Free Chrome extension for Gmail
Your Gmail labels and searches, as tabs.
The views you open all day, one click each, in a bar above the inbox. Live unread counts, your colours, your order. It never reads your mail.
- Free and MIT licensed
- Runs only on mail.google.com
- Never reads your messages
- No analytics in the extension
- Syncs through Chrome
Take the tour
See it work before you install
This is the extension's own tour, the one it opens over Gmail on the day you install it, running here. Six steps, about a minute.
- Your labels, across the topClients, Invoices and Team move up into a bar
- Pin a label, or a whole searchSearch, then press + to keep it
- Counts from Gmail, colour where it earns its placeCounts fill in; colour marks the ones that matter
- Drag to reorder. It follows you.Team is dragged to second place
- Cleanup rules that run in your account, not oursOne rule, and the script it generates
- Pick your lookThe bar, in the theme you choose
Six steps, about a minute. Choosing a theme on the last step retints the panel here; in Gmail it retints your real tab bar while the tour is still open.
Features
Everything a tab bar for Gmail should do
And nothing that needs your mail to do it.
Any label becomes a tab
Clients, Invoices, Travel: the labels you open all day sit in a bar above the inbox instead of somewhere down the sidebar. Sublabels work too, and Gmail views such as Starred and Sent.
Any search becomes a tab
Run a search once, press + on the bar, and it stays. Every Gmail operator works, and the tab runs the search live each time you click it.
from:accounts@ has:attachment newer_than:30dUnread counts that keep up
Each tab shows how many unread messages it holds, read from Gmail itself and updated as mail arrives.
Colour for the views that matter
Eight colours, chosen to stay readable in light and dark. Colour is never the only signal, so the bar still reads without it.
Drag to reorder, and it follows you
Put the tabs in the order you work. The order syncs through Chrome, the same way your bookmarks do.
One bar per account
Work and personal Gmail in the same browser each keep their own tabs, colours, order and rules. Switch accounts and the bar switches with you.
Matches the Gmail you are looking at
Light, Dark or System, where System follows Gmail's own theme rather than your desktop's, so a light Gmail on a dark computer still gets a light bar.
Cleanup rules that run in your account
Clear Promotions after 30 days, archive newsletters after 14. The extension writes a Google Apps Script that you read, paste into your own account and schedule. Mail goes to Trash, where Gmail keeps it for 30 days.
Your setup, in a file
Export every tab, colour and rule to a JSON file, and import it into a new computer or a fresh profile.
Every Gmail search operator, with the searches worth keeping as a tab
Not released yet
Coming in version 1.8.1
Built and tested, and not yet in the Chrome Web Store. The version you install today is 1.6.2.
- Add a label from Gmail's own menu. The three dots beside any label in the sidebar gain "Show as Tabs", or "Remove from Tabs" when it is already there.
- No reload after installing. A Gmail tab that was open before you installed or updated gets the bar on its own, without losing an open draft.
- See who mail is from, at a glance. Optional, and off until you turn it on. Each inbox row gets a small chip naming the sender's organisation, such as mashreq.com, with a coloured letter, or the organisation's own icon if you allow it.
How it works
How to add a Gmail label or search as a tab
About a minute, the first time.
Add the extension to Chrome
Install Gmail Labels and Search Queries as Tabs from the Chrome Web Store. It is free and asks for no account. Open Gmail and the tab bar appears under the toolbar.
Open the view you want to keep
Click a label in the sidebar, or run any Gmail search, for example is:unread has:attachment.
Press + on the tab bar
The view becomes a tab with its unread count. Drag it to reorder, give it a colour, and click it any time to open that view again.
Watch it
90 seconds in a real inbox
Recorded from the extension in a signed-in Gmail. Message content is blurred, and there is no sound: the captions tell the story.
