Firefox Update Wiped Out Your Tabs and Bookmarks? Get Them Back

Firefox looks empty after an update: no bookmarks, no open tabs, and a browser that seems brand new. Usually nothing was deleted. Firefox has opened a different profile, and the old one is still on your disk.

Check every profile before you reinstall anything. Then restore a dated bookmark backup, pull bookmarks from Sync, and recover the tabs from the sessionstore files. Set the right profile as default so future windows open there.

In this guide, I have covered:

Why your tabs and bookmarks look wiped after a Firefox update

You open Firefox after an update and the bookmarks bar is empty, the windows you had open are gone, and the browser looks freshly installed. Odds are nothing was deleted. A Firefox update can coincide with Firefox opening a different local profile, which is a separate set of bookmarks, settings, and session data.

The profile you were using is almost certainly still on disk. Mozilla Support’s profile recovery guidance covers the same ground.

Everything below works on Firefox for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Work through it in order, before you reinstall Firefox or delete any profile folder.

ALERT: Do not delete the empty-looking profile or reinstall Firefox yet. Clearing cookies or cache will not restore profile bookmarks or session tabs.

Confirm which Firefox version is running

You may suspect the update itself is the culprit. Checking the installed build shows whether Firefox restarted onto a new version, but it says nothing about whether your profile data survived.

1. Click the hamburger menu at the top right of the Firefox window.
2. Choose Help, then select About Firefox from the submenu.
3. Look at the line under the Firefox logo that says "Version". The number next to it is your current version.
4. Alternatively, type about:support in the address bar and press Enter. The Version field appears under Application Basics.

Carry on with the profile checks whether the version number is new or unchanged.

Look inside every Firefox profile

Your bookmarks are missing from the window you’re in, but this computer may hold several Firefox profiles. Open each one and look around before you conclude the data is gone.

On the Manage Profiles page, launch each profile in turn and check its bookmarks and recent windows.

1. Open a new Firefox tab.
2. Type about:profiles in the address bar.
3. Press Enter.
4. Click Launch profile in new browser under one profile.
5. Open the bookmarks manager with Ctrl+Shift+O, or Cmd+Shift+O on macOS.
6. Look for bookmark folders you recognize.
7. Click the menu.
8. Click History in the menu.
9. Check Recently Closed Windows for the missing session.
10. Close the launched Firefox window.
11. Repeat the launch and inspection process for each remaining profile.

The profile holding recognizable bookmarks or recent windows is the one to work from. Leave the other profiles in place until the recovery is verified.

TIP: Each launch opens a second Firefox window next to your current one. Close it when you finish checking, so you always know which profile you’re looking at.

Reveal an older profile that isn’t listed

None of the listed profiles had your data? Older profile folders can drop off the Manage Profiles list after a version change. This hidden view brings them back.

1. Open a new Firefox tab.
2. Type about:editprofile in the address bar.
3. Press Enter.
4. Choose the older profile folder from Root Directory.
5. Type about:profiles in the address bar.
6. Press Enter.
7. Click Launch profile in new browser for the newly listed profile.
8. Look for the bookmarks and recent windows you recognize.

If the older profile holds the missing bookmarks or session, use it in the next step. If it looks empty too, leave it alone and continue with backup recovery.

Make the profile with your data the default

Opening a profile only inspects it. Until you change the default, every new Firefox window keeps landing in the empty profile.

1. Type about:profiles in the address bar.
2. Press Enter.
3. Locate the profile that contains your bookmarks or session.
4. Click Set as default profile below that profile.
5. Close every Firefox window.
6. Start Firefox again.

Setting a default profile does not merge it with the empty one. It only decides which profile future Firefox windows will use.

You’ll know it worked when a full restart lands you back in the same profile, with your bookmarks in place and any recoverable session listed under History > Recently Closed Windows.

Copy the profile before you touch any files

Manual file recovery is the one step you can’t easily undo, so make a copy of the profile folder first. Firefox will open that folder for you.

1. Open a new Firefox tab.
2. Type about:support in the address bar.
3. Press Enter.
4. In Application Basics, click Profile Folder.
5. Click Open Folder, or Open Directory on macOS.
6. Close Firefox.
7. Copy the profile folder.
8. Paste the copy into a separate location.

