How to Import Browser Bookmarks into DexURL Vault

2026-08-13 · DexURL Guides · 4 min read

Export a Netscape Bookmark HTML file from your desktop browser, then choose that file in Vault. A website cannot read your browser bookmarks directly, so the export file is the only route.

DexURL cannot read the bookmarks currently stored in your browser. A normal web app has no access to that live list, and that is a deliberate browser security boundary rather than a missing feature — a page that could read your bookmarks could read everyone’s. The route in is an export file you produce yourself.

Export from your browser first

Every desktop browser can write a Netscape Bookmark HTML file — an old format that every browser still reads and writes, which is why it is the interchange format here. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi all expose it from the bookmark or favorites manager. Firefox has it under Import and Backup. Safari on Mac exports from File → Export.

On a phone the picture is different: most mobile browsers cannot export at all, and Safari on iPhone and iPad cannot export bookmarks directly. Create the file on a computer, save it to Files, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or Downloads, and pick it from there on your phone.

Review before anything is saved

The import shows you the folders and links it found before writing anything. This is worth actually reading rather than confirming through. A bookmark bar accumulated over years usually carries dead links, duplicates from a previous browser migration, and folders that meant something in 2019 — importing all of it just moves the mess somewhere new.

• Skip existing URLs if you are importing a second time or merging two browsers; it is the safest setting.
• Entries with unsupported schemes, such as javascript: bookmarklets, are skipped per item rather than failing the whole import.
• Free includes 25 bookmarks, so a large bar will not fit — prune to what you actually reopen, or move to Pro for unlimited.

Getting your data back out

Export is available whenever you want it, in two shapes that serve different purposes. A Netscape Bookmark HTML file imports back into any browser, which is what you want for portability — note that it is plaintext, so treat the file as readable by anyone who obtains it. A .dexvault backup preserves folders, tags, and pin state, is password-encrypted in your browser, and no browser can read it. DexURL cannot recover that password, so store it somewhere you trust.

The per-browser export steps, the review screen, and both export formats are covered in full by Import and export browser bookmarks.