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How to back up your Chrome bookmarks for free (and test the backup)

Updated October 28, 2026

Google's own help says: "After you delete a bookmark, you can't get it back." (Google's bookmarks help) If your bookmarks matter, keep a copy. You don't need to pay anyone to do it. 14 people said they have this question on one Chrome Help thread alone (Backing up bookmarks).

1. Export a bookmarks file (2 minutes, free)

  1. Open the Bookmark Manager: ⋮, then Bookmarks and lists, then Bookmark Manager, or press Ctrl+Shift+O (Mac: ⌘+Option+B).
  2. At the top, select ⋮ and choose Export bookmarks. Chrome saves them as an HTML file (Google's import and export help).
  3. Copy that file somewhere other than this computer: a USB stick, a cloud folder, or an email to yourself.

Protects against: deleting by accident, a broken profile, a dead computer. Doesn't protect: anything you bookmark after the export.

2. Save your bookmarks in your Google Account

Sign in to Chrome, and your bookmarks are saved in your Google Account and appear on your other devices (Google's sync help).

Protects against: losing a computer. Doesn't protect against: deleting. A change, including a deletion, reaches your other devices too. Sync is a mirror, not a backup.

3. Keep automatic snapshots

A backup tool that saves a new copy every time your bookmarks change covers what the first two miss: it's always current, and a deletion today doesn't touch yesterday's copy. Before you pick one, check:

  • Can you restore for free? A backup you have to pay to restore isn't really yours.
  • Does restoring overwrite what you have now? The safe way adds the old copy next to it.
  • Is there a copy outside the extension? If the extension is removed, its data inside Chrome goes with it.

Test your backup (do this once)

  1. Click your profile picture at the top right of Chrome and add a new, blank profile just for testing (Google's profiles help).
  2. In that profile: ⋮, Bookmarks and lists, Import bookmarks and settings, and pick your export file (Google's import and export help).
  3. Check that your folders and bookmarks are there. Then remove the test profile.

Questions

Where does Chrome keep bookmarks on my computer?

In a file named Bookmarks in your Chrome profile folder. Chrome also keeps one extra copy, Bookmarks.bak, made the first time your bookmarks change after Chrome starts (Chromium's bookmark storage code). It's soon replaced, so don't count on it. Our guide Deleted Chrome bookmarks? shows how to use it in an emergency.

How often should I export?

After any big cleanup, and at least monthly if you bookmark often. Or use automatic snapshots and stop thinking about it.

So it never happens again

Exports are only as fresh as the last time you remembered. We make Never Lose Tabs, and it backs up your bookmarks as well as your tabs, free:

  • Snapshots after every change. Within a couple of minutes of a change, it keeps a new snapshot of all your bookmarks on your computer.
  • An alarm when they suddenly vanish. If a large share of your bookmarks disappears at once, or your bookmarks bar goes empty, it tells you and offers to restore. The snapshot from before the loss is kept.
  • Restore that never overwrites. Restoring adds a folder named Restored bookmarks, with the snapshot's date, to Other bookmarks. Nothing you have now is changed or removed.
  • A copy outside Chrome. Snapshots are included in the hourly backup file in Downloads/NeverLoseTabs, and any snapshot can be exported as a bookmarks file any browser can import.

Bookmark backup is optional: turn it on with Back up my bookmarks too, and Chrome asks you to allow access to your bookmarks. It's free forever. It can't bring back bookmarks deleted before you turn it on.

Add to Chrome: freeHow it works

We make Never Lose Tabs. Chrome is a trademark of Google LLC. Never Lose Tabs is made by Coding Friend LLC and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.