a persistent, always-visible sidebar. Each bookmark becomes a slot that can be loaded (with a live tab) or unloaded (icon stays, tab is gone). Clicking always focuses the existing tab or opens a new one — never duplicates.
The sidebar has three zones:
| Zone | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Pinned | Compact icon grid of your most-used sites | Top |
| Bookmarks | Hierarchical tree with collapsible folders | Middle |
| Open Tabs | Tabs that aren't bookmarked yet | Bottom |
Drag tabs between zones to organize them. All data is stored as regular Chrome bookmarks — synced across devices automatically.
- Click to focus or open — never duplicates tabs
- Drag and drop — between all zones, onto folders, reorder within zones
- Tab groups — automatic Chrome tab grouping (📌 Pinned, 📚 Bookmarks)
- Right-click menus — pin, bookmark, rename, close, delete, manage folders
- Inline editing — double-click folder names to rename
- Light & dark theme — follows your system preference
Install Rolotabs from the Chrome Web Store.
Tip: If the icon isn't visible after installing, click the puzzle piece (Extensions menu) and pin Rolotabs.
Manual install (developer mode)
- Go to the latest release
- Download
rolotabs-v*.zip - Unzip the file somewhere permanent (don't delete the folder after loading)
- Open
chrome://extensions/in Chrome - Enable Developer mode (toggle in the top right)
- Click Load unpacked and select the unzipped folder
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt+S | Toggle the side panel |
To customize shortcuts:
- Go to
chrome://extensions/shortcuts - Find Rolotabs
- Click the pencil icon next to any shortcut
- Press your preferred key combination
Chrome Web Store installs update automatically. For manual installs, download the new zip, replace
the files in the same folder, and click the ↻ refresh icon on the Rolotabs card at
chrome://extensions/.
Rolotabs does not collect, transmit, or share any user data. All data stays on your device as regular Chrome bookmarks and local storage. No analytics, no tracking, no remote code.
See the full Privacy Policy.
MIT