diff --git a/config/src/config.rs b/config/src/config.rs
index 5b099edc7ad..84bfa38e78d 100644
--- a/config/src/config.rs
+++ b/config/src/config.rs
@@ -479,6 +479,13 @@ pub struct Config {
     #[dynamic(default = "default_tab_max_width")]
     pub tab_max_width: usize,
 
+    /// Specifies the minimum width that a tab can have
+    /// in the tab bar.  Defaults to 5 glyphs in width.
+    /// If the tab title is shorter than this, the tab will
+    /// be sized to fit the title.
+    #[dynamic(default = "default_tab_min_width")]
+    pub tab_min_width: usize,
+
     /// If true, hide the tab bar if the window only has a single tab.
     #[dynamic(default)]
     pub hide_tab_bar_if_only_one_tab: bool,
@@ -1790,6 +1797,10 @@ fn default_tab_max_width() -> usize {
     16
 }
 
+fn default_tab_min_width() -> usize {
+    5
+}
+
 fn default_update_interval() -> u64 {
     86400
 }
diff --git a/docs/config/lua/config/tab_min_width.md b/docs/config/lua/config/tab_min_width.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..cb436a440a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/config/lua/config/tab_min_width.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+---
+tags:
+  - tab_bar
+---
+# `tab_min_width`
+
+Specifies the minimum width that a tab can have in the
+tab bar when using either the of the tab modes.  
+
+Defaults to 5 glyphs in width.
+
+```lua
+config.tab_min_width = 5
+```
diff --git a/wezterm-gui/src/tabbar.rs b/wezterm-gui/src/tabbar.rs
index 5e007f54a42..a014ca318cf 100644
--- a/wezterm-gui/src/tabbar.rs
+++ b/wezterm-gui/src/tabbar.rs
@@ -110,6 +110,7 @@ fn compute_tab_title(
     config: &ConfigHandle,
     hover: bool,
     tab_max_width: usize,
+    tab_min_width: usize
 ) -> TitleText {
     let title = call_format_tab_title(tab, tab_info, pane_info, config, hover, tab_max_width);
 
@@ -141,10 +142,8 @@ fn compute_tab_title(
                 // easier to click on tab titles, but we'll still go below
                 // this if there are too many tabs to fit the window at
                 // this width.
-                if !config.use_fancy_tab_bar {
-                    while unicode_column_width(&title, None) < 5 {
-                        title.push(' ');
-                    }
+                while unicode_column_width(&title, None) < tab_min_width {
+                    title.push(' ');
                 }
                 title
             } else {
@@ -338,6 +337,7 @@ impl TabBarState {
                         config,
                         false,
                         config.tab_max_width,
+                        config.tab_min_width,
                     )
                 })
                 .collect()
@@ -413,6 +413,7 @@ impl TabBarState {
                 config,
                 hover,
                 tab_title_len,
+                config.tab_min_width,
             );
 
             let cell_attrs = if active {