How to import and export bookmarks in Chrome

Moving to a new computer, trying a different browser, or just want a backup? Chrome can export your whole bookmark collection to a single file and import it again anywhere. It takes a minute, it keeps your folders and your order, and your separators come along too. Here is how.

Export your bookmarks

Chrome exports bookmarks from the bookmark manager. Press Ctrl + Shift + O (Cmd + Option + B on a Mac) to open it, or find Bookmarks in the three-dot menu. Then click the three-dot menu inside the manager itself, at the top right, and choose Export bookmarks. Chrome saves one HTML file with everything in it. That file is your backup: stash it somewhere safe and you can restore your setup any time. The manager can do more than export, too; see using the bookmark manager for the rest.

Import them again

On the new machine or browser, open the three-dot menu and choose Import bookmarks and settings, then pick the HTML file you exported. Edge, Brave, Arc, Firefox, and Safari can all read the same file, so one export moves you anywhere. If the browser already has bookmarks, the imported ones arrive in a folder called Imported, so nothing gets mixed together; drag what you want onto the bar from there.

One thing to know: icons do not always survive the trip. Freshly imported bookmarks often show a plain placeholder until you visit each site once. That is the gray globe problem, and it is normal.

What happens to your separators

A Diviide separator is a plain bookmark, so it exports and imports like everything else: same spot on the bar, same place in your folders. And it recovers its icon better than a normal bookmark does. Its color is written into its own address, so if it arrives as a gray globe, opening it once repaints the icon exactly as you picked it. Your dividers survive the move, and one click brings the color back.

Moving between your own devices instead? You may not need a file at all: signed-in browsers sync bookmarks on their own, separators included. See bookmarks on mobile for how that looks on your phone.

Common questions

Does exporting bookmarks keep my folders and order?

Yes. The export file keeps your folder structure and the order of everything on your bookmarks bar, including separators. Importing it recreates the same arrangement.

Do my separators survive an export and import?

Yes. A separator is an ordinary bookmark, so it travels in the export file like everything else. After an import its icon may show as a gray globe at first; open it once and it repaints itself from its own address.

Should I export bookmarks or just turn on sync?

Between your own devices, sync is easier: sign in to the browser and your bookmarks follow you. Exporting is for everything sync does not cover: moving to a different browser, handing bookmarks to someone else, or keeping a backup file you control.