Leave the original profile untouched until the recovered bookmarks and tabs check out. The copy is your rollback if a manual restore goes wrong.

Restore bookmarks from an automatic backup

The right profile is active, but the bookmark folders still aren’t there. Firefox keeps dated copies of your bookmarks on its own, and one of them may predate the update.

Open the bookmarks manager and pick a date under Import and Backup > Restore.

1. With the Library open, click Import and Backup in the top toolbar.
2. Hover over Restore to open the submenu.
3. Pick the most recent dated backup that still contains your bookmarks. Entries are listed newest first.
4. Confirm the replacement prompt. Firefox overwrites the current bookmarks file with the snapshot.

The saved folders should appear in the Library window. If no dated backup is listed, go back and check the remaining profiles rather than creating a new one.

Check Firefox Sync for bookmarks

Your bookmarks were synced before the update, so another signed-in device may still hold a copy. Let Sync push them back before you dig any deeper.

1. On the affected computer, click the hamburger menu and choose Sign in to Sync and save data.
2. Sign in with the Mozilla account used on the device that still has your bookmarks.
3. Wait for the initial sync to complete. Tabs, history, and bookmarks will all merge in.
4. Open the Library with Ctrl + Shift + O (or Cmd + Shift + O on macOS) and confirm your folders are back.

Wait for Sync to finish, then look for the folders. This covers bookmarks only, so treat missing tabs as a separate job.

Reopen tabs from recent session history

Before you go anywhere near session files, check the list Firefox already keeps. Your lost windows may still be recorded in this profile.

1. Click the hamburger menu at the top right of Firefox.
2. Choose History.
3. Click Recently Closed Tabs to reopen the most recent single tab, or Recently Closed Windows for a full window.
4. Repeat the click to keep walking back through the closed-items stack.

You’ll know it worked when the missing windows come back. If the list is empty or the session isn’t there, move on to the sessionstore backups.

Recover tabs from sessionstore backups

Session restore had nothing usable? The profile still keeps rolling copies of your session, and one may predate the update.

1. Type about:support in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Under Application Basics, find the Profile Folder row and click Open Folder (or Open Directory on macOS).
3. Open the sessionstore-backups subfolder inside the profile.
4. Look for files named recovery.jsonlz4, recovery.baklz4, previous.jsonlz4, and the dated upgrade.jsonlz4-yyyymmddhhmmss backups.
5. Close Firefox completely before touching any of these files.
6. Copy the backup you want to recover to the parent profile folder and rename it to sessionstore.jsonlz4, overwriting the broken file.
7. Restart Firefox. The backup loads as the current session.

Restart Firefox and confirm the result under History > Recently Closed Windows.

Skip a tab that blocks session restore

Firefox offers you the restore list but stalls on a single page. Exclude that entry and the rest of the session still comes back.

1. On the error page, click View previous tabs to expand the list.
2. Untick the tab you suspect caused the crash, for example the one that was loading a heavy web app when Firefox closed.
3. Click Restore Session again.

The remaining tabs should open without the blocked page. Load the skipped page separately once you’re back in.

Turn automatic session restore back on

Restoring one session is a repair, not a setting. Switch reopening previous windows and tabs back on so the next restart behaves.

1. Click the hamburger menu at the top right of Firefox and choose Settings.
2. Select the General panel from the left sidebar.
3. Scroll to the Startup section.
4. Tick the box next to Open previous windows and tabs.
5. Also tick Warn you when quitting the browser below it, so Firefox prompts you next time instead of dropping the session silently.

A normal close and restart should now bring your last session back.

This setting affects future session restores only. It cannot reconstruct an older session that is absent from the current profile and its backups.

When Firefox never reaches the profile manager

Firefox hangs on startup and you never get as far as about:profiles. Fix the startup hang first, because profile recovery needs a working browser window.

Follow Firefox Freezes or Hangs at Startup After an Update for that separate symptom.

Once Firefox opens again, return to about:profiles and repeat the profile check. Do not create a fresh profile while an older one may still hold recoverable data, and treat a Firefox reset the same way: it is not a recovery step.

RELATED: Recover Firefox Data Missing After an Update or Profile Change