Why not just Chrome's native vertical tabs?

Chrome rolled out native vertical tabs in 2025. They show your tabs vertically — and that's the whole story. Arc-Style Chrome Sidebar is a full knowledge workspace: AI, Workspaces, bookmarks, reading list, and a ⌘K Command Palette — all 100% on-device, no API key.

Feature comparison

Capability Chrome Native Arc-Style Chrome Sidebar
Vertical tab list✅✅
Tab groups✅✅
Bookmarks in the same panel❌✅
Reading List integrated❌✅
RSS subscriptions❌✅
Cross-window tab view❌✅
Workspaces (hibernate + restore, cross-device)❌✅
AI auto group naming❌✅ Local Gemini Nano
AI tab cleanup suggestions❌✅ Local Gemini Nano
AI hover summary❌✅ Local Gemini Nano
AI Reading List summary memory❌✅ Local Gemini Nano
Ask AI (natural-language find)❌✅ Local Gemini Nano
Bookmark Tools (tags / dedupe / dead-link)❌✅
Command Palette (⌘K)❌✅
Custom theme + background image❌✅
Performance with 1000+ bookmarksN/A⚡️ Dynamic Rendering
API key requiredN/A❌ None
100% local & offline✅✅

Three things native vertical tabs can't do

  1. Unify your information sources. Native vertical tabs are tabs only. Arc-Style Chrome Sidebar puts tabs, bookmarks, and your reading list (with optional RSS subscriptions) in one panel with one search, so you stop alt-tabbing between Chrome's separate bookmark / reading managers.
  2. Hibernate-and-restore Workspaces. Save a bundle of tabs as a named workspace, one click hibernates everything and opens another workspace's saved tabs. Workspace metadata syncs across devices (snapshots stay on-device for performance + privacy).
  3. Free, zero-config local AI. Chrome ships Gemini Nano in 2025+; this extension puts it to work — auto-name new tab groups, suggest tabs to close, hover a tab for a one-sentence page summary, or ask the palette in natural language: "the React Hooks article I read last week." No API key, nothing leaves your machine.
Install from the Chrome Web Store
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