Export and Import Bookmarks Between Firefox Profiles on Computer

A new Firefox profile or a fresh install starts with an empty Bookmarks menu. Your old bookmarks are still in the previous profile, they just don't come along on their own.

Export them from the old Firefox as an HTML file or a JSON backup, then import that file into the new profile on Windows, macOS, or Linux. If both profiles were signed into the same Mozilla account, Sync can move them without a file.

In this guide, I have covered:

Why Your Bookmarks Stay Behind in the Old Firefox Profile

You open the new profile, click the bookmarks menu, and find nothing. Nothing is broken. Every Firefox profile keeps its own bookmarks in a file called places.sqlite inside the profile folder, and a new profile starts with an empty copy.

Firefox never moves bookmarks across profiles or computers by itself. What it gives you instead are two built-in tools: an HTML file that any browser can read, and a Firefox-only JSON file that keeps your folder structure intact.

Export from the old profile, import into the new one. That is the entire Firefox bookmarks transfer, and the only real decision is which file format you want.

HTML or JSON: Pick the Right Export File

Firefox offers two export choices under Import and Backup, and picking the wrong one is the most common reason an import looks incomplete afterward.

Export Bookmarks to HTML… writes a single bookmarks.html file in the Netscape bookmark format. Any modern browser can read it, but Firefox-specific details such as tags and custom sort order get lost.

Backup… writes a JSON file named with today’s date. Folders, separators, tags, and descriptions all stay exactly as they are, but only Firefox can read the file back.

TIP: Moving bookmarks between two profiles on the same machine? HTML is enough. If tags, descriptions, and the exact folder order matter to you, take the JSON backup.

Export Bookmarks From Your Old Firefox

Start in the Firefox profile that still holds the bookmarks you want to keep. The Library window is where both the export and the import live, so it’s worth learning once.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+Shift+O on macOS, to open the Library window.
2. Click Import and Backup in the top toolbar.
3. Click Export Bookmarks to HTML…. A system save dialog appears.
4. Leave the filename as bookmarks.html, pick a location you can reach later (a USB drive or cloud folder), then click Save.

Prefer clicking to keyboard shortcuts? Open the menu, click Bookmarks, then Manage bookmarks. Same Library window.

Before you move the file, open it in any browser and check that your links survived. If they did, the hard part is done. Our walkthrough on exporting bookmarks from the Mozilla Firefox browser covers this half step by step.

Import the Bookmarks Into Your New Firefox

Close the old Firefox, put the bookmarks.html file somewhere both machines can reach, and switch to the new profile. The import runs from the same Library window.

1. In the Library, click Import and Backup in the top toolbar.
2. Choose Import Bookmarks from HTML… for an HTML export, or choose Restore then Choose File… for a JSON backup.
3. Browse to the file. Firefox exports usually have names like bookmarks.html or a JSON snapshot from the bookmarkbackups folder.
4. Select the file and click Open or Import.

You’ll know it worked when your old folders appear under Bookmarks in the new profile. If the menu still looks empty, repeat the import with the JSON backup below.

Pull Bookmarks With Firefox Sync Instead

Were both profiles already signed into the same Mozilla account? Then you don’t need a file at all. Sign in on the new profile, turn Sync on, and the bookmarks arrive on their own.

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.

You’ll know it worked when the bookmarks show up in the new profile’s Bookmarks menu after the first sync finishes.

Sync only connects profiles tied to the same Mozilla account. If the old Firefox was never signed in, or you created a fresh account for the new machine, use the HTML or JSON file instead.

Restore From an Automatic Firefox Backup

Never exported a file, or lost the one you made? Firefox keeps several days of automatic JSON backups inside each profile, so recovery is still possible as long as the old profile folder is around.

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.

You’ll know it worked when the folders you restored appear in the Bookmarks menu.

Automatic backups live in the bookmarkbackups folder inside the Firefox profile directory. Pick the newest file first; older copies are kept in case the newest one is corrupted.

If the newest backup is empty or damaged, step back a day or two in the same folder. Each backup is its own JSON file, so any single day you still have can be restored.

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