Microsoft Edge will remain open even after closing your final tab, eliminating the need for any extensions

At present, Microsoft Edge can be closed in three ways, excluding system options such as the Task Manager. You can close the browser by selecting the "X" in the upper-right corner of the app. Alternatively, you can shut down Edge by clicking the "..." menu and selecting "Close Microsoft Edge." Lastly, closing all tabs in Edge results in the entire browser closing, at least for now. Microsoft is currently testing a new behavior for its Edge browser that will keep the browser open when the last tab is closed. Instead of shutting down completely, Edge will display whatever you've set as your default page for a new tab. Edge expert Leo Varela discussed this change and shared a video demonstrating it on X. The new option is currently in testing in Edge Canary. Users have been requesting this feature for Edge since at least 2019, as indicated by a Tech Community post. While having the option to keep Edge open through a browser setting will be appreciated, you can already achieve this through an extension. "Don't Close Windows With Last Tab" is available in the Chrome Web Store and is compatible with Microsoft Edge. I briefly tested it while researching this article, and it performs exactly as described: "This extension keeps a single pinned page to prevent closing Chrome when the last tab of the last window is closed (or every window, it's configurable). To keep the tab bar clean (unlike other extensions), the pinned page is inserted only when absolutely necessary. It also handles well cases when tabs are moved between windows." Until Edge incorporates this functionality natively, using an extension or accepting Edge closing when the last tab is closed are the current options.