How to switch tabs on a Mac with the trackpad

The short answer

Apple's list of trackpad gestures for the Mac has none that moves to the next or previous tab. The one that sounds closest is Swipe between pages: you swipe left or right with two fingers to show the previous or next page. That moves between pages, not tabs.

Safari has one related gesture. When there are more tabs than fit in the tab bar, you can swipe left or right over the tab bar to scroll through them. To go to the next tab itself, you need the keyboard, or an app that presses the keys for you.

The keys that switch tabs

Safari and Google Chrome both have shortcuts for the next and the previous tab. These are the ones Apple and Google list for the Mac.

Safari

• Next tab: Control-Tab or Shift-Command-]
• Previous tab: Control-Shift-Tab or Shift-Command-[

Google Chrome

• Next tab: Command-Option-Right Arrow
• Previous tab: Command-Option-Left Arrow

Google's list for the Mac does not name Control-Tab, but Chrome on the Mac takes it too. The recording below is Chrome, its tabs switched with Control-Tab.

Slide between tabs with Padrail

Padrail is a menu bar app that gives the edges of your MacBook trackpad jobs of their own. In Safari and Google Chrome it can make the bottom edge a tab switcher: slide one finger right along it for the next tab, left for the previous one.

1. Click Padrail's icon in the menu bar to open its panel.
2. Open App edges.
3. In the App menu, choose Safari or Google Chrome.
4. Turn on Use these edges.

Both presets set the Bottom edge to Switch tabs. They come switched off, so nothing changes in your browser until you turn one on.

Padrail needs the Accessibility permission for this, because it presses keys for you. You allow it once in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, then Accessibility.

Here is what happens as you slide. Padrail presses Control-Tab for each step of travel to the right, and Control-Shift-Tab for each step to the left. So each step moves one tab, and a longer slide moves further. With haptic feedback on, as it is unless you turn it off under Feel, you feel a tick at every step.

Other apps with tabs

Any app can get edges of its own. In App edges, open the App menu and choose Add App… to pick one from your Applications folder, or Add a Running App to pick one that is open. Leave Use these edges on, then set its Bottom edge to Switch tabs. Edges you leave on As usual keep doing what they do in every other app.

Switch tabs presses Control-Tab, so it works in apps where Control-Tab goes to the next tab. If an app uses other keys for its tabs, this edge will not switch them, so check your app's shortcuts first.

What else the edges do

By default the right edge of your trackpad sets the volume, the left edge the screen brightness, and the bottom edge skips tracks, each with a tick under your finger. Double tap a corner to mute, or to play and pause. See everything Padrail does.

Padrail costs $29$14, paid once, and one licence covers up to 3 Macs. If it is not for you, you get a full refund within 14 days.

Questions

How do I slide between tabs on my MacBook?

macOS has no gesture for it. With Padrail, turn on the Safari or Google Chrome preset under App edges, then slide one finger along the bottom edge of the trackpad: right for the next tab, left for the previous one.

Does it work in Safari and Chrome?

Yes, in both. Each preset sets the bottom edge to Switch tabs, which presses Control-Tab. The recording on this page is Google Chrome.

Does it change the two finger swipe?

No. Padrail only starts a slide when one finger lands on an edge. If a second finger touches down before the slide starts, Padrail leaves the touch to macOS, so two finger scrolling and swiping between pages work as before.

Do I need to give it any permission?

Yes, Accessibility, because Padrail presses the tab keys for you. You allow it once in System Settings, under Privacy & Security, then Accessibility. Padrail does not record what you type or what is on your screen.