Chrome new tab to the right on Mac with Hammerspoon (Cmd-T)

README.md

Chrome new tab to the right on Mac

Use Hammerspoon to make Cmd-T open and select a tab immediately after the active tab in Google Chrome. The shortcut is enabled only while Chrome is active. The + button keeps its usual behavior.

With B selected:

Before: A | B | C
Cmd-T:  A | B | New | C

Save chrome-tabs.lua in ~/.hammerspoon/, then add this line to your existing init.lua:

dofile(hs.configdir .. "/chrome-tabs.lua")

Choose Hammerspoon → Reload Config. If macOS asks, allow Hammerspoon to control Chrome.

Lua handles the shortcut. The string inside hs.osascript.applescript([[ ... ]]) is AppleScript that creates and selects the tab.

Verified on Mac: adjacent tab placement, another opening after reloading, and disabling outside Chrome.

English note · Nota en español

chrome-tabs.lua

-- Chrome: Cmd-T opens and selects a tab immediately after the active tab.
local chromeBundleID = "com.google.Chrome"
local log = hs.logger.new("chrome-tabs", "info")

chromeNewTabHotkey = hs.hotkey.new({"cmd"}, "t", function()
    local ok, _, details = hs.osascript.applescript([[
        tell application "Google Chrome"
            if (count of windows) = 0 then
                make new window
            else
                tell front window
                    set currentIndex to active tab index
                    make new tab at after tab currentIndex with properties {URL:"chrome://newtab/"}
                    set active tab index to currentIndex + 1
                end tell
            end if
        end tell
    ]])
    if not ok then
        log.e(hs.inspect(details))
        hs.alert.show("No se pudo abrir la pestaña de Chrome. Consulta la consola de Hammerspoon.")
    end
end)

local function updateHotkey()
    local app = hs.application.frontmostApplication()
    if app and app:bundleID() == chromeBundleID then
        chromeNewTabHotkey:enable()
    else
        chromeNewTabHotkey:disable()
    end
end

-- Retain the watcher and hotkey across garbage collection.
chromeTabWatcher = hs.application.watcher.new(function(_, event)
    if event == hs.application.watcher.activated
        or event == hs.application.watcher.deactivated then
        updateHotkey()
    end
end)
chromeTabWatcher:start()
updateHotkey()