How to open and search a bookmarks.html file
Updated
A bookmarks.html file is the standard file every browser creates when you export your bookmarks. You can open it by dragging it into a browser tab, which shows one long page of links, but finding anything means Ctrl+F. To browse its folders and search every title and address, drop it onto the free Bookmark Explorer. It reads the file in your browser, needs no account, and doesn't change your browser's bookmarks.
What is a bookmarks.html file?
It's a plain-text web page written in the Netscape Bookmark File Format, a layout from the 1990s that every major browser still uses for exporting and importing bookmarks. Microsoft's archived format notes describe the structure:
- The file starts with
<!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1>. - Each folder is a heading (
<H3>) followed by a nested list (<DL>). - Each bookmark is a link (
<A HREF="…">) with its title, and often anADD_DATE: the date you saved it, counted in seconds since 1 January 1970.
Because it's ordinary HTML, any browser can display it and any text editor can open it. That's also why it's the safest format for moving bookmarks between browsers.
A bookmarks file holds your bookmarks and folders. It doesn't include open tabs or history, and Chrome's export leaves out the Reading list.
How to get one
Every desktop browser can export one in under a minute:
| Browser | Where to find the export | Step-by-step guide |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Bookmark manager > More (⋮) > Export bookmarks | Export Chrome bookmarks |
| Firefox | Library > Import and Backup > Export Bookmarks to HTML… | Export Firefox bookmarks |
| Safari | File > Export Browsing Data to File | Export Safari bookmarks |
| Edge | Favorites > More options (…) > Export favorites | Export Edge favorites |
| Brave | Bookmark manager > More options (⋮) > Export bookmarks | Export Brave bookmarks |
| Opera | Bookmarks manager > import/export button | Export Opera bookmarks |
Firefox also offers Backup…, which saves a .json file instead. That one only opens in Firefox, so choose the HTML export.
Option 1: Open it in a browser tab
The quickest way to look inside the file:
- Open a new tab in any browser.
- Drag the file into the tab. Or press Ctrl+O (⌘+O on a Mac) and pick the file. Chrome's shortcut list calls this "Open a file from your computer".
- Press Ctrl+F (⌘+F) to find a word on the page.
You'll see folder names as headings and every bookmark as a clickable link. Opening the file this way doesn't import anything.
It works, but it gets hard to use past a few hundred bookmarks. All the folders are expanded on one page, and find-in-page only matches the visible titles. A link whose title doesn't contain your word won't show up, even if the address does.
Option 2: Open it in the Bookmark Explorer
The Bookmark Explorer turns the file back into something that looks like a bookmark manager.
- Go to readingrewind.com/app/bookmarks. No account is needed.
- Drag your bookmarks.html file onto the page, or click Browse Files and pick it.
- Click a folder on the left to see its bookmarks, with the date each one was added when the file includes it.
- Type in Search bookmarks... to find links by title or address. From the top level, the search covers every bookmark in the file. Inside a folder, it covers that folder. Use the arrows next to the search box to jump between matches.
- Click a bookmark to preview the page on the right. Some sites refuse to show inside another page, so click Open to load those in a new tab.
The explorer keeps the bookmarks in your browser's local storage, so they're still there when you come back on the same browser. Click Clear to remove them.
Which way should you use?
| Browser tab | Bookmark Explorer | Text editor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browse folders | One long page | ✓ Folder tree | ✗ Raw HTML |
| Search titles | Ctrl+F | ✓ | ✓ |
| Search addresses | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Preview pages | Click through | ✓ Side-by-side | ✗ |
| Needs an account | No | No | No |
| Changes your browser's bookmarks | No | No | No |
A text editor is handy for one thing: checking that the file is complete. Search it for a link you know should be there.
Is it private?
Yes. The Bookmark Explorer reads the file in your browser. The file itself is never uploaded. Only the number of bookmarks in it reaches our server, as the privacy policy explains. When you preview a page, your browser loads that site directly, just as if you'd clicked the link.
What you can do with the file next
- Remove repeats. Remove Duplicate Bookmarks merges one or more files and drops duplicate links. See how to find duplicate bookmarks.
- Find links that no longer work. The Bookmark Dead Link Checker tests whether each bookmarked site still answers. See how to find dead links in your bookmarks.
- Put it back into a browser. In Chrome, choose More > Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings and pick the file (Chrome Help). In Firefox, open the Library and choose Import and Backup > Import Bookmarks from HTML… (Mozilla Support). Both add the bookmarks next to the ones you already have.
- Keep it next to your reading list. In a free Reading Rewind account, open Bookmarks and choose Import Bookmarks File from the ⋯ menu. The file is added as its own source, "HTML Import (file name)", next to the rest of your library. Importing a file with the same name again replaces only that source.
FAQ
Can I open a Firefox .json backup the same way?
No. The Bookmark Explorer and other browsers read HTML bookmark files only. In Firefox, use Export Bookmarks to HTML… to get a file that opens anywhere.
Will opening the file add the bookmarks to my browser?
No. Opening the file in a tab or in the Bookmark Explorer only shows it. To add the bookmarks to a browser, use that browser's import option.
Can I edit a bookmarks.html file by hand?
You can, in any text editor, but it's easy to break the nesting of folders. It's safer to import the file into a browser, tidy it there, and export it again.
Why are some of my bookmarks missing from the file?
Each export only covers one browser profile. If you use several profiles, export each one separately. In Chrome, Reading list items aren't bookmarks, so they're never in the file.