Description
Use the chrome.windows
API to interact with browser windows. You can use this API to create, modify, and rearrange windows in the browser.
Permissions
When requested, a windows.Window
contains an array of tabs.Tab
objects. You must
declare the "tabs"
permission in your manifest if you need access to the url
,
pendingUrl
, title
, or favIconUrl
properties of tabs.Tab
. For example:
{
"name": "My extension",
...
"permissions": ["tabs"],
...
}
Concepts and usage
The current window
Many functions in the extension system take an optional windowId
argument, which defaults to the
current window.
The current window is the window that contains the code that is currently executing. It's important to realize that this can be different from the topmost or focused window.
For example, say an extension creates a few tabs or windows from a single HTML file, and that the
HTML file contains a call to tabs.query()
. The current window is the window that contains the
page that made the call, no matter what the topmost window is.
In the case of service workers, the value of the current window falls back to the last active window. Under some circumstances, there may be no current window for background pages.
Examples
To try this API, install the windows API example from the chrome-extension-samples repository.
![Two windows, each with one tab](/https/developer.chrome.com/static/docs/extensions/reference/api/windows/images/windows.png)
Types
CreateType
Specifies what type of browser window to create. 'panel' is deprecated and is available only to existing allowlisted extensions on Chrome OS.
Enum
"normal" "popup" "panel"
Specifies the window as a standard window.
Specifies the window as a popup window.
Specifies the window as a panel.
QueryOptions
Properties
-
populate
boolean optional
If true, the
windows.Window
object has atabs
property that contains a list of thetabs.Tab
objects. TheTab
objects only contain theurl
,pendingUrl
,title
, andfavIconUrl
properties if the extension's manifest file includes the"tabs"
permission. -
windowTypes
WindowType[] optional
If set, the
windows.Window
returned is filtered based on its type. If unset, the default filter is set to['normal', 'popup']
.
Window
Properties
-
alwaysOnTop
boolean
Whether the window is set to be always on top.
-
focused
boolean
Whether the window is currently the focused window.
-
height
number optional
The height of the window, including the frame, in pixels. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a
height
property; for example, when querying closed windows from thesessions
API. -
id
number optional
The ID of the window. Window IDs are unique within a browser session. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned an
ID
property; for example, when querying windows using thesessions
API, in which case a session ID may be present. -
incognito
boolean
Whether the window is incognito.
-
left
number optional
The offset of the window from the left edge of the screen in pixels. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a
left
property; for example, when querying closed windows from thesessions
API. -
sessionId
string optional
The session ID used to uniquely identify a window, obtained from the
sessions
API. -
state
WindowState optional
The state of this browser window.
-
tabs
Tab[] optional
Array of
tabs.Tab
objects representing the current tabs in the window. -
top
number optional
The offset of the window from the top edge of the screen in pixels. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a
top
property; for example, when querying closed windows from thesessions
API. -
type
WindowType optional
The type of browser window this is.
-
width
number optional
The width of the window, including the frame, in pixels. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a
width
property; for example, when querying closed windows from thesessions
API.
WindowState
The state of this browser window. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a state
property; for example, when querying closed windows from the sessions
API.
Enum
"normal" "minimized" "maximized" "fullscreen" "locked-fullscreen"
Normal window state (not minimized, maximized, or fullscreen).
Minimized window state.
Maximized window state.
Fullscreen window state.
Locked fullscreen window state. This fullscreen state cannot be exited by user action and is available only to allowlisted extensions on Chrome OS.
WindowType
The type of browser window this is. In some circumstances a window may not be assigned a type
property; for example, when querying closed windows from the sessions
API.
Enum
"normal" "popup" "panel" "app" "devtools"
A normal browser window.
A browser popup.
Deprecated in this API. A Chrome App panel-style window. Extensions can only see their own panel windows.
Deprecated in this API. A Chrome App window. Extensions can only see their app own windows.
A Developer Tools window.
Properties
WINDOW_ID_CURRENT
The windowId value that represents the current window.
Value
-2
WINDOW_ID_NONE
The windowId value that represents the absence of a Chrome browser window.
Value
-1
Methods
create()
chrome.windows.create(
createData?: object,
callback?: function,
)
Creates (opens) a new browser window with any optional sizing, position, or default URL provided.
Parameters
-
createData
object optional
-
focused
boolean optional
If
true
, opens an active window. Iffalse
, opens an inactive window. -
height
number optional
The height in pixels of the new window, including the frame. If not specified, defaults to a natural height.
-
incognito
boolean optional
Whether the new window should be an incognito window.
-
left
number optional
The number of pixels to position the new window from the left edge of the screen. If not specified, the new window is offset naturally from the last focused window. This value is ignored for panels.
-
setSelfAsOpener
boolean optional
Chrome 64+If
true
, the newly-created window's 'window.opener' is set to the caller and is in the same unit of related browsing contexts as the caller. -
state
WindowState optional
Chrome 44+The initial state of the window. The
minimized
,maximized
, andfullscreen
states cannot be combined withleft
,top
,width
, orheight
. -
tabId
number optional
The ID of the tab to add to the new window.
