Firefox vertical sidebar: collapse it, hide it or return tabs to the top
By ON Lab · Sources checked November 8, 2026
In Firefox, collapsing vertical tabs, hiding the tabs and sidebar, and turning off vertical tabs are different layout choices. Open Customize sidebar with the gear at the bottom of the sidebar. Mozilla's current guide documents a Vertical tabs checkbox and a separate Hide tabs and sidebar checkbox. Choose the outcome you want instead of closing the tabs themselves.
A reader asked on November 7, 2026 how to hide the vertical sidebar tab menu. We checked Mozilla's current sidebar guide and separated the available layout outcomes. This is an official-source desktop guide: we did not change a native Firefox layout or reproduce the reader's profile.
Decide what should remain visible
| Desired result | Documented choice | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Keep vertical tabs, with a smaller presentation | Switch between collapsed and expanded views with the toolbar sidebar button | Whether titles or the compact view are shown |
| Keep tabs and sidebar out of view | Select Hide tabs and sidebar in customization | Whether the intended region is hidden |
| Return open tabs to the top | Turn off Vertical tabs | Whether the horizontal tab strip has returned |
A collapsed view still serves as a vertical tab interface. It is not the same as hiding the whole region. Turning off vertical tabs changes where your tabs are displayed; it does not mean to close every open page.
Open the relevant customization controls
- Find the gear at the bottom of the visible sidebar and open Customize sidebar.
- Read whether Vertical tabs is currently enabled.
- Use the separate Hide tabs and sidebar choice if your goal is to hide that region.
- If you want a horizontal strip instead, turn off Vertical tabs.
- Return to the browser window and inspect the result, then reopen customization to confirm the selected setting.
Mozilla also documents toggling vertical tabs through the toolbar or tab-strip context menu. Its current guide says the feature can be turned off from those same menus or from Customize sidebar. On Mac, Control-click is another way to open a context menu.
If you only want a smaller vertical view, use the sidebar button to switch its presentation. Do not substitute a close-tab command for a layout change. Afterward, confirm the intended pages remain open using the available tab overview rather than assuming that hidden means deleted.
Removing sidebar tools is another setting
The customization panel also lets you choose which tool icons appear and which side of the window holds the sidebar. Removing a bookmarks or history shortcut is a tool choice. Moving the bar to the right is a position choice. Neither necessarily produces the same result as disabling vertical tabs.
Change one relevant setting at a time so you can tell which choice produced the result. This guide does not require signing into a Mozilla account, setting up an AI chatbot or accessing stored passwords to change the tab layout.
Why this guide avoids a shortcut-only fix
The reader's thread includes a keyboard-shortcut suggestion, while the official help and platform-specific shortcut presentation need careful matching. We used the documented visible controls rather than claiming that an untested key combination works on every platform and keyboard layout. No keyboard shortcut was exercised in native Firefox here.
An older Mozilla sidebar article also appears in search results but explicitly says it is no longer maintained. We followed its link to the current tools-and-vertical-tabs article instead of treating the archived page as a current feature guarantee.
Verify the result and retain a return route
Check whether the final view is compact, hidden or horizontal, since those are the three different outcomes. Reopen the relevant customization and confirm the saved choice. If your Firefox version does not expose the documented controls, record its version and the actual labels before looking for the matching current help. Do not infer that resetting the whole profile is required from a missing layout control.
Checked November 8, 2026 against the current Mozilla sidebar help and a dated reader question. No native Firefox settings, keyboard shortcuts, account or original profile were tested.