Click a link.
Read it side-by-side.

Side Link Preview turns Chrome's Side Panel into a split-view reading surface. Qualifying links — same-tab and new-tab by default — open on the right while you keep reading on the left. Left or middle click, optional hover preview, nine languages.

Free · Open source (MIT) · No tracking · No ads

Add to Chrome — Free View on GitHub
★ MIT-licensed · Chrome 119+ · Works on Edge · 9 languages
Side Panel
https://example.com/article

The link you click loads in the Side Panel on the right while you keep reading on the left. Hold ⌘ / Ctrl / Shift / Alt to fall back to a real new tab.

Side-by-side, always

Outgoing links open in Chrome's Side Panel. Keep your tab on the left, the linked page on the right.

Modifier-key bypass

Hold ⌘ / Ctrl / Shift / Alt to skip the panel and get a regular new tab — no friction, no fight.

Keyboard + right-click

Preview the current tab with Alt+Shift+P, or right-click any link → "Open in Side Panel".

Privacy & safety by default

No analytics or tracking. 125+ sensitive hosts excluded (sign-in, banking, webmail, video calls, streaming, cloud consoles, crypto, government TLDs). IP addresses and checkout/auth paths stay native.

Light & dark

Follows your OS theme automatically. UI in nine languages — defaults to your browser when supported (English, 中文, 日本語, 한국어, Русский, Français, Español, Deutsch, Português).

Flexible open triggers

Left click or middle click to open the panel; optional hover preview with delay works independently. Modifier keys still bypass to a real new tab.

One-click site opt-out

Toolbar button: Don't use side panel on this site adds the current page to your blacklist without opening Settings.

Per-domain rules

Blacklist or whitelist mode with two saved lists. Domain, path-prefix, and wildcard rules; Scope disables automatic previews per site while shortcuts still work on purpose.

Mini browser inside the panel

Address bar with Back / Forward / Refresh, **Open in main tab**, per-site zoom, auto-retry on transient embed failures, and a diagnostic fallback card with likely causes.

Smart link filtering

Downloads, login/checkout paths, IP addresses, sensitive hosts, same-page anchors, mixed content, localhost, and corporate intranet domains stay native — never forced into the panel.

How it works

  1. Install from the Chrome Web Store (or load unpacked from GitHub).
  2. Click a qualifying link on any site — by default that includes same-tab links and links that open in a new tab — and the page loads in the right-hand Side Panel.
  3. Click the pin icon at the top-right of the Side Panel so it stays open while you switch tabs.
  4. Open Settings for language (defaults to your browser), Scope (blacklist / whitelist with independent lists), link scope, left/middle click trigger, and optional hover preview.

Questions

Is it free? Forever?

Yes. The current feature set is permanently free, MIT-licensed, and ad-free. If a paid Pro tier is ever added, all current features stay free.

Does it work on Microsoft Edge?

Yes. Edge 119+ ships the same Side Panel API; the extension installs and runs the same way.

What data does the extension collect?

None. No analytics, no telemetry, no tracking. Settings stay in your Chrome profile via storage.sync. See the Privacy Policy.

Why does some site fail to load in the panel?

A few sites enforce strict frame-ancestors via a <meta> tag, or detect iframe embedding via JavaScript. The panel auto-retries once and then, if it still fails, shows a fallback card with likely causes, technical details, and an "Open in new tab" button.

Are passwords and payments safe?

Yes. The extension never injects on known sign-in, SSO, payment or end-to-end-encrypted messaging hosts. The exact host list is auditable in manifest.json under content_scripts[].exclude_matches. And the iframe in the panel is sandboxed; sensitive flows always go to a real tab.

Blacklist vs whitelist — what gets saved?

Both lists are stored separately. Changing mode only switches which list you are editing; the other list is kept. Synced settings include a tiny revision field so two options tabs are less likely to overwrite each other.

Is it affiliated with any browser vendor?

No. Side Link Preview is an independent, open-source project built on top of Chrome's Side Panel API. It has no affiliation with any browser vendor.