Find or Restore Chrome’s Bookmarks Bar and Button

You open Chrome expecting a bookmarks button and there is not one. Nothing is broken. Chrome splits bookmarks across the bar under the address bar, the Bookmark Manager, the side panel, and the star icon.

Start with the bar: Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows or Cmd+Shift+B on Mac, or Settings > Appearance. Then open the Bookmark Manager to check which links are actually saved.

In this guide, I have covered:

Which Chrome Bookmarks Button Is Missing?

You go looking for a bookmarks button in Chrome and it is not where you expect. That does not mean your bookmarks are gone. Chrome splits bookmarks across four places, and the control you want may be hidden, moved, or labelled differently than you remember.

Those four places are the bar of folders under the address bar, the star that saves the page you are on, the Bookmark Manager, and the bookmarks side panel. Each one does a different job.

Start with the bar, then open the Bookmark Manager. If your links are listed there, nothing was deleted. You are dealing with a display problem, not data loss.

Show the Chrome Bookmarks Bar on Computer

Most people who say the bookmarks button disappeared mean the bar: the strip of folders and links directly under the address bar. On desktop Chrome it can be hidden on regular pages and shown only on the New Tab page, which is why it seems to vanish between tabs.

1. Click the menu at the top right of Chrome.
2. Select Settings.
3. Open Appearance.
4. Find the bookmarks bar dropdown.
5. Select Always show bookmarks bar.

The bar should now sit under the address bar on every page, including the one you were on. Open a new tab and confirm that your folders and links are there.

If a full-time bar feels like clutter, pick Only show on New Tab page instead. Hide bookmarks bar removes it everywhere. None of these options changes your saved links.

Use the Keyboard Shortcut to Show or Hide the Bar

Chrome can toggle that same bar in about a second, with no trip through Settings. Use it when you are not sure whether the bar is hidden or whether you are looking at the wrong part of the toolbar.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows or Linux.
2. Press Cmd+Shift+B on macOS.
3. Look for the row of bookmarks under the address bar.

Run the same shortcut again to hide the bar. Only the visibility changes. No bookmark is added, moved, or deleted.

Open Chrome’s Bookmark Manager or Bookmarks Panel

The bar is not always the control you need. When you want the complete list of what Chrome has stored, or proof that a link still exists, the Bookmark Manager is the place to look.

1. Click the menu.
2. Select Bookmarks and lists.
3. Select Bookmark manager.
4. Pick a folder in the sidebar to see what is inside it.

You can skip the menu with Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+Shift+O on macOS.

For a panel that opens beside the page you are reading, press Ctrl+B on Windows or Linux, or Cmd+B on macOS, then select Bookmarks. It stays open while you keep browsing.

Find the Chrome Bookmark Star

The star is the only control in this article that saves a page, and it is what a lot of people picture when they say bookmarks button. Look at the right end of the address bar before you dig through menus.

1. Open the page you want to keep.
2. Click the star beside the address bar.
3. Choose the folder the bookmark should go into.
4. Click Done.

The page should now be listed in that folder. If no star appears beside the address bar, the page may be running a different Chrome interface or menu layout. Open the Bookmark Manager to see whether the bookmark saved anyway.

Manage a Missing Bookmark

A page you saved weeks ago will not turn up, and you are starting to wonder whether Chrome lost it. Check the manager before you assume anything.

1. Click the menu.
2. Select Bookmarks and lists.
3. Select Bookmark manager.
4. Pick a folder, or type a word from the page title into the manager’s search field.

If the bookmark appears in the list, it was never deleted. Bring the bar back with Ctrl+Shift+B, or keep working from the Bookmark Manager and the side panel.

For the full set of options, including moving, renaming, and deleting saved links, see add, edit, and manage bookmarks in Chrome on the computer.

Find Bookmarks in Chrome on iPhone or iPad

Chrome on an iPhone or iPad has no bookmarks bar at all, so the button you rely on at your desk is not part of that layout. What goes missing there is usually an action that was removed from the customized toolbar.

1. Open the Chrome menu.
2. Select Edit Actions.
3. Enable Add to bookmarks if it is in the list.
4. Open a web page and run the Add to bookmarks action.

To reach a bookmark you saved earlier, open the Chrome menu and look for the bookmarks list. You can also tap Share on the page and choose Add to bookmarks.

TIP: If Add to bookmarks never shows up in Edit Actions, save the page from the share sheet instead. The bookmarks list in Chrome’s menu still holds everything you saved.

Troubleshoot a Bookmarks Button That Is Still Missing

The bar is on, the manager opens, and you still cannot find the button you have in mind. The useful question now is which job you are trying to do, because Chrome spreads that job over several controls.

• Show saved links as a row: turn the bar on in Appearance or press Ctrl+Shift+B.
• See everything you have saved: open Bookmark manager.
• Keep a bookmarks panel open while you browse: open the side panel and select Bookmarks.
• Save the page in front of you: click the star beside the address bar.

Showing or hiding the bookmarks bar never adds or removes a bookmark. Check the Bookmark Manager first, before you treat a missing link as data loss.

RELATED: Add New Tabs and Open an Incognito Window in Chrome on the Computer