Hello, thank you for taking the time to read through this, it may be an odd thing to ask. And I am sorry it is so long.
Firstly, I run MacOS, particularly Sonoma 14.6.1 as the base OS on my M1 Mac Mini from 2020.
I am currently using Brave Version: 1.73.91 Chromium: 131.0.6778.85 (Official Build) (arm64).
My work involves my having multiple external hard drives with different variations of MacOS installed that I boot into to debug and/or test software on.
Tab Groups:
I use tab groups more than I use my bookmarks because they are very easy to open all at once to gain access to resources I have saved and can open all at once. I have over 20 of them saved, and it is more efficient for me to have them there and not interfere with my regular bookmarks folders in my bookmarks bar. Quick access, opens my research per project all at once, and lives in harmony without cluttering up my bookmarks bar. I am not interested in changing this method of working as it speeds up my productivity. (I would love a way to organise the order that my tab groups are displayed in, please let me know if anyone has found a way to do this?)
That said, I am trying to find a way to export/backup the tab groups I create. Since I have had issues with sync (see the next section), it would be easier for me to export my tab groups similar to how bookmarks or passwords are backed up. That way when I boot off of another hard drive to continue a project, I can import them into Brave in that OS and continue where I left off. Very clean and efficient way for me to work. After a couple of months of research on both this and the following sync issue, I have come to the forums to ask these specific questions since I cannot find solutions anywhere else, even in past forum posts.
Sync:
I have had trouble using sync to keep my tab groups showing up when I have to install a new OS onto a new external drive or wipe a drive and install a fresh OS on it, since the codes expire so quickly. Even when I do sync within the time period, tab groups do not always sync up right away without me turning them off and on again in my sync settings. That being said, sync chains expire very quickly.
I nearly lost my tab groups once when I tried to leave a sync chain in my primary OS and generate a new sync code, but I was saved by an OS backup that restored them, albeit out of order (since you cannot organise your tab groups as far as my research has led me).
What I do not see in the sync settings is a way to generate a fresh sync chain from the computer I am on, have it apply to the current browser and then allow me to use that sync code on my other drives when I boot into them and pull all of my information and bring them all up to date, especially on any drives I have to install a fresh OS on. To the best of my knowledge (and after doing a few months of research online, even in past forum posts), there is no way to simply click “Generate new sync chain code” in Brave, at least not on MacOS or iOS (the latter of which does not save tab groups anyway), and update the other installations with that. If there is a way to do this, please let me know as I have been unable to find one.
How do I solve these two issues with Brave as it exists in its current release?
Thank you so very much!
-Kim