A tab setup for developers: docs that stay, searches that go

28 September 2026 · 4 min read

A developer's tab strip is mostly three things: reference (docs, specs, the repo), throwaway (searches, error pages, the fifth Stack Overflow answer) and the same page opened again because it was easier than finding it.

Reference stays

Keep reference material gives docs, code and research tabs a day before they move to Bin and two weeks in it; everything else follows the default. Few works out which tabs are docs or code on your device, from the address and title.

Searches and duplicates go

Few already treats search results and sign-in pages as throwaway: they leave Bin sooner. Your local dev server is never treated as throwaway.
Search sweeper clears search result tabs after 30 minutes, if you want it quicker.
Close duplicate tabs with a Duplicate step at the top of your workflow.

The Keep reference material workflow in WithFew's editor: Unused for 3 hours → docs, code and research wait until unused for a day → Move to Bin → In Bin for 5 days (two weeks for reference) → Close. — Keep reference material in Few's editor: docs, code and research take the longer path.

Built into Chrome

Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+A: tab search, faster than scanning a crowded strip.
Pin the tabs you always want: your repo, the CI dashboard. Few never touches pinned tabs.

WithFew (our extension) is free for 7 days, then $5 a month. Nothing about your tabs is sent anywhere.