Sidebar Browser
The Firefox sidebar is a built-in browser feature that keeps your most useful tools — bookmarks, history, synced tabs, vertical tabs, and even an AI chatbot — right next to the page you’re working on. With one click on the sidebar button in the toolbar, you open a compact panel along the edge of the screen so you can stay focused on your main content, not on hunting through menus.
What is a browser sidebar?
A browser sidebar is a collapsible panel along the side of your browser window that gives you fast access to key tools without interrupting your current tab. Instead of covering the web page with pop-ups or separate windows, the page sidebar sits beside it, so everything stays visible.
In Firefox, the sidebar is native, private, and highly customizable. No separate sidebar app, page sidebar browser extension, or extra store add-on required. It’s part of the web browser itself and designed to feel like a natural extension of the navigation bar and address bar.
With the Firefox sidebar, you can:
- Keep essential tools visible as you browse
- Multitask without constantly switching tabs or windows
- Access navigation tools like bookmarks, history, and synced tabs instantly
- Pair the sidebar with vertical tabs for powerful tab management
- Adjust sidebar behavior so it matches how you like to work
How the Firefox sidebar works
The sidebar is always close at hand. You can:
- Click the sidebar button in the toolbar to show or hide the panel
- Open it from Firefox settings under browser layout
- Right-click the toolbar to turn on vertical tabs, which automatically opens the sidebar
When the sidebar is open, you can resize it to fit your workflow. Go wider when you want to read long page titles, or slimmer when you want more space for the web page itself. The sidebar panel hugs the left or right side of the window so your browser tab strip, address bar, and main content remain in view.
In Firefox 136 and later, enabling vertical tabs from the toolbar (right-click → Turn on vertical tabs) places your browser tab list in the sidebar, stacked vertically. You can choose whether the sidebar lives on the left or right side of the window, and hide it with a single button click when you want a cleaner view.
What you can access in the sidebar
Firefox’s sidebar gathers multiple tools into one unified space so users don’t have to juggle separate apps or extensions:
- Bookmarks: Browse and open your favorite websites from a dedicated bookmarks panel without covering your current tab.
- History: Quickly revisit recently viewed pages, even if you closed the window or web page earlier.
- Synced tabs: Use Firefox sync to see open tabs from your phone, laptop, or tablet and open them in the current tab or a new tab with one click.
Vertical tabs are available as a panel in the sidebar, showing open tab titles and favicons in a clean vertical layout instead of across the top of the screen. It’s an easy way to manage multiple tab sets (work, research, social media, or pinned tabs) without relying on a separate tab manager extension.
The sidebar also includes an AI Chatbot panel. You can choose your preferred platform and access ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and other AI tools, right alongside whatever you’re working on, no need for switching tabs. It’s ideal when you want to summarize an article, translate text, or draft ideas while keeping the original web page in view.
Other browsers offer side panels, too, but often lean on separate sidebar extensions or browser extension features. In Firefox, the same tools are surfaced natively in one consistent sidebar panel.
Customize the sidebar to fit your workflow
The Firefox sidebar is designed to adapt to how you browse:
- Adjust the sidebar width so you can read tab titles clearly or keep things compact
- Reposition the sidebar on the left or right side of the window
- Decide whether you keep the sidebar visible while you work or hide it when you’re done
- Use the sidebar button or a keyboard shortcut to show or hide the panel instantly
- Pair the sidebar with pinned tabs, toolbar customization, and shortcuts in the context menu
- Install extensions that add sidebar-compatible tools for a specific website or workflow
Whether you keep a single window open or juggle multiple windows and browser tabs, the customizable sidebar gives you a familiar place to anchor your tools.
Why use a sidebar over extensions?
Using the sidebar can make your browsing experience feel more organized and less hectic:
- Fewer clicks to reach essential tools like bookmarks, history, and synced tabs
- Less tab switching across AI, navigation, and vertical tabs can stay visible as you move between pages
- Vertical tab lists make large tab collections easier to scan at a glance
- Helps keep your workflows organized across devices by pulling synced tabs into the same space
- Reduces clutter so your focus stays on the main content and current tab
- Built on Firefox’s privacy principles, so your sidebar tools are integrated without being built around advertising
If you spend a lot of time in your browser each day, the sidebar turns the edge of the window into a flexible control panel, so the tools and information you need are always just a click away.
