sessions

Use the sessions API to list, and restore, tabs and windows that have been closed while the browser has been running.

The sessions.getRecentlyClosed() function returns an array of tabs.Tab and windows.Window objects, representing tabs and windows that have been closed since the browser was running, up to the maximum defined in sessions.MAX_SESSION_RESULTS.

You can then restore a window or tab using the sessions.restore() function. Restoring doesn't just reopen the tab: it also restores the tab's navigation history so the back/forward buttons will work.

This API also provides a group of functions that enable an extension to store additional state associated with a tab or a window. Then, if the tab or window is closed and subsequently restored, the extension can retrieve the state. For example, a tab grouping extension might use this to remember which group a tab is in, so as to restore it into the right group if the user restores the tab.

To use the sessions API you must have the "sessions" API permission.

Types

sessions.Filter: Enables you to restrict the number of Session objects returned by a call to sessions.getRecentlyClosed().
sessions.Session: Represents a tab or window that the user has closed in the current browsing session.

Properties

sessions.MAX_SESSION_RESULTS: The maximum number of sessions that will be returned by a call to sessions.getRecentlyClosed().

Functions

sessions.forgetClosedTab(): Removes a closed tab from the browser's list of recently closed tabs.
sessions.forgetClosedWindow(): Removes a closed window from the browser's list of recently closed windows.
sessions.getRecentlyClosed(): Returns an array of Session objects, representing windows and tabs that were closed in the current browsing session (that is: the time since the browser was started).
sessions.restore(): Restores a closed tab or window.
sessions.setTabValue(): Store a key/value pair associated with a given tab.
sessions.getTabValue(): Retrieve a previously stored value for a given tab, given its key.
sessions.removeTabValue(): Remove a key/value pair from a given tab.
sessions.setWindowValue(): Store a key/value pair associated with a given window.
sessions.getWindowValue(): Retrieve a previously stored value for a given window, given its key.
sessions.removeWindowValue(): Remove a key/value pair from a given window.

Events

sessions.onChanged: Fired when a tab or window is closed.

Example extensions

session-state

Browser compatibility

	desktop					mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Opera	Safari	Firefox for Android	Safari on iOS
`sessions`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`Filter`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`MAX_SESSION_RESULTS`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`Session`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote footnote 'Tab' objects in Sessions don't contain the 'url', 'title', or 'favIconUrl' properties.	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`forgetClosedTab`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 55 (Release date: 2017-08-08) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`forgetClosedWindow`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 55 (Release date: 2017-08-08) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`getRecentlyClosed`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`getTabValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`getWindowValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`onChanged`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 53 (Release date: 2017-04-19) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`removeTabValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`removeWindowValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`restore`	Chrome – Full support Chrome 37 (Release date: 2014-08-26) footnote Full support	Edge – Full support Edge 79 (Release date: 2020-01-15) footnote Full support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 52 (Release date: 2017-03-07) footnote Full support	Opera – Full support Opera 24 (Release date: 2014-09-02) footnote Full support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`setTabValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support
`setWindowValue`	Chrome – No support Chrome footnote No support	Edge – No support Edge footnote No support	Firefox – Full support Firefox 57 (Release date: 2017-11-14) footnote Full support	Opera – No support Opera footnote No support	Safari – No support Safari footnote No support	Firefox for Android – No support Firefox for Android footnote No support	Safari on iOS – No support Safari on iOS footnote No support

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
: See implementation notes.

Note: This API is based on Chromium's chrome.sessions API.

This page was last modified on Jul 17, 2025 by MDN contributors.

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