Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Tabvora workspace architecture and privacy.
Yes. Tabvora is completely free software with no subscriptions, paywalls, premium tiers, or feature locks. The source code is publicly auditable on GitHub under a protective license that safeguards against commercial resale and unauthorized store cloning.
Never. Tabvora is architected on a strict local-first model. All saved shortcuts, custom workspaces, Quick Notes, timer states, and settings reside strictly on your physical machine in
chrome.storage.local and IndexedDB. Tabvora operates no backend servers and includes zero analytics or telemetry scripts.
RAM Saver provides a one-click action from your new-tab dashboard to sleep inactive background tabs using Chrome's native
chrome.tabs.discard API. It immediately reclaims system memory while automatically safeguarding your active tab, pinned tabs, and tabs playing audio or video.
Draft Recovery is an optional feature (disabled by default) that temporarily saves text typed into web forms so you don't lose work if a tab crashes or closes. It features multi-tier screening that automatically excludes password fields (
type="password"), payment cards, CVVs, expiration dates, PINs, OTPs, authentication tokens, and phone numbers. Draft snapshots stay purely in local IndexedDB.
Tabvora utilizes an optimized virtual scrolling grid engine. Only the shortcut cards currently visible in your viewport are rendered to the DOM. This keeps memory consumption minimal and ensures instantaneous load times regardless of whether you have 10 or 1,000 shortcuts.
No. Tabvora v2.1.0 does not declare broad
host_permissions in its manifest. Its content scripts run strictly in top-level browsing frames (all_frames: false) and activate only if you explicitly turn on optional user-facing features (such as Draft Recovery or Site Limits) in Settings.
Tabvora requests 9 specific Manifest V3 permissions:
storage (save local dashboard data), favicon (render icons via Chrome's native favicon cache), tabs (manage shortcuts, identify active domain for limits, and sleep background tabs via RAM Saver), bookmarks (manual bookmark import), contextMenus (right-click to add shortcut), alarms (local timer intervals), search (dashboard search bar), clipboardRead (single-click paste button in notes), and notifications (local desktop alerts).
Tabvora includes 40 curated high-definition aesthetic wallpapers, featuring real-time atmospheric canvas effects including Northern Lights aurora, gentle rain, glowing fireflies, cosmic lake, and starlight. Light, Dark, and Zen minimalist focus modes are fully supported.
Digital Wellbeing (optional, default OFF) calculates active browser session time locally and sends gentle reminders for eye rest (45m), stretching (90m), hydration, and walking breaks. All timers reside in session storage (
chrome.storage.session) and automatically reset when you close Chrome or at midnight.
You can export your complete workspace collection, custom links, and settings to a local JSON backup file with a single click in Settings. You can import this file anytime on any computer running Tabvora.
Tabvora is built strictly on standard Chromium Manifest V3 WebExtensions APIs. When installed from the Chrome Web Store, it runs natively with full feature parity across all major desktop Chromium browsers, including:
- Google Chrome (Version 102+)
- Microsoft Edge (Enable "Allow extensions from other stores")
- Brave Browser (Full compatibility with Shields)
- Opera & Opera GX (Full workspace and RAM Saver support)
- Vivaldi (Compatible with tab stacks and custom workspaces)
- Arc Browser (Seamless operation within Arc's sidebar workflow)