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Freedom251 › Blog › macOS

Safari Arc-Style Tabs: How to Organize Tabs Without Relying on the Top Bar

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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Safari offers built-in ways to manage tabs from its sidebar, and third-party projects have also aimed to show tabs vertically. But a vertical tab list is not necessarily a replacement for Safari’s native top tab strip. If you want an Arc-like workflow while staying in Safari, start with Tab Groups and the sidebar; consider an extension only after checking what it actually changes and whether it supports your version of macOS and Safari.

What “Arc-style tabs” means in Safari

People searching for “Safari Arc-style tabs,” “vertical tabs for Safari,” or an “Arc-like sidebar” may mean either of two things: viewing open tabs in a vertical list, or removing Safari’s top tab strip altogether. Those are different capabilities. A sidebar can supplement tab navigation without replacing Safari’s own browser controls.

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Apple documents Safari extensions as a way to add functionality, but that does not establish that an extension can replace Safari’s native interface or hide its tab strip. Apple’s Safari Extensions documentation describes extensions and how they are built and distributed; it does not promise a full browser-chrome redesign.

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Try Safari’s built-in sidebar and Tab Groups first

Safari includes Tab Groups for organizing related tabs, and its sidebar provides a way to work with tabs and groups. Apple describes Tab Groups as an organization feature in its guide to organizing tabs in Safari; its Safari product page also highlights Tab Groups.

This built-in approach is the simplest place to start if you want to keep Safari and organize browsing by project, activity, or context. It should not be mistaken for a guaranteed, persistent replacement for the top tab strip: the cited Apple materials do not establish that the sidebar behaves as a fully substitutive vertical tab bar in every configuration.

What third-party vertical-tab projects can—and cannot—tell you

A public GitHub project called Vertical Tabs: Safari extension describes displaying open tabs in a vertical sidebar and lists macOS 11.0 or later as its minimum. That is the project’s stated purpose and requirement, not confirmation that it is currently maintained, available through the App Store, compatible with your exact Safari version, or able to remove Safari’s top tab strip.

Apple’s App Store editorial article Get Started With Safari Extensions explains extension discovery and installation. An extension’s presence or installation does not, by itself, prove it can modify Safari’s native interface. Check the current listing and documentation for the exact behavior you want.

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Check before installing a vertical-tabs extension

  • Display behavior: Does it show tabs in a sidebar, hide the top strip, or simply add another way to navigate? Look for an explicit description of each behavior.
  • Compatibility: Confirm the current supported macOS and Safari versions against the versions installed on your Mac. A stated macOS minimum alone does not guarantee compatibility with a particular Safari release.
  • Distribution and maintenance: Verify that the project has a current listing or release, who publishes it, and when it was last updated.
  • Privacy and permissions: Read the extension’s permissions and privacy disclosures in its current distribution listing before granting access.
  • Cost: Check the current listing for price or in-app charges; no current price is established for the cited project here.

Apple’s support guide for tab organization is versioned for a particular operating-system guide path, so menu names or steps may differ by device software version. Consult the instructions for the OS installed on your device rather than assuming every version uses identical controls.

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Which approach fits your goal?

Approach What it provides What is not established
Safari sidebar and Tab Groups Apple-documented ways to organize and work with tabs and groups. A persistent vertical tab bar that replaces Safari’s native top strip in every configuration.
Third-party vertical-tab project The cited GitHub project says it displays open tabs in a vertical sidebar and lists macOS 11.0 or later. Current maintenance, App Store availability, exact Safari-version compatibility, privacy details, current price, or removal of the native top strip.

If your priority is organizing tabs, Safari’s built-in sidebar and Tab Groups are the straightforward starting point. If you specifically want to eliminate the top strip, verify that a candidate explicitly supports that behavior; a promise of “vertical tabs” alone is not enough.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

macOSSafariSafari ExtensionsTab Groupsvertical tabs

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