CmdZ

CmdZ is a small Chrome extension that brings Safari’s Command+Z tab restoration behavior to Chrome without stealing Undo from text fields or web apps.

GitHub

What it is

A dependency-free Manifest V3 extension built with plain JavaScript. It gives the current page the first chance to handle Command+Z on macOS or Ctrl+Z on Windows and Linux. If the page has nothing to undo, CmdZ restores the most recently closed individual tab. The toolbar icon provides a fallback in browser surfaces where Chrome does not allow page-level shortcut listeners.

Why I made it

Safari makes reopening an accidentally closed tab feel immediate with Command+Z. I wanted the same behavior in Chrome without replacing the Undo shortcut that people expect to keep working inside text fields, editors, and web apps.

What I learned

• How to distinguish page-level Undo from a browser action using trusted keyboard and historyUndo events.
• How to coordinate a content script and service worker while keeping extension permissions focused.
• How to design a browser extension with no tracking, network requests, settings, or third-party dependencies.