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Is there any way to import one's bookmarks from Google Chrome to Mozilla Firefox?

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Quick, durable notes for migrating Chrome bookmarks into Firefox (covers the three situations that come up most often and explains the “gibberish” saw). pointed to Firefox’s import options; the core idea is to get a standard HTML bookmark export from Chrome and import that into Firefox. The raw files copied from a Chrome profile are JSON (named Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak) and will look unreadable if opened directly in Firefox. (howtogeek.com)

Common workflows

  • Both browsers available on the same PC: export from Chrome’s Bookmark Manager (three-dot menu → Export bookmarks to HTML) and then import that HTML into Firefox via the Library → Import and Backup → Import Bookmarks from HTML (or use Firefox’s Import Data wizard). This is the simplest, least-risk route. (tomsguide.com)

  • Only a copied profile folder (no running Chrome): locate the Bookmarks / Bookmarks.bak files inside the transferred profile (Windows default: C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\) and, after closing Chrome, copy a safe backup of any existing files and put the old Bookmarks file into a Chrome profile folder. Restart Chrome, then use the export-to‑HTML step above. Always keep backups before replacing files. (howtogeek.com)

  • No Chrome available and only the JSON Bookmarks file: convert it to standard Netscape-style bookmark HTML and then import into Firefox. A small Python converter (reads Chrome JSON and writes an HTML file) will do this; run the script against the Bookmarks file and import the produced HTML into Firefox.

Example converter (very small; run with Python 3):

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import json, sys
from html import escape

def write_node(n,f,indent=0):
    ind='  '*indent
    if 'children' in n:
        f.write(f"{ind}<DT><H3>{escape(n.get('name','Folder'))}</H3>\n")
        f.write(f"{ind}<DL><p>\n")
        for c in n.get('children',[]): write_node(c,f,indent+1)
        f.write(f"{ind}</DL><p>\n")
    else:
        f.write(f"{ind}<DT><A HREF=\"{escape(n.get('url',''))}\">{escape(n.get('name',''))}</A>\n")

def main(path):
    with open(path,'r',encoding='utf-8') as i:
        data=json.load(i)
    out=sys.stdout
    out.write('<!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1>\n<TITLE>Bookmarks</TITLE>\n<H1>Bookmarks</H1>\n<DL><p>\n')
    for k in ('bookmark_bar','other','synced'):
        r=data.get('roots',{}).get(k)
        if r: write_node({'name': ('Bookmarks Bar' if k=='bookmark_bar' else 'Other Bookmarks'), 'children': r.get('children',[])},out,1)
    out.write('</DL>\n')

if __name__=='__main__':
    main(sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv)>1 else 'Bookmarks')

Run the converter and import the resulting HTML into Firefox. Closing note: the OP’s problem was the misleading desktop folder; the real bookmark file is the Bookmarks/Bookmarks.bak JSON inside the Chrome profile or, better, the HTML export created from Chrome. (howtogeek.com)

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Member Avatar for khaley

Hey, thank you so much for sending me to that page....however, the situation is a bit more complicated. I should have mentioned that I'm working off a new computer onto which I just downloaded Google Chrome without the old bookmarks that I'm looking to import to Firefox. The old bookmarks have been recently stored in a folder on the desktop of this new computer--a folder that I can't figure out what to do with: its files will open with a lot of gibberish in Mozilla FF, but I don't know how to save its contents as html or any other format. Do you know how to export the contents of this folder?
Sorry to complicate the issue!

Member Avatar for harinath_2007

The old bookmarks have been recently stored in a folder on the desktop of this new computer--a folder that I can't figure out what to do with: its files will open with a lot of gibberish in Mozilla FF, but I don't know how to save its contents as html or any other format. Do you know how to export the contents of this folder?

Sorry. i cant understand what you are trying to say.

I hope you want to export chrome bookmarks to an html file. Doing that is already explained in that link.

a folder that I can't figure out what to do with: its files will open with a lot of gibberish in Mozilla FF, but I don't know how to save its contents as html or any other format

what folder ? what format are you talking about?

Member Avatar for khaley

I think my problem was obfuscated by the fact that the person who did the data transfer from one computer to the next placed a misleading (non-useful) folder on my desktop that purported to contain the necessary backup of my Chrome bookmarks--it did not. As you surmised, it was a simple solution in the link you sent me to, and it worked just as simply. I didn't have to mess around with a "bookmarks bak" file or any of that. Thanks for your help

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