Useful Safari extensions you didn’t know you needed

Useful Extenstions for Safari Mac

Browser extensions can be very handy tools for accomplishing tedious tasks and organizing yourself better. The unfortunate part of finding useful extensions for a browser like Safari is that you could end up wasting time with add-ons that don’t do what you expected. They may not work as well as you hoped or simply don’t work at all. That’s why we’re here to help.

The Safari extensions on this list work well for their intended purposes. They are each ideal for a specific task that may be exactly what you didn’t know you needed. Check out these essential Safari extensions for working on the web.

Useful Safari extensions

Since these useful extensions for Safari are each awesome in their own way, they are listed in no particular order.

Once you install one of these Safari extensions, you’ll need to enable it. Open Safari, head to Safari > Preferences > Extensions, and mark the checkboxes for those you want to use. And for tips, take a look at how to manage your Safari extensions.

CloseTabs Extension

CloseTabs Extension for Safari

Are you someone who uses multiple tabs while you do work or do research on the web? If you’re like me, you may end up with so many tabs open, you can’t even find the one you need.

With CloseTabs Extension, you can automatically close unused tabs. The nice thing about this add-on is that you set the number of tabs you want to keep open and how long the others should be idle before closing. Here’s how it works.

1) Once you install the CloseTabs Extension, you’ll have its button in your Safari toolbar. Click that button.

2) Select the number of Minimum Tabs to remain open from one to 10.

3) Choose how long you want tabs to be idle before closing. Select minutes, hours, or days in the drop-down list and enter the number in the Minimum Idle Time section.

And that’s it. As you work in a current Safari tab, you’ll see those idle tabs close when time’s up. Keep in mind that pinned tabs are treated like any other tab.

To see a log of activity, click the toolbar button and then Open next to Debug Tab. And if you run into any problems or have questions, head to the CloseTabs Extension page on GitHub.

  • Availability: Browser extension for Safari
  • Cost: Free

Liner – Web / PDF Highlighter

Liner Extension for Safari

Liner is a definite favorite when it comes to useful Safari extensions. With this add-on you can highlight text on a webpage, save it, and see your highlight when you return to the page. You can also save several highlights, add tags, and access them all from your Liner Dashboard. Here’s how Liner works.

1) Once you install the Liner extension, visit a webpage and drag through the text you want to highlight.

2) The Liner icon will pop up near your cursor. Select a color from the options provided.

3) A small Liner window will open on the top right. Here you’ll see the name of the page and options to add tags, share your highlight on social media, and go to your Dashboard. You can click the Liner button the toolbar to close that window and continue working because your highlight will already be saved.

Visit your Liner Dashboard to view all of your saved pages and highlights. You’ll see a list that includes the page or article name, website, and text that you highlighted. You can click View Original to go right to the page and see your highlighted text. You’ll also see that highlight if you visit the page on your own or from your history or bookmarks.

Liner My Highlights in Safari

Click your highlighted text on the webpage and you can change the color, share it, add a comment, or delete the highlight. Liner is a must-have extension for doing research on the web.

  • Availability: Browser extensions for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Edge, and Whale, and mobile apps for iOS and Android
  • Cost: Free with a Premium upgrade option to receive unlimited highlights and comments, additional colors, unlimited device syncing, and more

Tabs Saver for Safari

Tabs Saver Extension for Safari

Another essential extension if you do a lot of work on the web is Tabs Saver for Safari. With the click of a button, you can save all of your open tabs. You can then view your session, name the list for reference, copy the tab list as links, text, or markdown, export the list, restore the tabs, and much more. Here’s how Tabs Saver works.

1) When you want to save a group of open tabs, click the Tabs Saver for Safari button the toolbar.

2) You’ll see several options, a few of which you’ll appreciate once you use the extension often. You can save one or more tabs and keep them open or close them at the same time.

3) To view your saved tabs lists, click the toolbar button and select Open in the bottom left corner.

When you land on your Tabs Saver page, you’ll see a slew of actions. At the top, you can search, choose a folder, expand or collapse all sessions, sort, import, or export.

Above each tab list (session), you can move it to a folder, rename the group, open and remove a single tab from the list, restore all tabs from the session, export them, copy them, restore them in Chrome, and remove duplicates.

Tabs Saver Page in Safari

All sessions you save will appear on one page, so you’ll always have them. Plus you can mark favorite lists to easily access them at the top of the page. If you need to save open tabs often, especially for references, then you need Tabs Saver for Safari.

  • Availability: Browser extension for Safari
  • Cost: $4.99

Grammarly for Safari

Grammarly for Safari Gmail

You may have heard of Grammarly as it’s available across multiple platforms. The app seeks to help you with your grammar as you type. You might be composing an email on Gmail, writing up an item in Asana, or putting together a post for Twitter. The Grammarly for Safari extension shows you an indicator when you make a mistake so that you can correct it. Here’s how it works.

Type as you normally would for your email, article, or post. When the Grammarly icon is green, your grammar is good. But if it turns red and has a number in it, that’s the number of errors you have.

You’ll see where a mistake is easily because it will be underlined. Hover or click the error and you’ll see options to correct it. Select a fix and move onto the next correction.

Grammarly for Safari Twitter

You also have the ability to edit what you’re writing in Grammarly. Click the Grammarly icon and select that option. With some sites you can use the Grammarly pop-up editor while with others you will need to go to the Grammarly website. If you prefer, you can write your text right on the Grammarly site, make the corrections, and then place it where you need it.

Click the button in the toolbar and pick New Document or choose My Grammarly and select New. You’ll also notice settings from the toolbar button for turning Grammarly off or on and enabling definitions and synonyms for the site you’re currently visiting.

  • Availability: Browser extensions for Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Edge, mobile apps for iOS and Android, desktop applications, and the web
  • Cost: Free with premium paid subscription plans that offer help with delivery, clarity, engagement, advanced writing feedback, and more

ImageSearch for Safari

ImageSearch for Safari

One more very simple but extremely convenient extension is ImageSearch for Safari. You may see an image online and would like to see more just like it. This is a great time to perform a reserve image search.

With this Safari add-on, you simply right-click on an image, select Reverse Image Search, and then view your results on Google.

ImageSearch for Safari is helpful for school papers, articles, and social media posts where you like an image you see but would like more options. And while it might not be a tool you use several times a day, it’s one you’ll appreciate having when you need it.

  • Availability: Browser extension for Safari
  • Cost: Free

Wrapping it up

If you do a lot of work online for education or business, these useful Safari extensions are real time-savers. They can help you limit your open tabs, highlight and save text, hold onto open tabs, correct your grammar, and find images.

Do you already use one or more of these add-ons for Safari, plan to try one out, or have others you’d like to recommend? Let us know in the comments below!