Firefox automatically creates backups of your bookmarks and saves the last 15 backups for safekeeping. This article describes how to restore your bookmarks from the automatic backups that Firefox creates, how to save and restore your own bookmark backup files, and how to move your bookmarks to another computer.

• If your bookmarks suddenly become unavailable in Firefox, see Recover lost or missing Bookmarks for troubleshooting information.
• For more information about using bookmarks, see Bookmarks in Firefox.

Backup and restore

Manual backup

1. Click the menu button to open the menu panel. Click Bookmarks and then click the Manage bookmarks bar at the bottom. A library window will open.
2. In the Library window, make sure "All Bookmarks" is selectedon the left rail. Click the Import and Backup button and then select Backup….
   
3. In the Bookmarks backup filename window that opens, choose a location to save the file, which is named bookmarks-"date".json by default. (You can leave it as a json file, or change the file type to HTML. Firefox supports these two file types for restoration.) The desktop is usually a good spot, but any place that is easy to remember will work.
4. Save the bookmarks json file. The Bookmarks backup filename window will close and then you can close the Library window.

Restoring from backups

1. Click the menu button to open the menu panel. Click Bookmarks and then click the Manage bookmarks bar at the bottom. A library window will open.
2. In the Library window, click the Import and Backup button and then select Restore.
   
3. Select the backup from which you want to restore:
   • The dated entries are automatic bookmark backups.
   • Choose File… lets you restore from a manual backup (see above). Selecting this option will open another window, where you can select your manual backup file from the location where you saved your backup file in the previous steps.
4. After selecting a backup and confirming your choice, your bookmarks from that backup will be restored.
5. Close the Library window.

Moving bookmarks to another computer

Using Firefox Sync

You can use Firefox Sync to move your bookmarks from one computer to another.

Firefox Sync is the best way to keep your bookmarks (and other profile data) synchronized between all of the computers you use. See How do I set up Sync on my computer? for more information and instructions on setting it up.

Using a bookmark backup file

You can also use a bookmark backup file from one computer and restore it on another computer. This is useful if you can't synchronize the two computers' bookmarks using Sync, for some reason.

The bookmark backup file can either be a manual backup (see above) or one of the automatic dated backups located inside the Firefox profile folder named bookmarkbackups folder. Place the bookmark backup file on your transfer media (a Flash drive, for exmple) and copy it to the desktop (or any location) of the other computer. You can then restore the backup from the Firefox Library window, using the Choose File… option, as described in the Restoring from backups section above.

Restoring bookmarks after upgrading or downgrading older Windows versions

After upgrading or downgrading your Windows 10 operating system, a directory named Windows.old is created, and most of the data erased from the upgrade or downgrade is stored there. One especially useful item is the Bookmarks from Firefox. Follow the instructions in Restoring from backups above, and when you select Choose File…, follow the path C:\Windows.old\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<filename.default>\bookmarkbackups to your previous bookmarks. Check the file date for information when the backup was created. Be aware using a backup bookmark folder will replace all the bookmarks in Firefox with the bookmarks in the backup file.