Tabs & Workspaces
Tabs and workspaces are the center of Vast. A workspace is not just a visual group: it can carry its own browsing identity and routing policy.
Vast supports:
- normal tabs;
- pinned tabs;
- tab groups;
- tab reordering;
- recently closed tabs;
- duplicate tab;
- mute state;
- per-tab zoom;
- split view;
- sleeping and discarded tabs;
- crash state and recovery.
Tab lifecycle
Section titled “Tab lifecycle”A tab can be active, sleeping, discarded, or crashed.
Sleeping reduces background activity while keeping the tab recoverable. Discarded releases more memory and reloads when revisited. Vast can apply these transitions automatically based on inactivity and memory settings.
Pinned tabs can optionally be kept awake.
Smart Unload
Section titled “Smart Unload”Smart Unload lets you inspect memory-related tab state and manually sleep or discard inactive tabs. Automatic thresholds are configurable in Advanced settings.
The memory target is best-effort, not a guaranteed process-wide RAM ceiling.
Split view
Section titled “Split view”Split view displays two tabs side by side. It is useful for research, comparison, writing, dashboards, and any workflow where switching tabs repeatedly is slower than viewing both at once.
Workspaces
Section titled “Workspaces”Each workspace has:
- a name;
- icon and color;
- its own active tab;
- an optional private flag;
- a session identity policy;
- a network route policy.
Workspace identity modes
Section titled “Workspace identity modes”| Workspace mode | Browser partition | Website cookies and storage | Extensions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isolated and persistent | Distinct persistent partition per workspace | Separate from other isolated workspaces and retained across restarts | Available, subject to compatibility and permissions |
| Private / ephemeral (Temporary) | Distinct nonpersistent partition | Temporary browser session; not a normal restorable session | Unavailable |
| Shared legacy session | Default shared partition | Shared with other workspaces using that partition | Available, subject to compatibility and permissions |
Bookmarks and history are browser-level Vast state, not separate per-workspace stores. Session separation does not guarantee anonymity, fingerprint isolation, or protection from websites, networks, or the operating system. Private downloads can leave saved files on disk. See Privacy & Security.
Workspace network routing
Section titled “Workspace network routing”Each workspace can use:
- the system proxy;
- a direct connection;
- a custom fixed proxy.
Custom proxy and bypass rules apply to that workspace identity rather than globally to every workspace.
Deleting a workspace
Section titled “Deleting a workspace”Vast can require confirmation before workspace deletion. This is recommended because deleting a workspace affects its tab organization and associated local state.
More Tabs and restored sessions
Section titled “More Tabs and restored sessions”When tabs no longer fit, open More Tabs to search by title or address, inspect tab state, switch to a result, or close an individual tab. In 0.3.0 its menu is placed above page content without colliding with neighboring browser controls.
Inactive restored tabs can remain discarded until visited, avoiding loading every saved page at startup. A discarded page reloads when activated; its unsaved in-page state may not survive. Keep important work saved and configure pinned-tab protection where appropriate.
Downloads retain their originating workspace identity. See History & Downloads for retries, authentication, and temporary-session history.