Sidebar

The sidebar is a panel that holds your tabs and shortcuts. It stands on the left of the window, or on the right if you move it. By default, tabs run along the top and there is no sidebar. Move your tabs into a sidebar when you keep many tabs open or want Favorites, bookmarks and a media card always at hand.

Turn the sidebar on

1. Open Settings › Appearance › Layout.
2. Under Tabs, choose In a sidebar or Sidebar + address. The other card, Along the top, is the default. The change applies right away.

The same choice is in the Tabs row of the Acira menu, which has three small buttons with pictures instead of words (point at one to read its name: Along the top, In a sidebar, Sidebar + address). The menu closes when you pick one. It is also the top row of Settings › Tabs, and in the Make it yours panel that follows a full setup.

The sidebar exists only when tabs are in a sidebar. With tabs along the top, the sidebar buttons and the settings below do not apply.

Sidebar + address

The third card, Sidebar + address, puts your tabs and the address bar in the sidebar in one step, so no toolbar is left above the page. Earlier betas had this as a switch named Sidebar mode, with a second switch named Address bar in the sidebar. Both switches are gone: the Tabs card replaces them.

• Each of the three layouts stands on its own. Acira does not remember how you had things before. Moving from Along the top or In a sidebar to Sidebar + address opens the sidebar if it was closed, so the address bar is not lost. The address bar and its buttons then slide to their new place while the page resizes. With Animation speed set to None, or with reduced motion on, the change is immediate.
• In this layout the window views are Full and Seamless only. There is no toolbar to make smaller or to hide, so Compact and Focus would look like Full. If you had chosen Compact or Focus, Full shows as ticked here, and your choice comes back when you pick another layout. See Window views.
• The top row of the sidebar holds Back, Reload and Forward, and the button that shows or hides the sidebar. On Windows and Linux, Back, Reload and Forward sit in the left corner of the row. On a Mac they sit a little further in, clear of the window's close, minimize and zoom buttons. At the Narrow size on a Mac they start just to the right of those buttons.
• Under the address bar is a thin line. Rest the pointer on it and it opens into a row of the other buttons after a short rest, about a tenth of a second. A pointer that only passes over the line opens nothing. You can also click the line or reach it with the keyboard. The row closes when the pointer has been away for about half a second, when you click outside it or press Esc. A menu opened from the row keeps it open.
• The line and the row work while you are typing in the address bar. Clicking the line or a button in the row leaves your text and its selection where they were. The list of suggestions covers the line while it is open, and the row stays shut until it closes.
• Click the address bar, or press Ctrl+L (Cmd+L on a Mac), and the address slides into editing: the site name moves aside as the full address appears, and the field's fill and outline come in with it. With Animation speed set to None, or with reduced motion on, the change is immediate.
• The edge switches for a closed sidebar and for Seamless are not shown in this layout. A closed sidebar always comes back when the pointer rests at its edge, in every view.

On Windows

In Sidebar + address the page reaches the top of the window. The window buttons (minimize, maximize and close) sit in a small notch at the page's top-right corner, and the notch shows only when you point there:

• Rest the pointer along the top edge of the window, anywhere along it, and the notch appears after a short rest. The corner where the buttons are shows it at once, so a click never lands on a button you cannot see.
• It goes away shortly after the pointer leaves the top of the window. It does not show in full screen or in Seamless view.
• The buttons are Windows' own, so dragging the top of the window, double-clicking to maximize and the snap layouts on the maximize button work as usual.
• With the sidebar on the right, there is no notch. The three buttons stay in view at the top right, over the sidebar, and the sidebar keeps a band at its top for them.

On a Mac the window buttons stay where they are. On Linux the system title bar stays above the window.

Show and hide the sidebar

A closed sidebar takes no space. The edge reveal floats over the page and does not move the page. Press Esc to close a floating sidebar. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+E or the toolbar button opens it for good so the page makes room.

On a Mac, use Cmd in place of Ctrl.

