Do not delete these files randomly—especially the main Bookmarks file—unless you have a known backup. How to Open and Read the Bookmarks File Since Bookmarks is a JSON file, you can open it with any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, Sublime Text, etc.). The structure looks like this (truncated):
/home/[YourUserName]/.config/google-chrome/Profile [N]/Bookmarks where are chrome favorites stored
There is —it depends on your OS and, for Windows and Linux, your username. Detailed Locations by Operating System 1. Windows 10 & 11 On modern Windows versions, Chrome stores bookmarks inside a hidden folder called User Data within your local application data directory. Do not delete these files randomly—especially the main
Bookmarks.bak.json (note the .json extension on some Linux builds). 4. ChromeOS ChromeOS is a special case because it’s a tightly integrated, cloud-first operating system. You cannot directly access the raw bookmark file through a file explorer like on Windows or Mac. Detailed Locations by Operating System 1
| File Name | Purpose | |-----------|---------| | | The main, active bookmarks file. It’s a JSON file (human-readable text). | | Bookmarks.bak (or .bak.json ) | Automatic backup created every time Chrome starts. If the main file gets corrupted, Chrome restores from this. | | Bookmarks.bak2 | Secondary backup on some Chrome versions. | | Bookmarks.bak-old | Older backup, usually after an update or profile migration. |