Parking is not deleting
When Tab Valet parks a tab, it closes the tab from your tab strip and saves it to the sidebar. The tab is not lost. Click its title in the sidebar at any time to reopen it exactly where you left off.
How idle time is calculated
Tab Valet tracks two things for every open tab: how many times you've visited it (sessions) and how long you've spent on it (total minutes). It uses this to decide when a tab counts as "idle."
| Tab type | Parked after idle for… |
|---|---|
| Low engagement (fewer than 2 visits, under 3 min total) | 20 minutes |
| Higher engagement (2+ visits or 3+ min) | 30 min + 3 min per visit (max 60 min) |
Example: A tab you've visited 5 times earns a 45-minute idle window (30 + 3×5 = 45 min). A tab you just opened and glanced at once will be parked after 20 minutes of inactivity.
Tabs that are never parked automatically
Tab Valet always skips the following, regardless of how long they've been idle:
- The tab you're currently viewing
- Pinned tabs — pin a tab to keep it permanently safe from parking
- Tabs in a tab group
- Tabs playing audio or video — music, podcasts, video calls are protected
Manual parking
You can park any tab immediately without waiting for the idle timer:
- Right-click anywhere on a page
- Open Tab Valet → Park Tab
The tab is parked instantly and appears in the sidebar.
The 8-second undo window
Every time a tab is parked, a notification appears at the top of the sidebar for 8 seconds. It shows which tab was parked and includes an Undo button. Click Undo to immediately restore the tab as if it was never parked.
If multiple tabs are parked at once, you can undo individual tabs or use Undo all.
How Tab Valet checks for idle tabs
Tab Valet runs a check every minute in the background. Tabs that cross their idle threshold during that check are parked in that pass. You don't need to have the sidebar open for parking to happen.