What is in the sidebar

From top to bottom:

1. Favorites: a grid of sites you keep, at the top unless you move them to the bottom. Details below.
2. With two or more workspaces, the open workspace's name and tab count.
3. The sections: Pinned tabs, Tabs, Bookmarks, and (if you turn them on) Downloads, History and Reading list.
4. The media card, Playing in your tabs, when a tab is playing sound.
5. The workspace switcher row, once you have a second workspace.
6. A footer with your profile button and four buttons: Bookmarks (Ctrl+Shift+O), Downloads (Ctrl+J), History (Ctrl+H, or Cmd+Y on a Mac) and Settings (Ctrl+,). In a private window, the profile button reads Private.

Tabs in the sidebar

• A New tab row sits at the top of the list and shows how many tabs are open. New tabs appear right under it by default.
• Pinned tabs stay above the rest. A pinned tab has no close button. Unpin it from its menu first.
• Tab groups show as a header with a small folder in the group's color, and the group's tabs sit beside a rail in that color. A + at the right end of the header, shown when you point at it, opens a new tab in the group. You can keep all groups in an area of their own, above or below your other tabs: see the Tab groups setting below. Split views show as a card.
• A Pull requests folder, if you add one, sits right under the New tab row.
• While a link preview is open from the tab you are on, a small card with the preview's icon slides out beside the tab's icon, and slides back when the preview closes. It is only a marker: you cannot click it.
• A tab playing sound shows a small level meter in the close button's place. Pointing at the tab shows the close button. A muted tab keeps a speaker-off button that unmutes it with one click.
• A tab that is using your camera, microphone or screen shows a button to stop sharing.
• Right-click a tab, or press Shift+F10, for the tab menu. See Tabs.

Favorites

Favorites are sites you want one click away, such as mail or a calendar. They sit in a grid at the top of the sidebar, or at the bottom if you choose.

• Press Ctrl+Shift+D (named Pin tab to sidebar apps) to add the page you are on. Acira says the title was added to Favorites, or that it is already there.
• Or drag a tab, or a link from a page, onto the Favorites area (the top of the sidebar, or the bottom if that is where Favorites sit). A drop area appears: Drop to add to Favorites.
• Click a favorite to go to its tab, or to open it if it has none. If you are on that tab and have moved away from the favorite's address, clicking the favorite takes the tab back to that address. Ctrl+click (Cmd+click on a Mac) or middle-click opens a new tab, and Shift+click opens a new window.
• If a favorite has no tab of its own and the same profile already has an ordinary tab open at exactly its address, a plain click makes that tab the favorite's tab and goes to it, instead of opening a second copy. The tab you are on wins, otherwise the first one in the list.
• By default, adding a favorite does not take the tab out of your tab list. The tab stays where it is, in its group and place, and the favorite is linked to it. A click on the favorite goes to that tab and never opens a second copy. If you close the tab, the favorite stays, and the next click opens a new tab for it. You can turn this off: see Favorites' tabs in the tab list below.
• However you add a favorite, it looks the same: with the shortcut, by dragging a tab, with Add to Favorites in the tab's right-click menu, with the + form or by dropping a link.
• Right-click a favorite to edit or remove it. The editor has the name and address, with Use current tab to fill them in.
• When there are more favorites than fit, the last tile reads +N. Choose it to show them all, and choose the arrow to show fewer. How many fit depends on the sidebar size: up to 8 tiles in Narrow and up to 12 in Standard and Wide, counting the +N tile.

Only websites can be added. Acira keeps up to 24 favorites in each profile. Favorites belong to the profile, so workspaces share them. Favorites you add in a private window are forgotten when it closes.

Where Favorites sit

Open Settings › Tabs › Sidebar › Favorites and use the Favorites position choice: Top (the default) or Bottom. The choice is unavailable while Show Favorites in the sidebar is off. With Bottom, the tiles sit at the foot of the sidebar, under the sections and the media card, above the workspace switcher row and the footer. The top is then left for your tabs. With no favorites yet and Bottom, nothing is drawn until you drag a tab or a link, and then the drop area shows. Each profile keeps its own choice, and a private window forgets it when it closes.

The ring on a Favorite

The tile of the favorite whose tab you are on has a ring just inside its edge and a light tint in the same color. The color comes from the favorite's icon, so it follows the site. An icon with no real color (grey, black or white) gets Acira's accent color instead. Site color sets how strong it is: Soft is light, Rich is stronger and adds a fine second ring, and Off uses Acira's accent color only. See Appearance.

