How to Import Chrome Bookmarks (Step-by-Step)

Importing Chrome bookmarks is quick once you know which menu hides the option. Chrome offers two paths to the same import function, the imported bookmarks always land in a predictable place, and the process does not touch your existing bookmarks at all. This guide covers both import paths, what Chrome does with the file, and how to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.

Two Import Paths in Chrome

Chrome provides two separate places to trigger a bookmark import. Both lead to the same result.

Path 1 — Inside the Bookmark Manager (recommended for importing a file)

Open the Bookmark Manager, then use the three-dot menu inside the Bookmark Manager panel. This is the most direct route when you already have a bookmarks.html file.

Path 2 — Main Chrome menu

Use the three-dot menu at the top of the Chrome window and navigate to the import option under Bookmarks. This path is slightly longer but also lets you import directly from another browser installed on the same machine.

Both paths are covered in detail below.

Importing via the Bookmark Manager

This is the fastest route when you have a bookmarks.html file ready.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows or Linux (or Cmd+Option+B on Mac) to open the Bookmark Manager, or type chrome://bookmarks in the address bar
2. Inside the Bookmark Manager, locate the three-dot menu (⋮) in the toolbar at the top of that panel — this is a separate menu from Chrome’s main three-dot menu in the browser toolbar
3. Click Import bookmarks
4. A file picker opens. Navigate to the folder containing your bookmarks.html file
5. Select the file and click Open

Chrome processes the file and the imported bookmarks appear in the Bookmark Manager panel, inside a new folder at the bottom of the list.

Importing via the Main Chrome Menu

1. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of Chrome
2. Hover over Bookmarks and lists (or Bookmarks in older Chrome versions)
3. Click Import bookmarks and settings
4. A dialog opens with a Source dropdown showing options such as installed browsers on your machine
5. Click the Source dropdown and select Bookmarks HTML File
6. Click Choose File
7. In the file picker, select your bookmarks.html file and click Open

This path also lets you import directly from browsers installed on the same computer — such as Firefox or Edge — by selecting the browser name from the Source dropdown instead of choosing Bookmarks HTML File. Chrome reads the other browser’s bookmark data directly without requiring an export step.

What Chrome Does with the Imported File

Understanding what Chrome does with an import prevents confusion about where your bookmarks went.

Chrome never merges imported bookmarks with your existing ones. Instead, it creates a brand new folder for every import. The folder name follows the pattern Imported on MM/DD/YYYY with the date the import was performed.

This means:

• Your existing bookmarks are untouched. Nothing is deleted, moved, or changed in your current folder structure.
• The full folder hierarchy from the source file is preserved. If your bookmarks.html file had ten nested folders, those ten folders appear with the same hierarchy inside the Imported parent folder.
• Importing twice creates two separate folders. If you import the same file a second time — even immediately after the first — Chrome creates a second Imported folder with the same content. There is no deduplication.

After import, the Imported folder sits at the bottom of your bookmark list in the Bookmark Manager. Open it to see your original folder structure reproduced inside.

The Folder Structure After Import

It helps to know exactly what your Bookmark Manager will look like after a standard import.

Before import, your structure might look like:

Bookmarks bar
  Work
  Reading
Other bookmarks
  Personal
  Research

After importing a file that contained a similar structure, it looks like:

Bookmarks bar
  Work
  Reading
Other bookmarks
  Personal
  Research
Imported on 09/26/2026
  Work (from the imported file)
  Reading (from the imported file)
  Personal (from the imported file)
  Research (from the imported file)

The imported folders are entirely independent of your pre-existing folders. Chrome does not attempt to match a folder named “Work” in the imported file with your existing “Work” folder — they sit separately and you merge them manually if you want.

