A tool to transfer Google Chrome tabs from your phone to your computer using developer tools.
This is the most reliable way to transfer large amounts of opened tabs when switching phones without boundaries.
- Copy all open tabs from Chrome on Android and iOS to your computer.
- Reopen exported tabs on your new Android or iOS phone from your computer.
- Completely cross-platform! Works on Windows, Mac and Linux computers!
- Also supports Safari!
Read the blog article with in-depth information about the inner workings of this tool.
- Chrome for Android
- Should work with pretty much any more recent phone.
- Chrome for iOS
- Before iOS
16.4, only Safari was supported!
- Before iOS
This command line applications requires the following software to run:
- Google Chrome Browser on your phone
- PHP 8.1 or newer
- Android Debug Bridge
(platform tools including the
adbexecutable) - iOS WebKit Debug Proxy
Download the latest release installer from the release. The installer contains all required software dependencies to run on your system.
On Mac, the easiest way of installing software dependencies is through the Homebrew package manager. Here's how to get started.
brew install php
brew install --cask android-platform-tools
brew install ios-webkit-debug-proxyThen download the .phar file from the latest release.
Alternatively you can also check out the project source with Git, but that requires some more steps to install oftware libraries.
sudo apt install php-cli
# ...Make sure it is at least PHP version
8.1.
Refer to the Download page at developer.android.com for installation instructions of the Android platform tooling.
You can find installation instructions for the iOS WebKit Debug Proxy by Google over at GitHub.
Then download the .phar file from the latest release.
Alternatively you can also check out the project source with Git, but that requires some more steps to install oftware libraries.
Last updated: November 3rd, 2024.
- PHP 8.3 64 bit (https://windows.php.net/downloads/releases/php-8.3.13-nts-Win32-vs16-x64.zip)
- PHP 8.3 32 bit (https://windows.php.net/downloads/releases/php-8.3.13-nts-Win32-vs16-x86.zip)
See which commands to use for the commands.
On windows, when using the provided installer, you will have copy-tabs-android.cmd and copy-tabs-iphone.cmd
as shortcuts to the commands. They will run with the default options applied.
- Here's how to enable USB debugging on your Android device.
- Enable developer options in settings.
- Enable USB debugging option.
- Restart the Chrome browser.
- Here's how to enable USB debugging on your iOS device.
- Enable Safari WebInspector in settings.
- Enable Chrome WebInspector in content settings.
- Restart the Chrome/Safari browser.
Independent of your platform, make sure to always disable USB debuggging after usage! It can be a security risk to you device, when in contact with public USB ports.
Also make sure to activate the usb debugging feature under developer options on your phone, as described in the prerequisites above and to connect it to your computer.
The browser on your phone has to be running for this tool to work properly. Sometimes you have to re-connect the USB to get picked up properly.
Open the installation directory of tab-transfer in a terminal or command prompt.
php tab-transfer.pharYou can always build the Phar from source, as described down below.
Dependeing on what phone you wish to transfer tabs from, you can choose between:
tab-transfer copy-tabs:androidtab-transfer copy-tabs:iphone
Both will produce output files named similar to the following:
tabs_YYYY-MM-DD.jsontabs_YYYY-MM-DD-gist.md
Then there is a command to reopen the tabs on another phone:
tab-transfer reopen-tabs
See also CLI synopsis for details on what arguments and options are supported.
Make sure to add the adb and ios_webkit_debug_proxy binary locations to the PATH environment variable.
Here's a good explanation for Windows, of how to set up a new path in there:
git clone git@github.com:machinateur/tab-transfer.git
cd tab-transfer
tab-transfer.cmdThis approach requires composer!
git clone git@github.com:machinateur/tab-transfer.git
cd tab-transfer
chmod +x ./tab-transfer.sh
./tab-transfer.shThis approach requires composer!
Alternatively, you can also run the command as composer script:
composer install --no-dev
composer run-script tab-transferThis tool was formerly known as android-chrome-tab-transfer.
The inspiration for this tool was this android stackexchange answer.
Later on, I noticed that there was real demand for a tool that delivers seamless tab transfers,
so I continued development. In 2024, with the release of version 0.5.0 and the rebranding to tab-transfer,
iOS support was introduced.
The following commands, arguments and options are available in the tab-transfer CLI:
tab-transfer 0.5.1
Usage:
command [options] [arguments]
Options:
-h, --help Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
-q, --quiet Do not output any message
-V, --version Display this application version
--ansi|--no-ansi Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
-n, --no-interaction Do not ask any interactive question
-v|vv|vvv, --verbose Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug
Available commands:
check-environment Check environment for required dependencies ony your system. Implicitly executed before copying tabs.
completion Dump the shell completion script
help Display help for a command
list List commands
reopen-tabs Restore tabs to your phone's Chrome browser.
copy-tabs
copy-tabs:android Transfer tabs from your Android's Chrome browser.
copy-tabs:iphone Transfer tabs from your iPhone's Chrome browser.
