How to switch tabs on Mac: keys for six browsers

If you want to switch tabs on Mac with the keyboard, the right keys depend on your browser. Safari 27, released September 14, 2026 (Apple's release note, checked October 2026), and Firefox accept ⌃Tab and ⌃⇧Tab; Chrome and Brave use ⌘⌥→ and ⌘⌥←; Arc has a separate recent-tab toggle. The table below also shows how to jump to a numbered tab or find one by title.

How to switch tabs on Mac

There is no single switch-tabs shortcut on Mac that every browser shares. In Safari, press ⌃Tab for the next tab and ⌃⇧Tab for the previous one; ⌘⇧] and ⌘⇧[ do the same. To switch between tabs in Chrome on Mac, Google documents ⌘⌥→ and ⌘⌥← instead, and Brave documents the same keys. Apple's Safari 27 guide and the Chrome keyboard shortcut list, checked October 2026 show the difference.

If you use ⌘1–⌘8, most of these browsers jump to a numbered tab, while ⌘9 goes to the last tab. Those are numbered positions, not the order you visited pages.

Which keys switch between tabs on Mac in six browsers?

These are the keys and actions listed in each vendor's help as checked October 2026; “Not listed” means that help page gives no keyboard binding for that action.

Browser	Next / previous	Tab N / last tab	Last-used tab	Search or list tabs	Tab overview
Safari 27, Apple 2026	⌃Tab / ⌃⇧Tab or ⌘⇧] / ⌘⇧[	⌘1–⌘8 / ⌘9	Not listed	No separate search key listed	⌘⇧\
Chrome, Google 2026 (tab-search guide)	⌘⌥→ / ⌘⌥←	⌘1–⌘8 / ⌘9	Not listed	⌘⇧A; or type @tabs in the address bar	Not listed
Firefox, Mozilla 2026	⌃Tab / ⌃⇧Tab; the setting below changes their behavior	⌘1–⌘8 / ⌘9	⌃Tab with recent-order setting	⌃⇧Tab shows All Tabs when recent-order is on	Not listed
Edge, Microsoft 2026	⌘Fn↓ / ⌘Fn↑	⌘1–⌘8 / ⌘9	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Brave, Brave 2025	⌘⌥→ / ⌘⌥←	⌘1–⌘8 / ⌘9	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Arc, Arc Help Center 2026	⌘⌥↑ / ⌘⌥↓	⌘1, ⌘2, ⌘3 … / Not listed	⌃Tab	Sidebar; ⌘S shows or hides it	Not listed

Safari's ⌘⇧\ opens a visual overview. To search tabs in Chrome, press ⌘⇧A for a searchable tab list, or type @tabs followed by a title in the address bar. Arc's sidebar keeps its tabs visible. Its tab-switcher guide, checked October 2026 says ⌃Tab switches among the five most recently visited tabs and ⌘⌥↑ / ⌘⌥↓ moves through all tabs in sidebar order. Arc reserves left/right for Spaces; use up/down for tabs, as its shortcut list, checked October 2026 shows. If your browser shows “Not listed,” use its on-screen tab controls; don't assume a key from another browser will work.

Cycle with next/previous when tabs are in a known order, jump with a number when you know the tab's position, or search by title when you don't. If a key doesn't match your keyboard layout, open the browser's menus and read the shortcut printed beside the command; Apple's Safari 27 keyboard guide notes that shortcuts can vary by language and layout.

Can I return to the tab I used just before this one?

Yes in Arc, and in Firefox after you enable its recent-order option. Arc documents ⌃Tab as “Toggle between recent tabs.” In Firefox, click Firefox > Settings…, select Tabs and browsing, and in the Tabs section enable Ctrl+Tab cycles through tabs in recently used order. Then ⌃Tab moves through tabs by the order you viewed them; turn the option off to restore left-to-right cycling. Mozilla's tab settings guide, checked October 2026 has the current setting label and behavior.

The shortcut lists for Safari 27, Chrome, Edge, and Brave document next/previous order and numbered positions, but don't list a command for returning to the last active tab. If last-used order is essential, Firefox's setting or Arc's documented toggle avoids installing an extension.

If you only move between two pages whose positions stay fixed, ⌘1 and ⌘2 can act as a direct pair in browsers that document numbered tabs. That is different from returning to the page you visited last: closing, opening, or moving a tab can change its position.

What if the shortcut is missing or conflicts?

On macOS 27, open Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts. Add a shortcut for your browser, choose a menu command that already exists, type its title exactly as shown in the browser's menu, then press the key combination you want. It won't create a “previously active tab” command if the browser doesn't have one. Apple's App Shortcuts instructions, checked October 2026 say that custom shortcuts apply only to existing menu commands; remove the custom entry there to undo it.

Why does ⌘Tab open something else?

⌘Tab changes apps, not browser tabs. ⌘ plus the grave-accent key switches between windows of the current app, such as two Safari windows. Apple's Mac keyboard shortcut guide, checked October 2026 names both system shortcuts.

I build Octoweb, so weigh this alternative accordingly. It has no tab strip: ⌃N and ⌃P move through tabs in most-recently-used order, and ⌘⇧P searches open tabs and history together. ⌘1–⌘9 jump to quick-access slots rather than fixed tab positions. The keyboard-first browsing guide shows how that setup works.

The full list of browser keyboard shortcuts has the other bindings.