Back Up Chrome, Edge and Firefox Bookmarks

Sync continuously copies your browsing data to the browser vendor's servers. On the new PC, you sign in with the same account and your data comes back. Microsoft, for example, says Edge syncs favorites, passwords, history, extensions, settings, open tabs and form autofill entries.

• Chrome: select the profile icon at the top right, then Sign in to Chrome with your Google Account. Your bookmarks, passwords and other data then follow you across your devices.
• Edge: select the profile icon, choose your account (or Add new account), then Sign in to sync data. You can pick which data types sync under Settings > Profiles > Sync.
• Firefox: sign in to a free Mozilla account from the Firefox menu. Firefox Sync syncs your bookmarks, history and saved passwords, and Mozilla says this data is encrypted on its servers.
• Brave: Brave Sync links your devices in a sync chain. You turn on each data type to sync (bookmarks, passwords and so on) under Settings > Sync.

Before leaving the old PC, check in the sync settings that bookmarks and passwords are turned on, and give the browser time to finish. Be careful with deletions too: Microsoft points out that deleting data while signed in and syncing removes it from all your synced devices.

Exporting creates an HTML file that contains only your bookmarks, with their folders. Every browser can read this format, so it also lets you move from Chrome to Firefox or the other way round. Save the file to a USB stick or an external drive, then import it on the new PC.

Chrome

1. Select More (the three dots at the top right) > Bookmarks and lists > Bookmark Manager.
2. At the top of the page, select More > Export Bookmarks and save the HTML file.
3. On the new PC, select More > Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings, then Choose file and pick the HTML file.
4. If Chrome already had bookmarks, the imported ones are placed in the Other bookmarks folder.

Edge

1. Open your favorites with Ctrl+Shift+O, then select More options (...) > Export favorites.
2. Choose a location and save the suggested HTML file.
3. On the new PC, open Settings > Profiles > Import browser data. Under Other import locations, select Import next to Import browser data now.
4. In the Import from list, choose Favorites or bookmarks HTML file, then Choose file. The imported favorites appear in a folder on the favorites bar.

Firefox

1. Open the Library with Ctrl+Shift+B.
2. Select Import and Backup > Export Bookmarks to HTML, then save the file.
3. On the new PC, open the Library and choose Import and Backup > Import Bookmarks from HTML, then select the file.

An HTML export does not include extensions, history, settings or passwords. Run it again just before the migration if you have added bookmarks since, and plan one export per profile if you use several.

A browser profile is the folder that holds everything that makes the browser yours: bookmarks, history, extensions, settings and, where relevant, several profiles (personal, work and so on). UserNest backs up this folder for Chrome, Edge and Brave (the complete data folder, caches excluded) and for Firefox (the complete profile, without crash reports and telemetry), to a folder you choose: an external drive, a USB stick or any other location. It then restores it on the new PC or after a Windows reinstall.

1. On the old PC, start UserNest and check the browsers to back up, along with the other parts of your Windows profile if you are changing machines (documents, Outlook, printers and so on).
2. Click Analyze to estimate the size, then run the backup. Open browsers are listed, then closed once you confirm, so that the files are copied in a consistent state.
3. On the new PC, restore the backup. The browsers themselves are not transferred: install Chrome, Brave or Firefox if they are not already there.
4. Open each browser and check your bookmarks, extensions and profiles, then bring back your passwords through sync or the import described in the next section.

This method does not involve any online account: the backup stays on the storage you chose. UserNest is available from the Microsoft Store for home users (Download UserNest) and as a portable Pro version for technicians who migrate several machines.

Passwords do not travel with a profile copy. Chrome, Edge and Brave encrypt saved passwords for the original Windows account: copied as they are, they cannot be read on the new PC, which is why UserNest does not transfer them. Before the migration, turn on password sync with the browser account, or export them from the browser's password manager. For Firefox, do not rely on the profile copy either: use Firefox Sync and check that your passwords are on the new PC before you wipe the old one.

Sync is the simplest option. In Chrome, Google distinguishes passwords saved to your Google Account, available on all your devices, from passwords saved only on the device when you are not signed in; you can import the latter into your Google Account before you leave. Edge syncs passwords with your Microsoft account, and Brave Sync can include them in the sync chain.

Without sync, use a CSV export:

• Chrome: More > Passwords and autofill > Google Password Manager, then Settings and Download file next to Export Passwords.
• Edge: Alt+F > Passwords, the (...) menu > Export passwords, then Export to confirm. On the new PC, open Settings > Profiles > Import browser data, select Import next to Import passwords now, then the Passwords CSV file option.

A password CSV file is not encrypted: anyone who can open it can read your passwords. Keep it on storage you control and, once the import is done, delete it permanently (Shift+Delete), as Microsoft recommends.

These methods work well together. As a simple safety net, an HTML export is enough. To get an identical browser on a new PC, extensions and profiles included, a profile copy saves you from setting everything up again, as long as you handle passwords through sync or a CSV export. If you are moving the whole machine, the guide Transfer your Windows profile to a new PC also covers documents, Outlook and printers.