What is a BAK file?

A .bak file in the context of Chromium-based web browsers, like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, is essentially a backup file of your bookmarks. These bookmarks are saved as a plain text list, and the file format used is JSON. The purpose of these .bak files is to safeguard your bookmarks by providing a backup that can be restored in case of accidental deletion or loss.

Chromium-based browsers, including Google Chrome, routinely create these backup files and usually give them the name “Bookmarks.bak.” They are essentially a snapshot of your bookmarks at a specific point in time.

How to use a .bak file to restore your bookmarks

  1. Find the backup file: It’s typically located in a specific folder associated with your Chromium profile. The exact location can vary depending on your operating system.

    On Windows: Look in C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Chromium\User Data\Default\Bookmarks.bak.

    On macOS: Search in ~/Library/Application Support/Chromium/Default/Bookmarks.bak.

    On Linux: Check ~/.config/chromium/Default/Bookmarks.bak.

  2. Make sure your Chromium browser is closed.

  3. Rename the “Bookmarks.bak” file by removing the “.bak” extension, so it’s simply called “Bookmarks.”

  4. Start Chromium.

By renaming the .bak file to “Bookmarks,” Chromium will use it as the current bookmarks file, and your previous bookmarks should be restored.

Chromium Bookmarks Backup

Backing up your Chromium bookmarks is a wise precaution to ensure you don’t lose your important saved web pages and URLs. Chromium is an open-source browser that serves as the base for other browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. To back up your Chromium bookmarks, follow these steps:

Method 1: Manual Backup

  1. Open Chromium: Launch the Chromium browser on your computer.

  2. Access Bookmarks: Click on the three vertical dots (menu icon) in the top-right corner of the browser window. From the dropdown menu, hover over “Bookmarks” to reveal the bookmarks submenu.

  3. Export Bookmarks: In the bookmarks submenu, click on “Bookmark manager.” This will open a new tab displaying your bookmarks.

  4. Export Bookmarks: In the bookmark manager tab, click on the three vertical dots again (usually in the upper-right corner) to open the bookmarks manager menu. From this menu, select “Export bookmarks.”

  5. Choose Location: Choose where you want to save the exported bookmarks file on your computer. The default filename is “bookmarks.html,” but you can change it if you prefer. Save it to a location you will remember.

  6. Save: Click the “Save” or “Export” button to save your bookmarks as an HTML file.

Your bookmarks have now been backed up as an HTML file. You can copy this file to an external drive or cloud storage for safekeeping.

Method 2: Sync with Google Account (if applicable)

If you are signed in to a Google account in Chromium, you can also use the built-in syncing feature to keep your bookmarks safe and synchronized across devices. This way, your bookmarks will be automatically backed up to your Google account.

  1. Open Chromium: Launch the Chromium browser and ensure you are signed in to your Google account.

  2. Enable Sync: Click on the three vertical dots (menu icon) in the top-right corner of the browser window and go to “Settings.”

  3. Sync and Google services: In the Settings tab, click on “Sync and Google services” on the left sidebar.

  4. Sync Your Data: Under “Sync,” make sure “Bookmarks” is turned on. This will sync your bookmarks with your Google account.

Your bookmarks will now be automatically backed up and synchronized with your Google account. You can access them by signing in to your Google account on any device with Chromium or another browser that supports Google syncing.

Remember to periodically back up your bookmarks manually as well, especially if you want a local copy that’s not solely reliant on your Google account’s syncing.

How to open a BAK file

If you want to explore the raw data of your bookmarks backup, you can open the “Bookmarks.bak” file with various text editors such as Microsoft Visual Studio Code (available on multiple platforms), Microsoft Notepad (for Windows users), Apple TextEdit (for Mac users), or any other text editor of your choice. Doing so will allow you to view the bookmarks and metadata contained in the file.

You can open the “Bookmarks.bak” file and view its contents using various text editing software and code editors. Here are some commonly used options:

  1. Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
  2. Notepad (Windows)
  3. TextEdit (Mac)
  4. Sublime Text
  5. Notepad++
  6. Atom
  7. nano and Vim (Linux)
  8. WordPad (Windows)

Other BAK files

Here are other file types that use the .bak file extension.

Database

Game

Misc

Settings

References

See Also