Compared
What Gmail offers on its own
Gmail has three ways to keep a view close. Each is good at something.
| Category tabs | Multiple Inboxes | Bookmarked search | This extension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own labels | No | Yes, as sections | Yes | Yes |
| Any Gmail search | No | Yes, as sections | Yes | Yes |
| How many | Five, fixed | Up to five | Any | Any |
| One view at a time | Yes | No, all at once | Yes | Yes |
| Unread count per view | New mail only | No | No | Yes |
| Keeps the category tabs | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Needs an install | Nothing to install | Nothing to install | Nothing to install | A free extension |
Read the full comparison, and when Gmail's own options are enough
Privacy
Your mail stays in your browser
The extension reads label names and unread counts from the Gmail page you already have open. Message content is never read, stored or sent.
What it stores
Your tabs, colours, order, rules and theme, in Chrome's own storage, synced by Chrome like your bookmarks.
What it never touches
Messages, subjects, contacts and attachments. It has no Gmail API access, no sign-in and no server holding your settings.
What can leave
Only what you send: a feedback message when you press Send, and an optional survey after you uninstall. Both are listed in full in the policy.
Questions
Questions people ask
What is Gmail Labels and Search Queries as Tabs?
It is a free Chrome extension that puts your Gmail labels and saved searches in a tab bar across the top of Gmail, so every view you use all day is one click away instead of a scan down the sidebar. It also pins Gmail's own views, such as #starred and #sent.
Does it read my email?
No. It reads your label names and unread counts from the Gmail page in your browser. Message content is never read, stored or sent anywhere.
Is it free?
Yes. Free, no account, no upsell, and open source under the MIT license.
Does it work with multiple Gmail accounts?
Yes. Each account, identified by its address, keeps its own tabs, colours, order and rules, and switching accounts switches the bar.
Do my tabs follow me to another computer?
Yes. They sync through Chrome's own sync, the same mechanism as your bookmarks, so signing into Chrome elsewhere brings them with you.
Can I add custom tabs to Gmail?
Yes, with this extension. Gmail on its own offers only a fixed set of five category tabs (Primary, Promotions, Social, Updates and Forums). The extension adds a bar above the inbox where any label or any search can be a tab, alongside the categories rather than instead of them.
Can I pin a search, not just a label?
Yes. Any Gmail search works, for example is:unread from:boss or has:attachment older_than:30d, and becomes a tab you click like any other.
How do I add a Gmail label as a tab?
Two ways, both from the tab bar the extension adds above your inbox. Open the label in Gmail and press the + button at the end of the bar, which saves whatever view you are on, label or search, as a tab. Or press the settings icon on the bar, type the label's name (for example Invoices or Clients) and press Add Tab. The new tab appears immediately with its unread count, and you can drag it into place and give it a colour.
How do I pin a Gmail search as a tab?
Run the search in Gmail as usual, for example from:accounts@ has:attachment newer_than:30d, then press the + button at the end of the tab bar. The search becomes a tab with its unread count, and clicking it runs the search again live. To rename it or give it a colour, open the tab's menu and choose Edit Tab.
Does it work with Google Workspace accounts?
Yes. Workspace Gmail runs on mail.google.com like personal Gmail, so the extension works the same way, unless your organisation's administrator blocks Chrome extensions. Each Workspace and personal account keeps its own tabs.
Does it work with Gmail dark mode?
Yes. Light, Dark and System are all supported, and System follows Gmail's own theme, so a light Gmail on a dark desktop still gets a light tab bar.
Does it slow Gmail down?
No. It draws one small bar on a page you have already loaded, and it fetches nothing of its own.
Does it work in Edge, Brave or Firefox?
It is built on Manifest V3 and published for Chrome. It is tested in Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera and Chromium, and other Chromium browsers that install from the Chrome Web Store, such as Brave, can run it. Firefox and Safari cannot.
What happens to my tabs if I uninstall it?
Chrome removes the extension's storage with it, so your tabs, colours and rules go too. Export them to a JSON file from Settings first if you might come back, and import the file after reinstalling.
How do I get my tabs back if something goes wrong?
Export your configuration to a JSON file from Settings at any time, and import it back into a fresh profile or a new machine.
Put your busiest views one click away.
Free, open source, and a minute to set up.
Add to Chrome, freeWorks in Chrome and in Chromium browsers that install from the Chrome Web Store.