Start auto-refreshing a Chrome tab in about two minutes

You can pin Auto Refresh Turbo, set an interval in seconds, and press Start in about two minutes.

Before you begin

Google Chrome
A normal website tab (http or https) — not chrome:// settings pages

Install when ready: Install Auto Refresh Turbo.

Step 1 — Pin the icon

Click the puzzle piece on the Chrome toolbar
Find Auto Refresh Turbo
Click the pin

The welcome page after install shows the same idea with screenshots. Pinning is optional, but you will open the popup a lot — keep the icon handy.

Step 2 — Open the tab you care about

Go to the page that should reload. Leave it active.

Step 3 — Set the interval

Click the Auto Refresh Turbo icon
Type seconds, or tap a preset (30s and 1m are fine first values)
Leave Random off for the first run

Avoid starting at one second on a heavy site. Prove the loop at 30–60 seconds first.

Step 4 — Press Start

Click Start. The LED-style countdown in the popup should move immediately. When it reaches zero, Chrome reloads the tab and the timer arms again.

Stop ends the session.

Stay for the first reload so you see it happen. If you later enable hard refresh and the site boots you to a login wall, turn hard refresh off — normal reload is enough for most boards.

Optional extras (same sitting)

Only after the basic loop works:

Visual timer — glass LED chip on the page
Badge countdown — seconds on the toolbar icon for the active tab
Schedule — refresh only inside a daily window
Hard refresh — bypass cache each time

None of these are required for a successful first Start.

A second tab

Open another page
Open the popup
Choose an interval (can differ from the first tab)
Press Start

Sessions are independent. Use + current / the tab list when you need to see what is running.

Sensible first intervals

| Situation | Try first | |-----------|-----------| | Live ops board | 30–60 seconds | | Slow queue / ticket list | 2–5 minutes | | Light keep-alive | 10–15 minutes |

Heavier pages deserve longer gaps. Faster is not automatically better.

If nothing reloads

Is the tab a normal website URL?
Is Start active (not Stop)?
If schedule is on, are you inside the window? Outside → paused, not broken
Skim the FAQ

Data while you try it

Intervals and session snapshots stay in local Chrome storage. Read Privacy Policy before you enable on-page options if you want the permission list first.