Keyboard Shortcuts for Suspending Tabs

## Why it matters

Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to suspend tabs without leaving your fingers on the keyboard or reaching for the mouse. If you're deep in work and you suddenly want to free a tab, Alt+S is faster than clicking the popup and then the suspend button. Alt+Shift+S is handy for the "I'm drowning in tabs, let me clear everything but this one" moment. You can rebind these shortcuts if they clash with another app or if you prefer different keys.

## How it works

Scalpel registers two commands in its manifest:

• suspendCurrentTab fires on Alt+S
• suspendOtherTabs fires on Alt+Shift+S

When you press the shortcut, Chrome's chrome.commands API fires the corresponding action.

Alt+S suspends the tab you're currently viewing. But here's a gotcha: you can't suspend the active tab and stay on it, because a suspended active tab would reload immediately. So Alt+S first switches you to a neighbouring tab (usually the one to the left), then suspends the tab you just left. From the user's perspective, the tab slides out of focus and then reloads when you click it again.

Alt+Shift+S suspends every other tab in the current window except the one you're on. It's a bulk operation: Scalpel queries all tabs in your window, filters out the active tab, and suspends each one. The operation respects all the usual exclusions (pinned tabs, audio tabs, never-suspend list, unsaved input). Only tabs that don't match an exclusion get suspended.

Both shortcuts work only on regular web pages (http and https). You can't suspend chrome:// pages, about: pages, or extension pages themselves. Chrome forbids it.

## What does not matter

The shortcuts don't change your exclusion settings. If you press Alt+S on a pinned tab or an audible tab, nothing happens (because those tabs are protected). The exclusions still apply. The only exception: if you explicitly target a tab to suspend (via the shortcut), Scalpel will suspend it even if it's on your never-suspend list. The shortcut is intent; the list is habit.

Actually, let me correct that: the shortcuts also respect the exclusions. So a pinned tab stays pinned even if you press Alt+Shift+S. If that seems surprising, consider that you pinned the tab for a reason: you want it awake.

Remapping the shortcut doesn't require restarting Chrome. You change it, Chrome applies it immediately.

A shortcut conflict isn't always Scalpel's problem. If Alt+S is already bound to another extension or to your operating system, Chrome's shortcut handler will fire both (or show a conflict warning and let you choose which one wins). If the shortcut isn't working, check chrome://extensions/shortcuts to see whether something else claimed it.

## Code example

Here's how Scalpel registers and listens for these commands:

// In manifest.json
"commands": {
  "suspendCurrentTab": {
    "suggested_key": {
      "default": "Alt+S"
    },
    "description": "Suspend the current tab"
  },
  "suspendOtherTabs": {
    "suggested_key": {
      "default": "Alt+Shift+S"
    },
    "description": "Suspend all other tabs in the window"
  }
}

// In the service worker (background script)
chrome.commands.onCommand.addListener((command) => {
  if (command === "suspendCurrentTab") {
    // Get the currently active tab
    chrome.tabs.query({ active: true, currentWindow: true }, (tabs) => {
      const activeTab = tabs[0];
      // Switch to a neighbour tab first
      chrome.tabs.query({ currentWindow: true }, (allTabs) => {
        const neighbourTabIndex = activeTab.index > 0 ? activeTab.index - 1 : activeTab.index + 1;
        const neighbourTab = allTabs[neighbourTabIndex];
        if (neighbourTab) {
          chrome.tabs.update(neighbourTab.id, { active: true });
        }
      });
      // Then suspend the original tab
      chrome.tabs.discard(activeTab.id);
    });
  } else if (command === "suspendOtherTabs") {
    // Get all tabs in this window except the active one
    chrome.tabs.query({ currentWindow: true }, (tabs) => {
      const activeTab = tabs.find(t => t.active);
      tabs.forEach((tab) => {
        if (tab.id !== activeTab.id && isNotExcluded(tab)) {
          chrome.tabs.discard(tab.id);
        }
      });
    });
  }
});
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To rebind the shortcut, users visit chrome://extensions/shortcuts, find Scalpel, and click the pencil icon next to the shortcut they want to change. They can then type a new key combination (or clear it to disable the shortcut entirely).

## How Scalpel shows it

Alt+S and Alt+Shift+S are the default shortcuts. If they work for you, great. Just use them. If they clash with something else or you prefer different keys, go to chrome://extensions/shortcuts, find Scalpel Tab Suspender in the list, and click the pencil next to "Suspend current tab" or "Suspend other tabs." Type a new key combination (e.g., Ctrl+Alt+S, or Command+Shift+D on Mac) and it takes effect immediately. You can also clear the shortcut entirely by clicking the X.

In Scalpel's settings panel, there's a "Keyboard shortcuts" help section that reminds you what the current shortcuts are and points you to chrome://extensions/shortcuts if you want to change them. It doesn't let you rebind from the settings itself (Chrome owns that UI).