Whether you are syncing your bookmarks with your Google account or choose not to, the Chrome browser saves all your bookmarks to a special local file called “Bookmarks” on Windows.
Knowing how to find the chrome bookmarks location will help you back up the Chrome bookmarks files. If needed, you can also sync it between systems or manually edit the Chrome bookmarks file to add, remove, or modify bookmark entries.
So, without further ado, let me show you where the Chrome bookmarks file is located and how to open it on Windows.
Table of contents:
- Chrome Bookmarks Location
- How to open Chrome bookmarks file
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Conclusion
Chrome Bookmarks Location
The Chrome bookmarks file is located in the local appdata folder in the C drive. The location of the Chrome bookmarks file is “C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default”. This path takes you to the bookmarks file of the default profile. Once you are in this folder, find a file with the name “Bookmarks.” It is the default Chrome bookmarks file.
If you have multiple profiles and want to access the bookmark file of a specific Chrome profile, go back one folder. i.e., to the “User Data” folder and open the Chrome profile folder of your choice to find the bookmark file of that profile. You can access it using File Explorer on Windows.
Follow the steps below to find and access the Chrome bookmarks location:
- Use the “Windows logo key + R” to open the Run window.
- Type Chrome bookmarks location path “%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default” in the blank field.
- Press the “Ok” button in the Run window.
- The path is instantly opened in File Explorer.
- Find a file with the name “Bookmarks.”
- It is the Chrome bookmarks file you are looking for.
Steps with more details:
First, open the Run window using the “Windows logo key + R” shortcut.
Once the Run window opens, paste the below path in the blank field and click on the “OK” button. Don’t forget to replace “username” with your Windows username.
Note: You can also paste the below path in the File Explorer address bar and press Enter.
%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
The above action will open the default Chrome profile folder. In this folder, find the file name “Bookmarks.” It will not have any file extension. This is the Chrome bookmarks file.
If you are looking for a bookmark file of another profile, go back to the “User Data” folder. You can do that by clicking the “Up Arrow” icon next to the “Address bar.” Next, find and open the “Profile” folder of your choice to see the associated bookmarks file.
How to open Chrome bookmarks file
Once you know where the Chrome bookmarks file is located on Windows, you can use any text editor application, like Notepad, to open it. Before opening or editing the bookmarks file, I recommend you create a backup copy. That way, you restore the file if something goes wrong.
Let me show you how to open the bookmarks file:
First, locate the Chrome bookmarks file. Next, right-click on the “Bookmarks” file and select “Open with.”
Next, choose “Notepad” from the list and click the “Just once” button.
As soon as you do that, the Chrome bookmarks file will be opened in Notepad. Once opened, you can add, remove, or modify the bookmark entries and save the file. The changes will reflect in your Chrome browser after a browser restart.
If you are wondering, the Chrome bookmarks file uses JSON format. That means, you can rename the file and add the “.json” extension at the end.
After that, you can open it in any code editor, like VSCode, to make it easy to look at and edit the contents of the file without messing up the JSON structure.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Here are a few frequently asked questions about the bookmarks file in Chrome:
The Chrome bookmarks file is a locally stored file that contains all of your saved bookmarks in the Chrome browser.
The location of the Chrome bookmarks file is “C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default”.
By default, the Chrome bookmarks file has no file extension. However, you can add a “.json” file extension at the end and open it with any text editor or code editor.
You can open the Chrome bookmarks file with any text editor or code editor.
The Chrome bookmarks file uses JSON notation to save the bookmarks. So, add “.json” at the end of the file name, open it with your favorite code editor, like VSCode, and edit the file however you want. While making changes, make sure to follow the JSON notation. Also, create a backup file before editing the original bookmarks file.
To access the bookmarks file for a specific profile in Chrome on Windows, you need to go to the “C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data” folder, open the corresponding Chrome profile folder, and find the “Bookmarks” file. Don’t forget to replace “Username” with your Windows username.
Yes, you can back up and import the Chrome bookmarks file using File Explorer.
Chrome bookmarks file – Conclusion
As you can see, it is not hard to find Chrome’s bookmarks file location. Knowing where to find the Chrome bookmarks file and how to open & edit it will give you great control and help you create alternative backups of all your bookmarks, sync them between machines, etc. This is especially helpful if you are not syncing your bookmarks with your Google account. For example, if you are factory resetting the Chrome browser, knowing the bookmarks file location makes it easy to back it up.
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All in all. I hope this simple and easy Chrome how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.
If you like this article, check out how to control Google Chrome tab volume and how to limit Google Chrome cache size.
Thank for this article. Does a tool exist for importing these files into my other browser(firefox)?
Since the file is in JSON format, you can import it in almost all major browsers including Firefox.