How to Backup Firefox Bookmarks in 2023: Manually Save & Export Bookmarks
Mozilla Firefox is capable of backing up valuable bookmarks as well as importing, exporting and restoring them. We'll show you how to backup Firefox bookmarks so you won't lose your most important data.
Mozilla Firefox provides many ways you can back up or transfer your browser bookmarks. If you want to know how to backup Firefox bookmarks, you’ll need to save your bookmarks in a JSON format specific to Firefox, or you can import, export or restore an HTML file that all browsers can read. No matter your purpose, Firefox gives you many ways of keeping your data safe.
Key Takeaways:
- Export bookmarks as a JSON file if you want to back up your Firefox bookmarks.
- Make sure to store your bookmarks file on a separate device to keep it safe if your device crashes.
- All browsers can read HTML files, so any browser can import a Firefox bookmarks file saved in this format.
We’ll place our focus on bookmark storage in this article, so we recommend reading our Firefox review for a full breakdown of this classic browser. Furthermore, you can see how Firefox compares to other popular web browsers in our Firefox vs Chrome and Opera vs Firefox articles.
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04/25/2022
Rewrote the article and updated steps to reflect Firefox’s current interface.
All you have to do to export Firefox bookmarks is open the bookmarks library by pressing Ctrl+Shift+O. Open the dropdown menu labeled “import and export” and click “export.” This will export bookmarks to HTML.
You can either log in to your Firefox account to automatically sync your bookmarks, or export your bookmarks to HTML. Send the file to your other computer by either connecting an external storage device or uploading it to a cloud storage service.
How to Backup Firefox Bookmarks
You can back up your Mozilla Firefox bookmarks manually or automatically.
Firefox Bookmarks: Automatically Backup
To automatically back up your Firefox bookmarks, log in to your Firefox account and connect your devices over device sync.
Firefox will automatically sync bookmarks across your devices and they will continue to be available even after one of your devices crashes.
Firefox Bookmarks: Manually Backup
Manually backing up your bookmarks for safekeeping can be done in a minute. All you have to do is create a JSON archive and store it on a separate device.
- Open the Bookmark Library
Begin by pressing Ctrl + Shift + O to open Firefox’s bookmark library window.
- Click “Import and Backup”
In the toolbar at the top, click the dropdown menu labeled “import and backup.” You will see a list of options for importing, exporting, backing up and restoring your bookmarks. Click the “backup” button.
- Select a Folder
In the next window, select a folder to save your JSON file in and click “save.”
Save the files on an external device or cloud storage service if you want to keep them safe from data loss — otherwise, a locally stored JSON file is just as vulnerable as everything else on your device.
We’ve made selecting a cloud storage service easy for you in our piece on the best cloud storage services. There are many to choose from, but Sync.com is our favorite (read our Sync.com review).
How to Restore Firefox Bookmarks
You’ll need this JSON file to restore Firefox bookmarks when installing the browser on a new device. The steps are mostly the same as above.
- Open the Bookmark Library
Open Firefox and press Ctrl + Shift + O to open the bookmark library window.
- Select “Restore”
In the bookmarks library menu, click “import and backup” and then click “restore.” You can choose the restore point Firefox automatically generates for you in the top-right corner or manually select your preferred JSON file.
- Select JSON Archive
Select the JSON archive and your existing bookmarks will be immediately restored.
How to Import Bookmarks From Other Browsers With an HTML File
If you want to export or import bookmarks, you will have to save them as an HTML file rather than a JSON archive.
If you’re switching to a different browser, you can easily take your bookmarks with you since HTML files are readable by all browsers (all web pages are HTML files). Once again, the steps are very simple and mostly the same as the above directions.
- Open the Bookmark Library
Launch Firefox and press Ctrl + Shift + O to open the bookmarks library.
- Select “Import” or “Export”
In “import and backup,” select “import” to import your bookmarks from HTML.
- Select HTML File
Firefox will open a window where you can select which bookmarks file to download to your browser library. Click on the file you want to import.
If you’re importing Firefox bookmarks to a different browser, the import procedure should be more or less the same. Once you load the bookmarks file into your browser, your bookmarks can be accessed from your bookmarks library.
Final Thoughts: Backup or Export Firefox Bookmarks
That’s all there is to it. Backing up, restoring, importing and exporting bookmarks all involve saving your bookmarks as either a JSON or HTML file and storing it in the proper place. Now you’ll be prepared to keep your bookmarks intact whether your device unexpectedly fails or you need to transfer them when switching to a new browser.
Did you find this article helpful for backing up your Firefox bookmarks? Do you prefer exporting your bookmarks locally, to an external hard drive, or to a cloud service? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and as always, thanks for reading.
