Manually back up and restore Firefox profile data

Firefox Firefox Last updated: 13 hours ago
Note: If you want to back up your Firefox data and move it to a new device, we recommend using the built-in backup tool. See Restore your Firefox browsing data with a backup file for more details.

Firefox stores your personal data, such as bookmarks, passwords, and extensions, in a profile folder on your computer, in a location separate from the Firefox program. You can copy this folder to back up and restore your data manually.

This article explains how to use manual folder copy to back up your profile, restore it, or move your profile to a new location or computer, and it only applies to Firefox on desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux). To move or back up data on mobile devices, use Firefox Sync. See How do I set up Sync on my computer? to learn about Firefox Sync and connecting your mobile devices.

Note: The Refresh Firefox feature creates an Old Firefox Data folder on your desktop, which contains a backup of your old profile folder and its contents. If you recently refreshed Firefox and still have this folder, you already have a complete profile backup.

When should I use manual backup

Manual backup is useful if:

  • Firefox won’t open or is corrupted
  • You need to recover specific files
  • You are troubleshooting profile issues

For most users, the Firefox Backup tool is easier and recommended.

Locate your profile folder

  • Click the menu button Fx89menuButton, click Help and select More Troubleshooting Information.From the Help menu, select More Troubleshooting Information. The Troubleshooting Information tab will open.
  • Under the Application Basics section next to Profile FolderProfile Directory, click Open FolderShow in FinderOpen Directory. A window will open that contains your profile folder.Your profile folder will open.Your profile directory will open.
Note: If Firefox displays an error after clicking Open Folder or if you are unable to open or use Firefox, follow the instructions in Finding your profile without opening Firefox.

Manually back up your profile data

Note: If you’re trying to move your data to a new computer, use the Firefox Backup tool instead of these manual steps.

To back up your profile, first close Firefox if it is open and then copy the profile folder to another location.

  1. Locate your profile folder, as explained above.
  2. Close Firefox (if open): Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  3. Go to one level above your profile's folder (in other words, to %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/~/.mozilla/firefox/).
  4. Right-clickRight-click (or hold down the Control key while you click) on your profile folder (for example, on the xxxxxxxx.default folder) and select Copy. If you see a file locked or in use, make sure Firefox is completely closed (check Task Manager on Windows, Force Quit on macOS). If you get an error that indicates the path file is too long, copy the contents in smaller batches or use Windows’ long-path support.
  5. Right-clickRight-click (or hold down the Control key while you click) the backup location (such as a USB-stick) and select Paste item.
Warning: Profiles are not always portable across different operating systems because of file path and version differences. If you’re moving from Linux to Windows, you may only be able to copy bookmarks/password files, not the whole profile.

Manually restore a profile backup

  1. Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. If your existing profile folder and profile backup folder have the same name, simply replace the existing profile folder with the profile backup, then start Firefox.
    Important: The profile folder names must match exactly for this to work, including the random string of 8 characters. If the names do not match or if you are restoring a backup to a different location, follow the steps below.

You can repeat these steps to restore as many profile backups as you need if you have more than one.

Restore to a different location

If the profile folder names do not match or if you want to move or restore a profile to a different location, do the following:

  1. Completely close Firefox: Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. Use the Firefox Profile Manager to create a new profile in your desired location, then exit the Profile Manager.
    Note: If you just installed Firefox on a new computer, you can use the default profile that is automatically created when you first run Firefox, instead of creating a new profile.
  3. Locate the backed-up profile folder on your hard drive or backup medium (such as your USB stick).
  4. Open the profile folder backup (for example, the xxxxxxxx.default backup).
  5. Copy the entire contents of the profile folder backup, such as the handlers.json file, prefs.js file, bookmarkbackups folder, etc.
  6. Locate and open the new profile folder as explained above and then close Firefox (if open).
  7. Paste the contents of the backed up profile folder into the new profile folder, overwriting existing files of the same name.
  8. Start Firefox.

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These fine people helped write this article:

AliceWyman, Chris Ilias, novica, Tonnes, Michael Verdi, scoobidiver, Swarnava Sengupta, Petja Touru, Jason, Matt_G, user669794, user841578, Jeff, Lucas Siebert, Donna Kelly, Flavius Floare
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