Navigate Forward and Backward Between Pages in Safari on Mac

If a link took you somewhere you did not want to go, Safari on Mac can put you back on the page you came from. The Back and Forward arrows in the toolbar retrace the path of the tab you are in, one page at a time.

Use the arrow buttons for quick trips, Command with the bracket keys when your hands stay on the keyboard, and History when the page you want is not next in line.

In this guide, I have covered:

Go back to the page you just left in Safari on Mac

You clicked a link, the page was not the one you wanted, and now you want the last one back. The Back control in the Safari toolbar does exactly that: it returns you to the page you just left, inside the same tab.

The Back arrow sits in the upper-left corner of the window, just left of the address field. The Safari sidebar button can sit farther left, so aim for the arrow and not the panel toggle.

1. Open the page you want to come back to in Safari.
2. Follow a link or open another page in the same tab.
3. Click the Back button.
4. Click Back again to keep moving backward through the tab’s history.

You’ll know it worked when the earlier page loads in the same tab. If Back is grayed out, that tab has nothing earlier to return to.

Want to be sure you landed on the right page? The address field shows the current URL, and the site information panel beside it confirms which site you are on and what it is allowed to do.

Move forward again after going back too far

Three clicks back, you realize the page you actually wanted was the one in between. Forward undoes that mistake one step at a time.

The Forward button sits next to Back in the same toolbar group, so both arrows are within easy reach of the address field.

1. Click the Back button one or more times to move into the earlier part of the tab’s history.
2. Click the Forward button to return one page toward the newest page.
3. Repeat until you reach the page you want.

You’ll know it worked when the page you skipped past is back on screen. The Forward arrow dims once you reach the newest page in that tab.

Use the keyboard to go back and forward on Mac

Your hands are already on the keyboard, and reaching for the toolbar breaks the flow. Two combinations cover the whole trip.

1. Hold Command and press Left Bracket to go back one page.
2. Hold Command and press Right Bracket to go forward one page.

You’ll know it worked when the page changes without moving your mouse.

TIP: Forward does nothing until you go back at least once. There is no forward path to follow otherwise.

A new tab or a private window keeps its own navigation path, which helps when you are testing pages and do not want them mixed into your regular session.

RELATED: How to Open Private Browsing Mode and New Tabs in Safari on Mac

Jump to an earlier page from Safari History

Back and Forward only walk one chain. If the page you want came from a different path ten minutes ago, History gets you there faster.

1. Click the Safari sidebar button in the upper-left corner of the window.
2. Select History from the sidebar.
3. Click the title of the page you want to reopen.

You’ll know it worked when Safari loads that page in the current tab.

The same basic controls work on iPhone and iPad. You can also navigate forward and backward between pages in Safari on iPhone or iPad.