Brave browser: ./config directory & bookmarks: how to?

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 8:18pm

Greetings

I had to get a newer laptop AND I could not export the brave browser bookmarks manually

I wish to transfer my bookmarks from my old laptop to the new one

I found this directory:

/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default

I tried searching for anything related to bookmarks but could not find anything?

What should I do here to restore my bookmarks from brave into the new install of brave?

I tried following many tutorials online but no luck?

Here is my system config:


System:
  Kernel: 6.8.0-53-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0 clocksource: tsc
  Desktop: MATE v: 1.26.2 wm: marco v: 1.26.2 with: mate-panel tools: mate-screensaver
    dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 22.1 Xia base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Dell product: Precision 3541 v: N/A serial: <superuser required> Chassis:
    type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Dell model: 0Y8H01 v: A00 serial: <superuser required> part-nu: 091A
    uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: Dell v: 1.3.2 date: 07/04/2019
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 68.0 Wh (100.0%) condition: 68.0/68.0 Wh (100.0%) volts: 17.5 min: 15.2
    model: LGC-LGC4.47 DELL 10X1J03 type: Li-ion serial: <filter> status: full
CPU:
  Info: 6-core model: Intel Core i7-9850H bits: 64 type: MT MCP smt: enabled arch: Coffee Lake
    rev: D cache: L1: 384 KiB L2: 1.5 MiB L3: 12 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 3134 high: 4304 min/max: 800/4600 cores: 1: 4302 2: 4301 3: 800 4: 4300
    5: 800 6: 4300 7: 4300 8: 4301 9: 800 10: 4304 11: 4300 12: 800 bogomips: 62399
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CoffeeLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Dell driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-9.5 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0
    chip-ID: 8086:3e9b class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP107GLM [Quadro P620] vendor: Dell driver: nvidia v: 550.120 arch: Pascal
    pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 16 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1cbd class-ID: 0302
  Device-3: Realtek Integrated_Webcam_HD driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-11:3 chip-ID: 0bda:5539 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 compositors: 1: Compton v: 1
    2: marco v: 1.26.2 driver: X: loaded: modesetting,nvidia unloaded: fbdev,nouveau,vesa dri: iris
    gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1920x1080 s-dpi: 98 s-size: 499x280mm (19.65x11.02") s-diag: 572mm (22.53")
  Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: BOE Display 0x081a res: 1920x1080 hz: 60 dpi: 142
    size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") modes: 1920x1080
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2
    drv: iris device: 3 drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11: drv: iris
    inactive: wayland,device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.2.8-1ubuntu1~24.04.1 glx-v: 1.4
    direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2) device-ID: 8086:3e9b
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Dell driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-53-generic status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 00:14.3
    chip-ID: 8086:a370 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Ethernet I219-LM vendor: Dell driver: e1000e v: kernel port: N/A
    bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15bb class-ID: 0200
  IF: eno2 state: up speed: 100 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.03 TiB used: 542.6 GiB (51.6%)
  ID-1: /dev/mmcblk0 vendor: SanDisk model: SN128 size: 119.08 GiB type: Removable tech: SSD
    serial: <filter> scheme: MBR
  ID-2: /dev/nvme0n1 vendor: Kingston model: SNV2S1000G size: 931.51 GiB speed: 63.2 Gb/s
    lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: ELFK7V.1 temp: 42.9 C scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.32 GiB used: 515.34 GiB (56.3%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/nvme0n1p2
  ID-2: /boot/efi size: 511 MiB used: 6.1 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 392.2 MiB (19.2%) priority: -2 file: /swapfile
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 16 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-1:2 info: Logitech Unifying Receiver type: keyboard,mouse
    driver: logitech-djreceiver,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 98mA
    chip-ID: 046d:c534 class-ID: 0301
  Device-2: 1-11:3 info: Realtek Integrated_Webcam_HD type: video driver: uvcvideo interfaces: 2
    rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 power: 500mA chip-ID: 0bda:5539 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 10 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s lanes: 1
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0003 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-3: 3-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1
    chip-ID: 1d6b:0002 class-ID: 0900
  Hub-4: 4-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.1 speed: 10 Gb/s lanes: 1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 52.0 C pch: 66.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 2360 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2335 pm: flatpak pkgs: 25
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/brave-browser-release.list
    1: deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/brave-browser-archive-keyring.gpg] https: //brave-browser-apt-release.s3.brave.com/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-earth-pro.list
    1: deb [arch=amd64] http: //dl.google.com/linux/earth/deb/ stable main
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
    1: deb https: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/linuxmint-packages xia main upstream import backport
    2: deb http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble main restricted universe multiverse
    3: deb http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble-updates main restricted universe multiverse
    4: deb http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble-backports main restricted universe multiverse
    5: deb http: //security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ noble-security main restricted universe multiverse
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-source-repositories.list
    1: deb-src https: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/linuxmint-packages xia main upstream import backport
    2: deb-src http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble main restricted universe multiverse
    3: deb-src http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble-updates main restricted universe multiverse
    4: deb-src http: //mirror.cedia.org.ec/ubuntu noble-backports main restricted universe multiverse
    5: deb-src http: //security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ noble-security main restricted universe multiverse
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/opera-stable.list
    1: deb https: //deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free
Info:
  Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.4 GiB used: 7.4 GiB (48.0%)
  Processes: 377 Power: uptime: 4h 55m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: s2idle wakeups: 0
    hibernate: platform Init: systemd v: 255 target: graphical (5) default: graphical
  Compilers: gcc: 13.3.0 Client: Unknown python3.12 client inxi: 3.3.34

