The problem I kept running into
I'm a chronic tab hoarder. At any given time I've got 40–80 tabs open across two windows. Chrome's built-in Memory Saver is aggressive in the wrong ways — it hibernates tabs I'm actively referencing. And the built-in task manager is a two-step detour that still doesn't tell me which tabs I should actually close.
So I built Tab Memory Manager.
What it does
Per-tab memory estimates — A live MB count next to every open tab. Sorted by memory usage by default. There's a live total on the toolbar icon so you always know what Chrome is consuming right now.
Smart suggestions — The extension flags your biggest, stalest tabs: ones that are idle the longest and consuming the most. It never suggests your active tab, pinned tabs, tabs playing audio, or domains you've whitelisted.
Hibernate, don't close — This was the core design decision. Hibernating frees the memory but keeps the tab alive in your strip — it reloads when you click it. Much safer than closing, especially mid-research.
Bulk cleanup — Select multiple tabs or hit Apply on the suggestions panel. See the total memory you'll reclaim before you commit.
Undo list — Closed something by mistake? There's a "Recently cleaned" panel. One click to restore.
Tab grouping — Groups all your open tabs by domain into color-coded Chrome tab groups, instantly.
The interesting technical bit: memory estimates
Chrome's stable extension API doesn't expose exact per-tab memory. The chrome.processes API that does exists only on Dev and Canary builds — not the Chrome that 99% of people use.
So Tab Memory Manager uses calibrated estimates based on tab state, domain patterns, and known Chrome process overhead. These are clearly labeled "est." in the UI. If you're on Dev or Canary, you can switch on real per-tab memory in settings.
The warning Chrome shows about "processes requires dev channel" is a Chrome-generated note about that optional API — the extension works completely normally without it. It's not a bug.
The privacy angle
No accounts. No servers. No analytics. No network requests at all (except to load the extension itself). Your tab data never leaves your browser.
This was a hard constraint from the start — I didn't want to build a tool that phones home with your browsing habits in exchange for memory stats.
What I learned building it
Chrome's memory API situation is messier than I expected. There's no clean "give me memory per tab" call on stable Chrome. The estimates approach took real calibration work.
Hibernation UX is tricky. Users expect the tab to stay exactly where it was. Making that feel seamless (instant reload on click, right scroll position, no flash) took more edge-case handling than the core feature.
"No frameworks" was the right call here. The extension opens in under 100 ms. That matters when you're in the middle of a task and just want to quickly free some memory.
Dark mode should be automatic, not optional. Used CSS variables throughout so dark/light adapts to the user's system preference without any user-facing toggle.
Try it
It's free on the Chrome Web Store. I'd genuinely love feedback — especially from people who've tried other tab suspenders and found them lacking.
Link:
Tab Memory Manager - Chrome Web Store
See estimated memory per tab, hibernate or close idle tabs in one click, and group tabs by domain. Everything stays on your device.
chromewebstore.google.com
What would make this more useful for your workflow?
Top comments (6)
Can you make it for FIREFOX browsers.
Hi Kartik Patel,
Thanks for showing interest. Firefox addon is under review. Will update here as soon as it's published.
Hi Kartik Patel,
Firefox addon is now approved and published. Please refer to the below link
addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/a...
Thanks
Mohan
Ok its like 30 minutes of trying it out and its amazing perfectly functional and helpfull, only issues I have are related to UI.
1) If memory usage is in 2 digit integer then it throws something like N/M at end which doesnt look good, in my browser that last alphabet also gets cut in half [I use zen browser]
2) I am on firefox but it says est. Chrome Memory [I know that is minor issue done by AI and you havent noticed, just informing]
3) Ungroup tab icon more of looks like FULL SCREEN ICON, which can confuse people, You can use something like this [I found this on github]
github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/iss...
Thats all issue I had, hopefully my feedback helps you to fix it. I will rate it 4 star soon on firefox store
Thanks for noticing these. I'll fix these and update the extension asap.
Hi Kartik Patel,
Thanks again for taking the time to write this up — genuinely helpful feedback, and exactly the kind that makes the extension better. Happy to say all three are now live:
Really appreciate the 4 stars and the careful report.
If you enjoy this one, you might like my other extensions here
Thanks again! 🙏