QTTabBar icon
QTTabBar icon

QTTabBar

 177 likes

QTTabBar is an extension for Windows Explorer that brings tabbed browsing to Microsoft's file browser. It comes with a number of nifty features including a favorites function for launching folders and applications, groupings of folders that can be opened together, tooltip...

Tabbed Explorer

License model

  • FreeOpen Source

Application type

Country of Origin

  • JP flagJapan

Platforms

  • Windows  requires .net
  • Windows Explorer
4.7 / 5 Avg rating (27)
177likes
24comments
0news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features
  1. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
  2.  Tabbed browsing
  3.  File preview
  4.  Subfolder menu
  5.  Extensive customisability
  6.  Works Offline

QTTabBar News & Activities

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QTTabBar information

  • Developed by

    JP flagQuizo
  • Licensing

    Open Source (GPL-3.0) and Free product.
  • Written in

  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.7 (27 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    35 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English

AlternativeTo Category

File Management

GitHub repository

  •  4,345 Stars
  •  299 Forks
  •  130 Open Issues
  •   Updated Apr 19, 2025 
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Our users have written 24 comments and reviews about QTTabBar, and it has gotten 177 likes

QTTabBar was added to AlternativeTo by DevilishVicious on Jul 8, 2010 and this page was last updated Jul 11, 2023.

Comments and Reviews

   
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Comment summary: QTTabBar is praised for its functionality, such as tabbed browsing, preview features, and integration with Windows Explorer, making it indispensable for many users. However, its extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, and its setup on Windows 10 requires some technical adjustments. Despite being discontinued, users continue to find it superior to alternatives, although some prefer simpler solutions like ExplorerMax for ease of use.
Top Positive Comment
BzowkY
Oct 14, 2017
7

Discontinued, yes - but still the best with the most options by far!

SynthOtterus
Jun 29, 2021

The last update was in 2020 so it definitely isn't Discontinued yet.

Weltall
Jul 19, 2021

And actually there is a new 2021 release which supports Win11 preview.

Sam Lander
Jul 31, 2023
1

It's annoying to set up. You can't just install and go on Windows 10. You have to mess with the registry.

Dom P
Aug 1, 2023

I just installed-and-go'd on Windows 10 no problem using the Github releases. Looks like the git linked on this page might be a fork of the original that's linked as a website on this page. Try that one out

Sam Lander
Aug 9, 2023

I tried an intall from the Github with plugins and no plugins option, as well as from the website. None worked. I could see a setting on my file explorer, but it didn't do anything, just made a thin white line appear.

It could be because I have privacy settings on, such as disabling Windows Store and the like. But I'm not going to spend hours messing with the registry to try to get this to work when there are many alternative file browsers.

anti_canada_ranger
Apr 28, 2023
1

No new release in 2 years and some features are broken but it's still the best tabbed file manager for Windows 7/10. It's an improved Clover without the malware. Of course the main allure is tabs. My favorite feature is media preview on cursor hover, very useful for images, videos, and even music files - haven't seen a comparable alternative with other explorer programs. The settings menu is massive, setup will take at least an hour.

For cons drag-and-dropping files between drives is hit-or-miss with the latest version. Not the quickest to load very large folders, even on an M.2. Doesn't touch Window's file indexing which can be self-mutilation worthy sometimes. Overall a flawed but worthy choice if you don't want to stare at terminals or GUIs stylistically tainted by trends from 20 years ago all day.

edit: Winaero Tweaker solved the issues I was having with dragging and dropping.

NejyCR
Sep 23, 2022
0

After trying DoubleCommander, Explorer++, TotalCommander, XYplorer and more I can't remember, I've stuck with QT because of its simplicity as an extension.

All I want is tabbed browsing, dual panes, and a dark theme. This has that.

TBayAreaPat
Jul 28, 2022
0

Got it now, thanks to the comment below. Helpful.

anti_canada_ranger
Apr 28, 2023

Likely didn't enable it correctly. You need to right-click the taskbar and enable "QT Tab deskbar tool" under toolbars.

Golfy038
Feb 8, 2022
0

QTTabBar is unlimited... they're some much features and settings, that it would be not for newbies. But if you know a little with files and servers, it's really crazy: create your own menu with icons and link to SMB servers or folders or even, programs (launcher).

A really good software, with dark mode, tabs, preview (do you know if you put your mouse over a MP3 file, it start to play in it internal player, and numpad help to forward, accelerate, etc)

For real geeks

st0rm
Feb 2, 2022
0

Been using since Clover became malicious. What i need is bookmark bar and tabs, but this adds much more than just that.

Nothing else does what this application does, integrating into Explorer itself and not being some external attachment to the window.

Missing 1 star because it might do "too much", with some things interferring, and complicated to know how to disable. I wish it consisted of modules, so i could disable all but what i want from it.

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What is QTTabBar?

QTTabBar is an extension for Windows Explorer that brings tabbed browsing to Microsoft's file browser. It comes with a number of nifty features including a favorites function for launching folders and applications, groupings of folders that can be opened together, tooltip preview functions for a number of file types, and others. It is also highly customizable and hotkey-enabled.

QTTabBar was written by a Japanese developer known as “Quizo” (hence the name QTTabBar) but because of lack of time, he gave the project over to Paul Accisano. Actually "Quizo" was resumed development. Open source branch of QTTabBar: http://qttabbar.sourceforge.net/

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