You can always view help information usinng tab-transfer list.
Description:
Transfer tabs from your Android's Chrome browser.
Usage:
copy-tabs:android [options] [--] [<file>]
Arguments:
file The relative filepath to write. The `--date` / `--no-date` flag applies as well. [default: "tabs.json"]
Options:
-d, --date|--no-date Whether to add the date `2024-11-03` suffix to the filename. Active by Default.
-p, --port=PORT The port to forward requests through `adb`. [default: 9222]
-t, --timeout=TIMEOUT The network timeout for the download request (at last 10 seconds). [default: 10]
--skip-check Skip the check for required dependencies ony your system will be performed.
-s, --socket=SOCKET The socket to forward requests using `adb`. [default: "chrome_devtools_remote"]
-w, --wait=WAIT The time to wait before starting the download request (between 0 and 60 seconds). [default: 2]
--skip-cleanup Skip the `adb` cleanup command execution. If active, no reopen script will be written.
-h, --help Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
-q, --quiet Do not output any message
-V, --version Display this application version
--ansi|--no-ansi Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
-n, --no-interaction Do not ask any interactive question
-v|vv|vvv, --verbose Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug
You can always view help information usinng tab-transfer copy-tabs:android -h.
Description:
Transfer tabs from your iPhone's Chrome browser.
Usage:
copy-tabs:iphone [options] [--] [<file>]
Arguments:
file The relative filepath to write. The `--date` / `--no-date` flag applies as well. [default: "tabs.json"]
Options:
-d, --date|--no-date Whether to add the date `2024-11-03` suffix to the filename. Active by Default.
-p, --port=PORT The port to forward requests through `ios_webkit_debug_proxy`. [default: 9222]
-t, --timeout=TIMEOUT The network timeout for the download request (at last 10 seconds). [default: 10]
--skip-check Skip the check for required dependencies ony your system will be performed.
-w, --wait=WAIT The time to wait before starting the download request (between 0 and 60 seconds). [default: 2]
-h, --help Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
-q, --quiet Do not output any message
-V, --version Display this application version
--ansi|--no-ansi Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
-n, --no-interaction Do not ask any interactive question
-v|vv|vvv, --verbose Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug
You can always view help information usinng tab-transfer copy-tabs:iphone -h.
Description:
Restore tabs to your phone's Chrome browser.
Usage:
reopen-tabs [options] [--] [<file>]
Arguments:
file The relative filepath to read. The `--date` / `--no-date` flag applies as well. [default: "tabs.json"]
Options:
-p, --port=PORT The port to forward requests through. [default: 9222]
-t, --timeout=TIMEOUT The network timeout for the download request (at last 10 seconds). [default: 10]
--skip-check Skip the check for required dependencies ony your system will be performed.
-i, --driver=DRIVER The driver to use for restoration.
-h, --help Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
-q, --quiet Do not output any message
-V, --version Display this application version
--ansi|--no-ansi Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
-n, --no-interaction Do not ask any interactive question
-v|vv|vvv, --verbose Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug
You can always view help information usinng tab-transfer reopen-tabs.
This command also supports undocumented options,
which correspond to the options available for the desired driver (android or iphone).
Additionally, the --target-page undocumented debug-parameter may be used to define a different startup target (iOS only).
The following technical details might be more interesting for technical users, who also wish to contribute or modify the tool.
Both drivers, Android and iOS will perform an environment check.
You can also skip the check using the --skip-check option flag.
In case of problems, please first try to solve those issues.
The commands provided in this CLI tool offer extensive debug output capabilities. Simply append the -vv (very verbose)
or -vvv (debug) flags to the command.
It is totally possible to use the beta or canary version of Google Chrome.
On Android, you have to set a different value for the --socket option.
This is an advanced use-case. For details on how to use this tool with the beta or canary channels of the Google Chrome browser on Android, read #2. Extended technical knowledge is advised.
On iOS, any WebKit WebView based browser is supported, where the targeted app depends on which is currently in the foreground.
You can transfer tabs from and to safari and pretty much any browser that uses the iOS WebKit WebView. To do so simply open the desired app/browser instead of Google Chrome, in the steps described earlier.
When transferring from Android, you will also get the reopen-script, depending on your operating system:
tabs_YYYY-MM-DD-reopen.cmdon Windowstabs_YYYY-MM-DD-reopen.shon Mac/Linux
It is only supported for backwards compatibility, because since 0.5.0 the tab-transfer reopen-tabs command is recommended.
This script requires curl to be available on the PATH env-var.
The adb, which is part of the Android platform tools, is used to forward http calls via the usb connection. What http
calls, you ask? I present to you the chrome devtools protocol.
The Chrome DevTools Protocol allows for tools to instrument, inspect, debug and profile Chromium, Chrome and other Blink-based browsers.