Favorites' tabs in the tab list

This switch, in Settings › Tabs › Sidebar, decides where a favorite's tab lives. It is on by default.

• On: the favorite's tab also shows in the tab list, in its place, as an ordinary tab.
• Off: a tab linked to a favorite is not in the tab list. It lives only in its tile: a dot on the tile when it is open, a raised card when it is the tab you are on, and a dimmer icon while it sleeps. Nothing is closed, unlinked or moved when you flip the switch, and turning it back on puts the rows where they were.
• With tabs along the top, the switch does nothing: every tab shows.
• A tab still shows in the list when Favorites are hidden, when its favorite was removed, or when its tile is folded behind +N, so no tab is out of reach.
• A tab that lives only in its tile has no tab number, and these skip it: Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 and the two-digit numbers, Ctrl+PageUp, Ctrl+PageDown, Ctrl+Shift+PageUp and Ctrl+Shift+PageDown, Ctrl+Tab in Next tab mode, and Close other tabs. Tab search and the tab viewer still list it. Its tab is not counted in the tab count.
• Drag a tile onto the tab list to take its tab out of the tile and into the list. The favorite stays. Closing the tab, with Ctrl+W or Close tab in the tile's editor, keeps the favorite, and the next click opens a new tab.

Pull requests folder

The Pull requests folder keeps your open GitHub pull requests in the sidebar. It is off until you add it. Until then Acira asks github.com for nothing.

1. With tabs in a sidebar, right-click the New tab row at the top of the tab list and choose New live folder. The row is not there in a private window, a Tor window or a locked workspace, or once the profile has the folder.
2. Acira asks Add a live folder for pull requests? It says it will ask github.com for your pull requests every few minutes while it is open, using the github.com sign-in this profile already has. It does not use Acira's servers, and Acira keeps no GitHub password or token. Choose Add folder, or Not now.

• The folder is called Pull requests. It sits at the top of the tab list, right under the New tab row. If you turned New tabs at the top off, the folder is the first item and the New tab row moves to the end of the list. Click its header to fold or unfold it. It is open to begin with.
• Each row is one pull request, with an icon for its state: open, draft, merged or closed. Merged and closed rows are dimmer. A blue dot marks a pull request where a review is asked of you. If the folder is folded and a new review request arrives, the same dot shows on the folder's icon.
• Click a row to open the pull request. If a tab in this profile already shows it, Acira goes to that tab instead of opening another. The x on a row closes that tab and keeps the row. With no tab open it reads Hide until it changes and hides the row until the pull request changes.
• Point at the header and choose Filter pull requests, or right-click the header, for the folder's menu. Under Show: Created by me, Review requested, Assigned to me (all on) and Mentioned (off). Then Drafts (on), Recently merged or closed (off, one day), Repositories (all, or the ones you choose), Refresh now, which also says when it last asked, and Remove live folder.
• When there is nothing to list, a line under the folder says why: Nothing is waiting for you., The filters hide every pull request., or Sign in to GitHub in this profile to see your pull requests here. with buttons Sign in to GitHub and Check again. If GitHub cannot be reached or read, or asks Acira to wait, the line says so, with Try again. If a refresh fails, the last list stays with Showing the last list. Trying again soon. More on GitHub opens github.com/pulls when there are more results than fit.

When and what Acira asks

• Acira asks github.com when you add the folder, then about every five minutes while an Acira window is showing (a minimized window does not count). It also asks when you come back to the window after two minutes or more, about five seconds after a GitHub pull request page finishes loading in a tab of this profile, and when you choose Refresh now. Each refresh is three to five requests, one for each reason you have switched on, and shows up to 60 pull requests.
• The requests use this profile's own github.com sign-in, the way a tab does. They go to github.com only, not to Acira. Acira does not read your cookies' values, and keeps no GitHub password or token.
• After an error Acira waits 5 minutes before the next try, then 10, 20 and 60. If GitHub asks it to wait, it waits that long. When the profile is signed out, Acira stops asking until it sees you sign in to github.com or you choose Check again.
• The pull requests themselves stay in memory and are gone when Acira closes. Acira saves only the folder's filters and the pull requests you hid, in live-prs.json (see Where your data lives). Remove live folder deletes them, with no question asked, and sends nothing to GitHub.
• The folder belongs to the profile, so all its workspaces show it. It is not offered in private windows, Tor windows or locked workspaces.
• The rows are not tabs. They have no tab number and cannot be dragged. The folder reads github.com only, with no GitHub Enterprise Server. It reads GitHub's own search page rather than a published interface, so if GitHub changes that page the folder may show Can't read GitHub right now.

