How to pin a tab in Figma on Mac: steps for the desktop app

Pin a file tab in the Figma desktop app

Pinning is a right-click job. Figma's help guide says to right-click the tab and select Pin tab. The tab then moves to the navigation bar and stays there while you open and close other files. Pin the files you return to every day, such as a design system file, a shared prototype or a client file that keeps coming back. Skip the rest, so the bar stays easy to read.

A pinned tab looks different from a regular one. Figma marks it with a favicon, which is the small icon a site shows, instead of the full file name. Hover over the icon and Figma shows the full name. That hover is the quickest way to tell two pinned files apart.

• The tab moves into the navigation bar at the top of the window.
• A favicon marks the tab, so the full name stays hidden until you hover.
• Hovering over the icon shows the full file name.
• Unpinning turns the tab back into a regular tab.

The right-click menu, item by item

Right-clicking a file tab opens a short menu. Four items in Figma's tab menu matter for this job. Figma documents each one on its help page, so the descriptions below come straight from there. Read them before you use Close other tabs for the first time.

Why the navigation bar is the place to pin

Figma moved the File tab and the Assets tab from the left sidebar into the navigation bar. It also turns on extra labels by default, so each tab is easier to identify. Pinned file tabs live in the same bar. Figma's navigation bar article does not describe pinning, but it does explain what else sits up there.

Think of a pinned tab as a bookmark for an open file. It keeps that file within reach while you work in others. That is the whole point, so pin for speed, not for storage.

Unpin a tab when you no longer need it

Right-click the pinned tab and select Unpin tab. Figma's help guide uses that exact wording, and it is the only unpin step the guide describes. The tab goes back to a regular tab. Give the tab row a quick look afterward, so you know where the file sits.

Keyboard shortcuts for tabs on Mac

Figma's official docs do not list a keyboard shortcut for pinning. If you searched for one, you will not find it there. The docs do list a few Mac shortcuts for the navigation bar. ⌥1 opens the File tab. ⌥2 opens the Assets tab. ⌥3 opens the Libraries modal.

Control Shift question mark opens Figma's shortcuts panel on Mac. That panel is the best place to check for changes, because cheat sheets on blogs go out of date. One third-party cheat sheet lists Command W for closing a tab. Figma's own pages do not confirm that, so test it before you rely on it.

Close tabs without losing your pinned ones

This is the mistake that catches people. Close other tabs is the fastest way to clean up a crowded tab row. It also closes pinned tabs, except the tab you have selected. Figma's help guide states this directly.

The fix is simple. Select the file you want to keep first, because the selected tab survives. Then choose Close other tabs. If you want every tab gone, use Close all tabs, which closes the selected tab too.

Check your macOS and Figma version first

Figma's guide says the macOS desktop app needs macOS 12 Monterey or later. If your Mac runs an older release, update macOS before you troubleshoot anything in Figma. Figma also says support for previous versions of the desktop app ends six months after a release. An older build can stop getting fixes even when it still opens.

Figma's release notes list a macOS desktop entry dated Nov 6, 2026. That entry is titled Select objects even faster with Figma's AI image editing tools, and the page shows no version number. Figma's downloads page links the macOS app and beta builds, but it shows no version number or release date for the macOS app either. I could not confirm a version number from those pages, so check the app itself if you need one for a support request.

Pinning in the browser version of Figma

The steps above come from Figma's desktop app pages. The official pages I checked cover only the desktop app. I did not find a documented pin tab feature for Figma in a web browser, so I cannot say the same menu appears there.

In a browser, a right-click on the tab opens your browser's menu for that browser tab, not Figma's file tab menu. Your browser may offer its own Pin option. That pins the browser tab, not the Figma file. If you need a file pinned in Figma, use the desktop app.

Do not confuse Figma tabs with Chrome pinned tabs

Chrome pinning is a separate feature. In Chrome, right-click the tab and select Pin, or right-click and select Unpin to undo it. Chrome shows a pinned tab smaller, with only the site's icon. Chrome's help page does not list a shortcut for pinning.

Chrome's help page does list several tab shortcuts on Mac. Command T opens a new tab. Command W closes a tab. Command Shift T reopens a closed tab. Command Shift A opens Tab Search. None of them pins a tab, so do not expect a shortcut to do the job here.

Keep pinned tabs visible when you present

Presenting changes what you see in the tab row. Figma's help guide says to select View > Always Show Tabs When Presenting from the toolbar to keep tabs on screen. The guide says this option is available on Mac only. On Windows, the same page suggests resizing the window so tabs show in full screen mode.

Set the option before you start a presentation, not during it. For the full steps, read how to present a prototype in Figma on Mac.

When new tabs will not open on Mac

Some Mac users cannot open new tabs at all. A Figma community thread describes that problem. People in the thread could not open a tab with the plus button or with File > New Tab. The thread is closed for replies and has no official Figma fix. The suggested steps are still worth trying, in this order.

1. Fully restart the desktop app.
2. Choose Check for Updates from the Figma menu.
3. Clear the cache.
4. Turn off any VPN, firewall or proxy, then test again.
5. If the problem stays, use Contact support from the question mark icon.

One user on macOS Tahoe 26.2 reported that opening tabs with the shortcut and the plus icon worked for them. That is one report, not a fix. Try the steps above first, then contact support if nothing changes.

Common mistakes people make

• Right-clicking the browser tab instead of the Figma file tab.
• Using Close other tabs while a pinned file is still needed.
• Searching for a pin shortcut that Figma's docs do not list.
• Trusting a cheat sheet's Command W without testing it.
• Pinning so many files that the navigation bar is hard to scan.
• Running a macOS older than 12, which the desktop app does not support.

A worked example for a daily file routine

Say you work on a design system file, a client file and a prototype you review now and then. Open all three, each in its own tab. Right-click the design system file and select Pin tab. Do the same for the client file. Leave the prototype as a regular tab, since you open it only sometimes.

Now the two pinned icons sit at the top of the window. Hover over each one to confirm which file it is. When you finish, if you want only the client file open, select it first and then choose Close other tabs. Expect the design system pin to close too, because pinned tabs close with the rest. Reopen that file in the morning and pin it again.

What to do next

Once the pinned tabs feel right, look at the rest of the window. Figma's guide to the navigation bar and left sidebar explains where the File and Assets tabs live. For components, how to create a component in Figma on Mac walks through the sidebar and right-click steps.

Review your pinned list once a week. Unpin anything you have stopped opening. A short list is easier to scan, and it keeps the files you actually use one click away.