It exposes endpoints to retrieve all currently open tabs and also one to open a new tab. The former is used to download
tab information, while the latter one can be used by the generated sh script to reopen the tabs on another device.
While the principles remain the same, the tooling differs on iOS transfers. With iOS 16.4 expanded debugging capabilities
were exposed for Google Chrome, which were previously limited to Safari only.
The iOS WebKit Debug Proxy translates some of the protocol features of Apple's protocol (the WebKit Inspector Protocol).
More information on discrepancies between the protocols can be found in the Chrome Dev-Tools section of iOS WebKit Debug Proxy.
As the proxy program does not (yet) support the /new endpoint to create new targets (tabs), the iOS restoration relies
directly on the WebKit Inspector's websocket. This is accomplished by abusing the browser's native websocket support
to generate an ad-hoc inspector script that sends the correct inspector commands to the connected iPhone.
You can still use that command in more or less unmodified greatness, if you like.
By adding the COMPATIBILITY_MODE=1 flag before calling the CLI tool, you can enable the command, named copy-tabs.
Description:
A tool to transfer tabs from your android phone to your computer using `adb`. [Legacy]
Usage:
copy-tabs [options] [--] [<file>]
Arguments:
file The relative filepath to write. Only the filename is actually considered! [default: "tabs.json"]
Options:
-d, --date|--no-date Whether to add the date `2024-11-03` suffix to the filename. Active by Default.
-p, --port=PORT The port to forward requests using `adb`. [default: 9222]
-s, --socket=SOCKET The socket to forward requests using `adb`. [default: "chrome_devtools_remote"]
-t, --timeout=TIMEOUT The network timeout for the download request (at least 10 seconds). [default: 10]
-w, --wait=WAIT The time to wait before starting the download request (between 0 and 60 seconds). [default: 2]
--skip-cleanup Skip the `adb` cleanup command execution.
-h, --help Display help for the given command. When no command is given display help for the list command
-q, --quiet Do not output any message
-V, --version Display this application version
--ansi|--no-ansi Force (or disable --no-ansi) ANSI output
-n, --no-interaction Do not ask any interactive question
-v|vv|vvv, --verbose Increase the verbosity of messages: 1 for normal output, 2 for more verbose output and 3 for debug
The following is documentation for the legacy command, that was compatible with Android only.
To reopen the tabs on another device, connect it instead, allow usb debugging and start the google chrome browser. Then
run the generated script file. It requires curl to send the commands to reopen all tabs, as well as adb.
The generated script will include commands to manage the debug connection, so make sure your new phone is connected
before running the shell script.
Please note, that in most cases there will be a dialog prompting you to allow the usb debugging access. It's advised you keep your phone unlocked during the process, to make sure the request doesn't time out.
The script to reopen all tabs will be output depending on your operating system.
On Windows it's tabs-reopen.cmd, on Mac and Linux it's tabs-reopen.sh.
On Mac and Linux you will first have to make the script executable.
See #18 for more information on how to repurpose the re-open script for a windows use-case.
This is supported without manual steps on all platforms in newer versions of this tool. See The reopen script above for details.
Time has shown that the communication between adb on the computer and the Android device attached via cable can cause
errors or at least confusion. Thus, the possibility was introduced to get the error message and code of whatever
occurred during downloading the tabs from the device. Since that information is rather technical and will only be
needed in certain cases, it is only displayed when the download request fails and the command is run in debug mode.
The output of the curl request will also be set to verbose and print directly to STDOUT.
To run the command with debug verbosity, append -vvv to the end of the command:
php tab-transfer copy-tabs -vvvMake sure to activate the usb debugging feature under developer options on your Android phone and to connect it to your computer. The browser has to be running for this tool to work properly. If you are not sure on how to set it up, here is a guide on how to remotely debug an Android phone.
It's possible to gain some more insight using the device inspection built into any chrome-based browser. For that,
navigate to chrome://inspect/#devices in any chrome based browser, like for example google chrome, installed on your
computer.
Even though it is rare, there have been cases where the tab list was missing a small number of tabs. ^ In most cases the list was complete when re-tried.
It was also reported in #29 that setting
the chrome://flags/#tab-group-parity-android flag to enabled, this would also solve the issue.
It is not guaranteed that the order of the tabs exported corresponds to the same order they were opened on your device. It is also currently not possible to keep tab-group associations across devices. This is a technical limitation, as the endpoint does not provide those information.
Use composer to pull in all library dependencies.
The phar can be built from source using box. If you don't have it installed yet, you can by running the following command:
composer global require humbug/boxPlease keep in mind that global composer dependencies are discouraged, you should use the box version that's included as a dev-dependency.
The configuration may be customized using a box.json file. To build, run the following command:
box compileOr, to use the dev-dependency, as recommended:
composer install --dev
composer run-script box-compileThe setup uses Inno Setup Compiler 6, see winsetup.
Note: Also might be interesting... https://ss64.com/nt/iexpress.html
It's MIT.