Tabz
Full Linux terminals in your Chrome sidebar
Watch: Subagent chaos with audio announcements - Multiple Claude subagents running with different voice status updates
What Is This?
Real bash terminals running in your browser sidebar. Not a web-based terminal emulator - actual Linux shells connected via WebSocket to your local machine.
Run anything you'd run in a normal terminal:
- Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex - AI coding assistants side-by-side with your browser
- TUI applications - lazygit, htop, btop, vim, neovim, midnight commander
- Development servers - npm, yarn, docker, kubectl, any CLI tool
- Full interactivity - colors, mouse support, copy/paste, scrollback
Browse the web with your terminals always visible - no window juggling, no Alt+Tab. Terminals persist in tmux sessions, so they survive sidebar close/reopen and even browser restarts.
Why this exists: If you use AI coding tools (Claude Code, Gemini, Codex), you need terminals visible while browsing docs, PRs, and issues. Tabz keeps them docked to your browser instead of buried behind windows.
Give your AI full control: Through MCP tools and REST API, Claude Code can control your browser (screenshots, clicks, form filling, network inspection) and spawn/kill terminal sessions programmatically. Your AI assistant becomes a true automation partner.
⚠️ Security Note: By default, MCP tools only allow access to safe domains (GitHub, GitLab, Vercel, localhost, AI image generators). "YOLO mode" can be enabled in the Dashboard MCP settings (
localhost:8129/#/mcp) to allow all URLs, but we recommend using a separate Chrome profile without personal accounts or saved passwords if you do.
Key Features
- Persistent sessions - Powered by tmux, terminals survive everything
- Profiles system - Save configurations for different tools (Claude Code, lazygit, htop)
- Category organization - Color-coded groups for easy identification
- Smart directory inheritance - Set a global working directory, profiles inherit it
- 3D Focus Mode - Pop any terminal into an immersive full-tab 3D view (scroll to zoom, mouse to orbit, F2 to lock)
- Terminal Popouts - Right-click tab → "Pop Out" for standalone terminal windows (theme synced, return or detach)
- Tmux pane awareness - Detects splits inside terminals with per-pane status, audio voices, and chat targeting
- Local dashboard - Web UI at
localhost:8129for terminal management and quick stats - Tabz MCP tools - Let Claude Code control your browser (screenshots, clicks, form filling)
- Keyboard shortcuts - Quick access to paste text, send to chat, spawn terminals
Claude Code Integration
TabzChrome is designed to work seamlessly with Claude Code:
🚀 Quick Setup - /discover-profiles command
- Manage TabzChrome profiles via the REST API (view, create, update, bulk-import)
- Browse curated lists (awesome-tuis, modern-unix) to discover new CLI tools
- Import ready-made profile configurations with sensible defaults
⚡ 0 Token Cost Up Front - MCP tools with no context overhead!
Using Claude Code's experimental MCP CLI mode, tool schemas are loaded on-demand instead of all 85 definitions into context. Enable with the ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_MCP_CLI=true environment variable. See the setup gist for details.
🎭 Power Features (Claude Code Integration):
TabzChrome includes a Claude Code plugin with agents, skills, and MCP tools:
| Component | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Tabz MCP Server | MCP | 85 browser control tools (screenshots, clicks, bookmarks, network, tab groups, windows, history, cookies, emulation, profiles, plugins) |
| tabz-browser | skill | Browser automation patterns (screenshots, forms, network debugging) |
| tabz-terminals | skill | Terminal spawning and worker management via REST API |
| tabz-development | skill | Terminal.tsx, xterm.js, WebSocket patterns |
| tabz-expert | agent | Browser automation specialist with 85 MCP tools |
Quick setup: Skills auto-load when you run Claude Code in the TabzChrome directory.