Where Are Chrome Favorites Stored Exclusive May 2026

| File Name | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | | The main, active bookmarks file. It’s a JSON file (human-readable text). | | Bookmarks.bak (or .bak.json ) | Automatic backup created every time Chrome starts. If the main file gets corrupted, Chrome restores from this. | | Bookmarks.bak2 | Secondary backup on some Chrome versions. | | Bookmarks.bak-old | Older backup, usually after an update or profile migration. |

Google Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser, largely due to its speed, extensions, and seamless synchronization across devices. If you use Chrome regularly, your collection of saved links—whether you call them "favorites" (a term inherited from Internet Explorer) or "bookmarks" (Chrome’s official name)—is one of your most valuable digital assets. where are chrome favorites stored

Bookmarks.bak (same folder). 3. Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc.) On Linux distributions, Chrome uses the ~/.config directory, following the XDG Base Directory Specification. | File Name | Purpose | |-----------|---------| |

C:\Users\[YourUserName]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile [N]\Bookmarks ...where [N] is a number (e.g., Profile 2 , Profile 3 ). If the main file gets corrupted, Chrome restores from this

Do not delete these files randomly—especially the main Bookmarks file—unless you have a known backup. How to Open and Read the Bookmarks File Since Bookmarks is a JSON file, you can open it with any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, Sublime Text, etc.). The structure looks like this (truncated):

/home/[YourUserName]/.config/google-chrome/Profile [N]/Bookmarks

Bookmarks.bak.json (note the .json extension on some Linux builds). 4. ChromeOS ChromeOS is a special case because it’s a tightly integrated, cloud-first operating system. You cannot directly access the raw bookmark file through a file explorer like on Windows or Mac.