Mythical5th · February 13, 2025, 8:52pm

The file .config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/Bookmarks looks to be a json-formatted bookmarks archive. You should be able to import it with an extension such as the following:

Alternatively, you could close Brave and back up your Brave-Browser directory, then copy the old one over the top, open Brave, export your bookmarks in the normal manner, close Brave and reinstate the backed-up Brave-Browser folder.

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 9:03pm

Thanks for reply

QUestions:

I am going to try the JSON import.
what specific directory/file do I import using that extension you mentioned?

Mythical5th · February 13, 2025, 9:14pm

It’s ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/Bookmarks

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 9:25pm

Thx for reply

Problem:

There is NO ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/Bookmarks
There ** IS ** ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/ with many directories
But like I said #1 above, no “Bookmarks” directory
What should I do here then?

boomarks1614×494 57.8 KB

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 9:52pm

@captcanuckfanatic79 are/were you by chance using multiple profiles? If so, then you’ll find them in ~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/ in a directory named Profile 1 or Profile 2 etc, depending on how many you had.

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 9:54pm

Greetings

Thanks for the reply

I do NOT see any “Profile 1” in that directory or the root brave-browser directory
Any idea what to do next?
I went to grade school with Brian, 1 of the developers of Brave.

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 9:59pm

@captcanuckfanatic79 looking into this now.

Which Brian? There are a few that work here

fmarier · February 13, 2025, 10:08pm

It’s not a directory, it’s a file. Your screenshot only shows the directories. The files will be further down.

~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/ is the directory that contains it.

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 10:09pm

Also, did you install Brave via Snap or Flatpak by chance?

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 10:13pm

It could have been installed using flatpak or snap
My new install has flatpak
What if I used flapak or snap? THe bookmark folder/file could be in the flatpak sandbox correct? If so, how do I get to it?

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 10:14pm

First — can you review @fmarier’s comment above and ensure that the Bookmarks file is not present in the /default directory?

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 10:16pm

THanks for reply

I checked, and I do NOT see a file called Bookmarks file OR directory. I even used search function to search for “bookmark” and nothing, 0.

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 10:21pm

I did find a flatpak directory like this:

/var/lib/flatpak/app/com.brave.Browser

with a whole bunch of direcories an files

the bookmarks are probably here, correct?

If so, where would it be?

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 10:22pm

@captcanuckfanatic79 for snap installations, you can check:

~/snap/brave/[version number]/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default/Bookmarks

where version number will match the version you were using at the time you installed Brave on that system.

For flatpak, check:
~/.var/app/com.brave.Browser/data/Default/Bookmarks

Again, Bookmarks will be a file, not a folder.

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 10:27pm

THanks for reply

Brian B. the founder i went to grade school with.
I found this: /home/john/Downloads/old msi/.var/app/com.brave.Browser/config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default and in there I found 2 files with bookmark references: boomark (and its 133 kb size) and bookmark.bak 133 kb.
Which would should I try to import?

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 10:29pm

Bookmarks (the first one) is the right one. And instead of importing, you’ll just want to copy it and paste it over the Bookmarks file in the directory you’re currently using on your new install.

captcanuckfanatic79 · February 13, 2025, 10:41pm

Yes this appears it WORKED

100%

Worked

Problem solved (so far!)

Thanks again!

If my life were different – and wasn’t ‘sick’ practically my whole life – maybe I’d be a developer there also.

Now I got my health problems figured out but I had to move to another country to survive away from ChiCanada.

Mattches · February 13, 2025, 11:04pm

Glad to hear the issue is resolved!

system · March 15, 2025, 11:05pm

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