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Frequently Asked Questions

General​

Is The Great-er Tab Discarder open source?​

Yes. The code is publicly available on GitHub under the GNU General Public License v2.

Is TGD compatible with Chromium browsers?​

The primary distribution channels are the Chrome Web Store and Microsoft Edge Add-ons. For other Chromium-based browsers (Brave, Vivaldi, etc.), installation and policy support varies — verify case by case.

Is TGD free? Does it collect my data?​

TGD is completely free and contains no analytics or tracking. Everything stays local to your browser profile. See Permissions for a full breakdown.

What is the difference between Discarding and Suspending a tab?​

DiscardSuspend
How it worksUses the browser's native tab discard API to unload the tab from memoryReplaces the tab with a lightweight TGD-hosted page
Memory freedMore — the browser fully unloads the tabLess — a simple HTML page stays in memory
Visual appearanceTab looks normal but reloads when activatedTab shows a suspended page (customizable title prefix, favicon)
Best forMaximum memory savingsVisual distinction and customization

You can switch between automatic Discarding and Suspending in Settings → General.

What Chrome version does TGD require?​

TGD 1.x requires Chrome 108 or later.

Using TGD​

Some tabs are never discarded even though they have been inactive for a long time. Why?​

Several settings can prevent a tab from being processed automatically:

  • The tab is pinned and "Do not Discard pinned tabs" is enabled
  • The tab is playing audio and "Do not Discard tabs playing audio" is enabled
  • The tab is the active (focused) tab in its window
  • The tab's URL matches an entry in your whitelist
  • The timer is set to Never
  • The device is offline and "Only auto-Discard if connected to the internet" is enabled
  • The device is on AC power and "Only auto-Discard if running on battery" is enabled

How do I prevent a specific tab from being discarded?​

  • Right-click the tab → Pause discarding this tab — pauses auto-discard for that tab until the next reload
  • Pin the tab — pinned tabs are excluded by default (if the option is enabled)
  • Add the URL to the whitelist in Settings → General → Whitelist

How do I discard or suspend a tab manually?​

From the extension popup, or via keyboard shortcuts:

  • Ctrl+Shift+D — Discard the active tab
  • Ctrl+Shift+S — Suspend the active tab

See Keyboard shortcuts for the full list and instructions on reassigning them.

Can I migrate my suspended tabs from The Marvellous Suspender or The Great Suspender?​

Yes. TGD supports migrating suspended tabs from several extensions. Open Options → Migrate Tabs for the full list and instructions. See Migrating tabs from other extensions.

Permissions and privacy​

Why does TGD need the tabs permission?​

TGD needs to read and manage your open tabs — this is the core permission that makes discarding and suspending possible.

Why does TGD need the favicon permission?​

To read the favicon of each tab so it can be displayed on the suspended page, and to apply visual modifications like favicon dimming for suspended tabs.

Does TGD need access to all my websites?​

No. Unlike TMS, TGD does not inject content scripts into web pages and therefore does not require broad host permissions. See Permissions for the full breakdown.

Contributing​

How can I contribute?​

Submit pull requests or bug reports on GitHub. For questions or feature ideas, use GitHub Discussions before opening a formal issue.