How to Back Up (and Restore) Your Bookmarks in Firefox

To back up your Firefox bookmarks, open the menu, click Bookmarks > Manage bookmarks, then in the Library window click Import and Backup > Backup. Pick a spot you will remember, like your desktop, and click Save. Firefox also keeps its own automatic backups, saving the last 15, and you can restore any of them from the same menu.

This guide covers Firefox for Windows, Mac and Linux. It shows how to make a backup file, restore from your own or an automatic backup, export bookmarks to HTML for another browser, move bookmarks to a new computer, and recover bookmarks after a problem. Steps come from Mozilla’s Firefox Help articles, checked in October 2026. Firefox for Android and iPhone doesn’t have these backup tools; Mozilla says to use Firefox Sync on mobile.

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Backup, Export or Sync: Which Do You Need?

Firefox gives you three ways to protect bookmarks, and they do different jobs. Mozilla’s export help article explains the difference between a backup and an export:

Backup (JSON file): for restoring bookmarks in Firefox. It keeps your folder structure and replaces your current bookmarks when restored.
Export (HTML file): for moving bookmarks to another browser or computer, or merging them with bookmarks you already have.
Firefox Sync: keeps bookmarks the same on every device signed in to your Mozilla account. Mozilla notes that Sync isn’t a true backup, because it copies changes and deletions right away.

If your bookmarks matter to you, keep a backup file even if you use Sync.

Card showing Firefox Library, Import and Backup, Backup and Save steps — Illustration: backing up Firefox bookmarks to a file.

How to Back Up Your Bookmarks in Firefox

These steps follow Mozilla’s Restore bookmarks from backup or move them article.

Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of Firefox. Result: the menu panel opens.
Click Bookmarks, then click Manage bookmarks at the bottom. Result: the Library window opens.
Make sure All Bookmarks is selected on the left. Result: the backup will include every folder.
Click Import and Backup and choose Backup. Result: a save window opens.
Choose where to save the file. It’s named bookmarks-(date).json by default. Result: the location is set.
Click Save, then close the Library window. Result: your backup file is saved.

You can keep the file as JSON or change the file type to HTML; Mozilla says Firefox supports both for restoring. Save a copy somewhere other than your computer’s main drive, such as a USB drive or cloud storage folder, so it survives if the computer fails. Putting the date in the file name helps if you make backups regularly.

Firefox’s automatic backups

You don’t have to do anything for these. Mozilla says Firefox automatically creates bookmark backups and keeps the last 15. They’re stored in a folder named bookmarkbackups inside your Firefox profile folder, and they show up as dated entries in the Restore menu.

How to Restore Your Bookmarks From a Backup

Restoring replaces all of your current bookmarks with the ones in the backup. To add old bookmarks without losing new ones, use Import Bookmarks from HTML instead (see the next section).

Click the menu button, click Bookmarks, then Manage bookmarks. Result: the Library window opens.
Click Import and Backup and choose Restore. Result: a list of backups appears.
Pick one of the dated automatic backups, or choose Choose File to use a backup you saved yourself. Result: Firefox asks you to confirm.
Confirm your choice, then close the Library window. Result: your bookmarks match the backup.

If the file can’t be imported, Mozilla suggests making the backup again with the other file type, since Firefox supports both HTML and JSON.

Card showing Firefox Import and Backup, Restore, Choose File steps — Illustration: restoring Firefox bookmarks from a backup.

How to Export Bookmarks to HTML

Use this to move bookmarks to Chrome, Edge, Safari or another Firefox install, or to merge them with existing bookmarks. From Mozilla’s export article:

Open the Library window from Bookmarks > Manage bookmarks. Result: the Library opens.
Click Import and Backup and choose Export Bookmarks to HTML. Result: a save window opens.
Choose a location. The file is named bookmarks.html by default. Result: the location is set.
Click Save, then close the Library. Result: the HTML file is ready to import elsewhere. Going the other way, you can export Safari bookmarks on an iPad to a file for another browser.

To bring the file back into Firefox without replacing what you have, open the Library and choose Import and Backup > Import Bookmarks from HTML. Mozilla recommends updating Firefox first (menu > Help and Report > About Firefox); see how to check for updates in Firefox.

Moving Bookmarks to Another Computer

With Firefox Sync: sign in to the same Mozilla account on both computers and turn on bookmark syncing. This is the easiest way to keep them matched.
With a backup file: copy your manual backup, or one of the dated files from the bookmarkbackups folder, to a USB drive. On the other computer, open the Library and use Import and Backup > Restore > Choose File. Remember this replaces the bookmarks already there.
With an HTML export: import it on the other computer if you want to keep that computer’s existing bookmarks too.

Recovering Bookmarks After a Problem

Bookmarks suddenly gone: open the Library, choose Import and Backup > Restore, and pick a dated automatic backup from before the problem.
Bookmarks bar empty after importing: Mozilla says to open the menu, click More tools > Customize toolbar, click Toolbars, and set Bookmarks Toolbar to Always Show.
After a Windows 10 upgrade or downgrade: Mozilla notes your old Firefox data may be in the Windows.old folder. Use Restore > Choose File and look inside the old profile’s bookmarkbackups folder.
Sync deleted them: because Sync copies deletions, restore from a backup file on one computer and let Sync carry the fixed bookmarks to your other devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I back up my bookmarks?

Firefox’s automatic backups cover day-to-day changes. Make a manual backup before big changes, such as reinstalling Firefox, resetting your computer, or deleting lots of bookmarks.

Does a bookmark backup include passwords or history?

No. It contains bookmarks only. To manage saved logins separately, see how to delete saved passwords in Firefox.

Can I back up bookmarks on Firefox for iPhone or Android?

Not with a file. Mozilla says to use Firefox Sync on mobile.

More Firefox Guides

Matthew Burleigh

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read hundreds of millions of times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.