Change the sections

You can show, hide and reorder the sections in the middle of the sidebar. Favorites always stays in its one place, the top or the bottom, and Pinned tabs stay with Tabs.

• Right-click an empty part of the sidebar and choose Customize sidebar…. Drag sections to reorder them, and turn sections on or off.
• Right-click a section's header (Bookmarks, Downloads, History or Reading list) or the free space under Favorites, and choose Hide this section. The section goes at once and Acira says Section hidden: {name} with Undo. In a private window the message has no Undo. The menu of the tab list ends with the same two rows, Hide this section and Customize sidebar….
• Or open Settings › Tabs › Sidebar sections. Each section has a switch, with up and down arrows. Customize in the sidebar opens the same editor in the sidebar.

Shown by default: Favorites, Pinned tabs, Tabs, Bookmarks. Off by default: Downloads, History, Reading list. A section you hide comes back in the Customize sidebar editor or in Settings › Tabs › Sidebar sections. The default order is Tabs, Bookmarks, Downloads, History, Reading list. Each profile keeps its own choice.

The Reading list holds pages you save for later: use Add this page to the Reading list and Mark as read. Only websites can go in it.

Sidebar size

The sidebar has three sizes: Narrow (168 pixels), Standard (240 pixels, the default) and Wide (312 pixels). Favorites tiles stay the same size, so a wider sidebar fits more of them across: two in Narrow, usually three in Standard and four in Wide. Choose a size in either of these ways:

• Open Settings › Tabs › Sidebar › Sidebar size and pick one of the three cards.
• Drag the sidebar's edge, the one beside the page. It follows the pointer between Narrow and Wide, and settles on the nearest size when you let go. Pulled past either end it gives a little, then springs back.
• Right-click the edge for a menu of the three sizes, with a check on the current one.
• Double-click the edge, or press Enter on it, for Standard. With the edge focused, the arrow keys step to the next size in the direction the edge moves, Home goes to Narrow, End to Wide, and the Menu key or Shift+F10 opens the size menu.

If you had set your own width in an earlier beta, Acira moves it to the nearest size: widths from 220 to 275 pixels become Standard, and 276 to 320 become Wide.

Put the sidebar on the right

Open Settings › Tabs › Sidebar › Sidebar side and choose Left (the default) or Right. The same row is in Settings › Appearance › Layout, under the Tabs cards, once tabs are in a sidebar. Everything that belongs to the sidebar moves with it:

• The page sits against the sidebar's other side, and the resize edge is on the side next to the page.
• A closed sidebar comes back when the pointer rests at the right edge, and in Seamless view the right edge reveals the sidebar. The edge switches then read Show the closed sidebar at the right edge and Show the sidebar at the right edge, and the first Seamless message says Point at the top or right edge.
• Menus and panels that open from a button in the sidebar open toward the page. The sidebar button in the toolbar is drawn to match.
• The choice is for the whole window and all windows, not for one workspace or profile. It holds in right-to-left languages too: Left and Right mean the sides of the screen.

There is no shortcut for the side. Ctrl+Shift+E and Ctrl+S work the same on both sides.

Sidebar settings

Open Settings › Tabs. The Tabs cards are at the top. The rest are in the Sidebar group.

See Window views for the edge settings.

Limits

• The sidebar exists only when tabs are in a sidebar. There is no sidebar with tabs along the top.
• With Ctrl+S toggles the sidebar on, Ctrl+S does not save the page. Use Save page as… in the Acira menu's More tools, or turn the setting off.
• The sidebar's section choices and Favorites are stored on this device for each profile. Acira has no account and no sync.
• The sidebar shows the open workspace's tabs only. Other workspaces' tabs appear in tab search. See Workspaces.

Last updated November 8, 2026