Ctrl+Q MRU Switcher

Firefox-style recent-tab switcher for Chrome: press Ctrl+Q to open the menu, hold Ctrl and press Tab to cycle up to 5 most recently used tabs in the current window, then release Ctrl to switch. Bottom-half previews with highlighted titles.

Setup

npm install
npm run build

1. Open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, Load unpacked → this repo root.
2. Open chrome://extensions/shortcuts and confirm Open recent-tab switcher is bound to Ctrl+Q (set it manually if needed).
3. Reload the extension after rebuilding.

Testing

npm test              # Unit and mocked Chrome integration tests
npm run test:coverage # Unit/integration coverage report
npm run test:e2e      # Build and exercise the overlay in Chromium
npm run check         # Typecheck, unit/integration, build, and browser tests

The integration tests use a deterministic Chrome API mock to exercise service worker lifecycle and tab/window events. Playwright loads the built overlay in Chromium to verify rendering, keyboard cycling, and commit messaging, then loads the unpacked extension to verify its manifest, service worker, and fallback page.

Usage

• Hold Ctrl and press Q to open the switcher; keep Ctrl held and tap Q again to cycle right (older tabs).
• Ctrl+Shift+Q cycles left (newer tabs). Tab / Shift+Tab also work while the menu is open.
• Hover a preview to select it.
• Release Ctrl / Cmd to activate the highlighted tab.

Set both shortcuts at chrome://extensions/shortcuts if Chrome doesn't bind them automatically (some platforms reserve Ctrl+Shift+Q).

Optional: remap Ctrl+Tab → Ctrl+Q

Chrome reserves Ctrl+Tab for built-in tab order. If you prefer that chord, use the scripts in scripts/ to send Ctrl+Q instead:

• Windows: scripts/remap-ctrl-tab.ahk (AutoHotkey v2).

• Linux (X11): scripts/remap-ctrl-tab.sh (xbindkeys + xdotool).

Note on Ctrl+Q

On some Linux desktops, Ctrl+Q quits the active application. If that conflicts, pick another shortcut at chrome://extensions/shortcuts.

Restricted pages

Chrome forbids in-page overlays on chrome://, the New Tab Page, the Web Store, and PDF viewer pages. On those pages the switcher opens a small popup window anchored near the bottom of the screen (instead of a full tab). Release Ctrl to land on a tab in your original window; the popup closes automatically. The popup is never tracked as a recent tab.

License

MIT