-
top
number optional
The number of pixels to position the new window from the top edge of the screen. If not specified, the new window is offset naturally from the last focused window. This value is ignored for panels.
-
type
CreateType optional
Specifies what type of browser window to create.
-
url
string | string[] optional
A URL or array of URLs to open as tabs in the window. Fully-qualified URLs must include a scheme, e.g., 'http://www.google.com', not 'www.google.com'. Non-fully-qualified URLs are considered relative within the extension. Defaults to the New Tab Page.
-
width
number optional
The width in pixels of the new window, including the frame. If not specified, defaults to a natural width.
-
-
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window?: Window) => void
-
window
Window optional
Contains details about the created window.
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window | undefined>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
get()
chrome.windows.get(
windowId: number,
queryOptions?: QueryOptions,
callback?: function,
)
Gets details about a window.
Parameters
-
windowId
number
-
queryOptions
QueryOptions optional
Chrome 88+ -
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
getAll()
chrome.windows.getAll(
queryOptions?: QueryOptions,
callback?: function,
)
Gets all windows.
Parameters
-
queryOptions
QueryOptions optional
Chrome 88+ -
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(windows: Window[]) => void
-
windows
Window[]
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window[]>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
getCurrent()
chrome.windows.getCurrent(
queryOptions?: QueryOptions,
callback?: function,
)
Gets the current window.
Parameters
-
queryOptions
QueryOptions optional
Chrome 88+ -
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
getLastFocused()
chrome.windows.getLastFocused(
queryOptions?: QueryOptions,
callback?: function,
)
Gets the window that was most recently focused — typically the window 'on top'.
Parameters
-
queryOptions
QueryOptions optional
Chrome 88+ -
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
remove()
chrome.windows.remove(
windowId: number,
callback?: function,
)
Removes (closes) a window and all the tabs inside it.
Parameters
-
windowId
number
-
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:() => void
Returns
-
Promise<void>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
update()
chrome.windows.update(
windowId: number,
updateInfo: object,
callback?: function,
)
Updates the properties of a window. Specify only the properties that to be changed; unspecified properties are unchanged.
Parameters
-
windowId
number
-
updateInfo
object
-
drawAttention
boolean optional
If
true
, causes the window to be displayed in a manner that draws the user's attention to the window, without changing the focused window. The effect lasts until the user changes focus to the window. This option has no effect if the window already has focus. Set tofalse
to cancel a previousdrawAttention
request. -
focused
boolean optional
If
true
, brings the window to the front; cannot be combined with the state 'minimized'. Iffalse
, brings the next window in the z-order to the front; cannot be combined with the state 'fullscreen' or 'maximized'. -
height
number optional
The height to resize the window to in pixels. This value is ignored for panels.
-
left
number optional
The offset from the left edge of the screen to move the window to in pixels. This value is ignored for panels.
-
state
WindowState optional
The new state of the window. The 'minimized', 'maximized', and 'fullscreen' states cannot be combined with 'left', 'top', 'width', or 'height'.
-
top
number optional
The offset from the top edge of the screen to move the window to in pixels. This value is ignored for panels.
-
width
number optional
The width to resize the window to in pixels. This value is ignored for panels.
-
-
callback
function optional
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
-
Returns
-
Promise<Window>
Chrome 88+Promises are supported in Manifest V3 and later, but callbacks are provided for backward compatibility. You cannot use both on the same function call. The promise resolves with the same type that is passed to the callback.
Events
onBoundsChanged
chrome.windows.onBoundsChanged.addListener(
callback: function,
)
Fired when a window has been resized; this event is only dispatched when the new bounds are committed, and not for in-progress changes.
Parameters
-
callback
function
The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
-
onCreated
chrome.windows.onCreated.addListener(
callback: function,
filters?: object,
)
Fired when a window is created.
Parameters
-
callback
function
Chrome 46+The
callback
parameter looks like:(window: Window) => void
-
window
Details of the created window.
-
-
filters
object optional
-
windowTypes
Conditions that the window's type being created must satisfy. By default it satisfies
['normal', 'popup']
.
-
onFocusChanged
chrome.windows.onFocusChanged.addListener(
callback: function,
filters?: object,
)
Fired when the currently focused window changes. Returns chrome.windows.WINDOW_ID_NONE
if all Chrome windows have lost focus. Note: On some Linux window managers, WINDOW_ID_NONE
is always sent immediately preceding a switch from one Chrome window to another.
Parameters
-
callback
function
Chrome 46+The
callback
parameter looks like:(windowId: number) => void
-
windowId
number
ID of the newly-focused window.
-
-
filters
object optional
-
windowTypes
Conditions that the window's type being removed must satisfy. By default it satisfies
['normal', 'popup']
.
-
onRemoved
chrome.windows.onRemoved.addListener(
callback: function,
filters?: object,
)
Fired when a window is removed (closed).
Parameters
-
callback
function
Chrome 46+The
callback
parameter looks like:(windowId: number) => void
-
windowId
number
ID of the removed window.
-
-
filters
object optional
-
windowTypes
Conditions that the window's type being removed must satisfy. By default it satisfies
['normal', 'popup']
.
-