Moving Bookmarks After Import

To reorganize after import:

1. In the Bookmark Manager, expand the Imported folder to see its contents
2. To move a subfolder, drag it out of the Imported folder and drop it at the top level, or inside another existing folder
3. To move individual bookmarks, drag them the same way
4. To select multiple bookmarks at once, hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click each one, then drag the selection together
5. Once you have moved everything you want, right-click the now-empty Imported folder and select Delete

If the imported structure is large, it may be faster to rename the Imported folder to something meaningful rather than reorganizing the contents — for example, rename it to the date or device name it came from, and treat it as a top-level folder in your collection.

Supported File Formats

Chrome’s import function accepts one file format: the Netscape bookmarks HTML format. Every major desktop browser exports bookmarks in this format by default:

• Chrome: exports as bookmarks_MM_DD_YY.html
• Firefox: exports as bookmarks-YYYY-MM-DD.html
• Edge: exports as favorites_MM_DD_YY.html
• Safari: exports as Safari Bookmarks.html
• Brave: exports as bookmarks_MM_DD_YY.html

All of these files start with the doctype declaration <!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1> inside the first few lines. If you open the file in a text editor and see this line, the file is in the correct format.

Chrome cannot import:

• JSON files (Chrome’s own internal Bookmarks file format)
• CSV files
• Plain text files
• Bookmarks from a Chrome profile folder copied directly

If you have a JSON file that is Chrome’s internal Bookmarks file (which lives in the Chrome profile folder on your hard drive), that file cannot be imported through the normal import dialog. It can only be restored by replacing the Bookmarks file directly in Chrome’s profile folder — see How to Restore Bookmarks in Chrome for that process.

Troubleshooting a Failed Import

If Chrome’s import dialog opens but nothing appears in the Bookmark Manager afterward, or if the file picker returns an error, here are the most common causes:

The file is not a valid Netscape bookmarks HTML file

Open the file in any text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac). The first few lines should include <!DOCTYPE NETSCAPE-Bookmark-file-1>. If the file does not contain this, Chrome will silently fail or import nothing. A standard HTML page saved from a browser, for example, is not a bookmarks export file.

The file is corrupted or incomplete

Scroll to the end of the file in a text editor. A valid bookmarks HTML file should end with closing tags — specifically </DL><p> near the bottom. If the file ends mid-line or is missing the closing section, it was likely truncated during the export or transfer. Try re-exporting from the source browser.

Special characters in the file path

If the folder path to your bookmarks.html file contains special characters — accented letters, brackets, or unusual symbols — Chrome’s file picker occasionally fails to read it. Move the file to a simpler location like your Desktop and try importing from there.

Permissions issue

If Chrome cannot read the file due to operating system permissions — more common on managed work computers — try saving the file to a location in your user directory (Desktop, Documents, or Downloads) where Chrome normally has read access.

The import worked but you can’t find the folder

Scroll to the very bottom of the Bookmark Manager. The Imported folder is always placed at the end of the bookmark list. If you have a long list of bookmarks, it may not be visible without scrolling.

After Import: Cleaning Up the Result

A successful import is just the start. You now have a potentially large Imported folder sitting alongside your existing bookmarks. A few things worth doing:

Remove duplicates: if you imported bookmarks that already exist in your collection, you now have duplicates. Chrome does not detect or flag these. You will need to find and remove them manually in the Bookmark Manager.

Check the links: imported bookmarks are a snapshot from whenever the source file was created. Any links that were already broken in the source will be broken here too. If the collection is large, checking every link manually is impractical.

Decide on structure: decide quickly whether you want to merge the Imported folder into your existing structure or treat it as a separate top-level archive. Leaving the Imported folder intact and unnamed is a common source of long-term clutter.

For a larger bookmark collection that has come in from a transfer, Bookmend handles the two most time-consuming post-import tasks: it finds duplicate bookmarks and dead links across your entire collection at once, including the contents of the Imported folder, without requiring you to migrate your bookmarks out of Chrome. Install it free and run a scan after a major import.

For the broader topic of moving bookmarks between browsers and machines, see How to Transfer Bookmarks to Chrome. For copying bookmarks from one computer to another and deciding between sync vs. file transfer, see How to Copy Bookmarks from One Computer to Another.