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I configured Emacs so I can use tabs similarly to a browser :

  (use-package intuitive-tab-line
    :vc (:url "https://github.com/thread314/intuitive-tab-line-mode")
    :defer 0
    :init
    (define-prefix-command 'intuitive-tab)
    (define-key Commands (kbd "i") 'intuitive-tab)
    :config
    (global-tab-line-mode 1)
    :custom
    (tab-line-tabs-function 'intuitive-tab-line-buffers-list)
    (tab-line-switch-cycling t)
    (tab-line-new-button-show nil)    ;; do not show add-new button
    (tab-line-close-button-show nil)  ;; do not show close button
    :bind 
    ("C-<prior>" . tab-line-switch-to-prev-tab)
    ("C-<iso-lefttab>" . tab-line-switch-to-prev-tab)
    ("C-<next>" . tab-line-switch-to-next-tab)
    ("C-<tab>" . tab-line-switch-to-next-tab)
    ("C-S-<prior>" . intuitive-tab-line-shift-tab-left)
    ("C-S-<next>" . intuitive-tab-line-shift-tab-right)
    (:map intuitive-tab
    ("a" . intuitive-tab-line-manually-add-current-buffer-to-tab)
    ("d" . intuitive-tab-line-drop-tab))
    )

However there is a functionality that I can't manage to replicate. On Firefox I can go to the third tab by pressing control + 3, to the nth tab by pressing control + n (with n <0 & >9). How could I associate each tab with a key binding?

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In Emacs, there are two built-in modes for tabs:

tab-bar-mode creates tabs at (or near) the top of the frame. These tabs each hold a "window-configuration", which may be a single window displaying one buffer or a collection of windows holding various buffers.

The other built-in tab mode is tab-line-mode. Based on the name of the package you configured in your code, I guess it has something to do with that mode.

tab-line-mode creates a line of tabs at the top of each window. It is automatically updated whenever you change buffers in a window, so that you have a visual indication of which buffers have been shown in that window. This allows you to click on a tab to switch to a buffer. Maybe it's because of the automatically-updating nature of these tabs, but there is no feature in tab-line-mode to switch to a tab based on its number.

However, there is such a feature included with tab-bar-mode. Here is how you can enable it.

(tab-bar-mode 1)
(setopt tab-bar-tab-hints t)
(setopt tab-bar-select-tab-modifiers '(control))

This will display a number for each tab and allow you to select the 3rd tab by pressing C-3. Keep in mind that that also prevents you from using Ctrl plus a number to enter a numeric argument. But you have the option of changing the modifier(s) to something else if that becomes an annoyance.

With tab-bar-mode, much like in Firefox, the tabs are not created automatically. It is up to you to create a new tab when you want one. You can do that using C-x t 2. And there are several other commands for manipulating tabs, which you can find under the C-x t prefix.

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  • Thanks for the answer. Unfortunately, I struggle to understand how tab-bar-mode works. Maybe a new function could allow using this functionality on tab-line-mode Commented Nov 23 at 21:03
  • It's certainly possible to write a function to add numbers to the tab-line tabs. But with tab-line-mode adding and changing tabs so often, I think it would be less useful than you might hope. What is it about tab-bar-mode that you find hard to understand? Commented Nov 23 at 21:48
  • When I put the snippet you provided plus mine I have two levels of tabs. When I only put yours, commenting mine, either I see not tab at all, either all buffers open in the same tab. Commented Nov 23 at 23:59
  • The two levels of tabs is because you have both tab-line-mode and tab-bar-mode enabled. If you want to create a new tab-bar tab, use C-x t 2 (similar to how C-x 2 creates a new window). If you see no tab at all, it's because you (or a package you installed) have changed the value of tab-bar-show. Make sure it is set to t (the default). Commented Nov 24 at 0:43
  • Thank you @mmarshall540 for the explanations. Is it not possible to automatically open a new tab when I open a new buffer? Commented Nov 24 at 9:44

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