To auto refresh a background tab in Chrome, use a timer outside the page. Start a Tab Automation automation on the open tab, then switch tabs or windows. Its alarm can still call chrome.tabs.reload on the assigned tab.
Console setInterval is a poor fit: Chrome can throttle page timers in hidden tabs, and the first reload removes the script.
Start the timer, then leave the tab
- Open the tab you want current — a queue, a status page, a board you glance at.
- Open the Tab Automation side panel.
- Click New Automation and pick that tab.
- Add Refresh Page and set Repeat. A new automation defaults to a 30-second Fixed wait.
- Click Start. Switch to another tab, or another window, and keep working.
When the alarm fires, Tab Automation reloads the assigned tab with chrome.tabs.reload. The tab does not have to be active.
Optional Bypass cache belongs to the Refresh Page step. Use Pause or Remove Automation when you no longer want the background reload.
Why the console method fails in the background
This common console snippet looks like a timer:
setInterval(() => location.reload(), 30000);It has two separate problems:
- Chrome throttles page timers in hidden tabs.
- A successful reload replaces the document, so the interval disappears even if the tab remains active.
An extension alarm runs outside that document. The full one-tab auto-refresh guide compares the extension, console, and hard-refresh methods.
Discarded is not the same as hidden
A hidden tab still has a loaded page; it is simply not the active tab. Memory Saver can instead discard an idle tab to free memory. Its tab remains visible, but Chrome loads the page again when you return.
That one reload is not evidence that an auto-refresh timer was running. Tab Automation does not disable Memory Saver or pin the tab.
If the assigned tab closes, the automation can become parked. Use Restore to reopen its saved URL. See the multiple-tabs guide for parked and bulk controls.
Check whether background refresh is working
- Start the automation and note the Repeat wait.
- Switch away for longer than one complete cycle.
- Return to the tab and confirm that the page completed its reload.
- If it is still loading, lengthen the wait before assuming the timer failed.
A heavy dashboard may need more time than a simple status page. A background reload also does not prove that a value changed: a timer-only graph never inspects page content.
For content checks and alerts, use the choices in auto refresh vs page monitor. For Chrome-open limits, permissions, and privacy, use the pillar guide and privacy policy.