Simple Tab Saver

A Visual Studio 2022/2026 extension to save tabs and restore tabs using compact toolbar UI. The core idea is that a tab arrangement is part of the work, so it deserves to be saved like work: as explicit, portable, human-readable JSON next to the solution, instead of internal state inside the IDE.

Simple Tab Saver on the Visual Studio Marketplace

Documentation: User Guide · Release Notes (current version: 1.8.2)

Simple Tab Saver extension toolbar and dropdown with tab layouts — Core UI of the extension, as simple as possible.

Main Features

Save/restore

Named tab layouts, multiple per solution, with tab order, pinned state, active tab, cursor and scroll positions.

Full fidelity

Tab groups, floating document windows with monitor-aware geometry, duplicated tabs, split views, tool tabs docked in the document well.

Drift detection

Relocation and rename detection for files tracked by a saved tab layout, so the saved tabs are never silently dropped.

Git integration

Branch-aware tab layouts that save and switch with the current git branch.

Breakpoints

Capture and restore with self-correcting line anchors, plus a snapshot stash for storing breakpoint sets between debugging rounds.

Automation

Autosave, autorestore on solution open, backups with pruning.

Management

Duplicating, quick switcher, management dialogs for editing, comparing, building, and merging tab layouts.

Three principles carry the design:

Simplicity of use: a small toolbar with a minimal screen footprint where every action is one click. Saving and restoring tabs is meant to be quick and repeatable, so the extension stays unobtrusive.
Storage format: one JSON file per tab layout, holding solution-relative paths, readable and editable in any text editor. The tab layouts are portable, so the solution can be moved, copied to another machine, or committed with its tab layouts for the whole team, and everything keeps working.
Comprehensive customization: behavior, presentation, confirmations, automation, optional features - everything can be either turned on/off or adjusted in multiple ways. The important part: customization is optional, and the extension is ready to use out of the box.

The design decisions and what went wrong along the way are covered in the Dev Journal, starting with replacing a broken extension.

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