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At what point is the backup file for bookmarks created?

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  • Last reply by A.Z.

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My current bookmarkbackups file is dated 8.18.15. I added new bookmarks today - 8.20.15. When will the new bookmarks be added to a bookmarkbackups file? I closed Firefox thinking that would invoke the backup, but it did not. Thank you

My current bookmarkbackups file is dated 8.18.15. I added new bookmarks today - 8.20.15. When will the new bookmarks be added to a bookmarkbackups file? I closed Firefox thinking that would invoke the backup, but it did not. Thank you

Chosen solution

A bookmarks JSON backup is created when you start Firefox when a comparing the current hash with the previous hash shows a difference, but you may have give Firefox some extra idle time if you have a large amount of bookmarks. If necessary then you can create a JSON backup manually. This is an uncompressed backup (.json).

If this isn't happening then maybe do a check of the places.sqlite database.

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Automatically backup seems to be done each day (sometimes every two days).

You can also make a manually backup:

  1. Open the Library (with shortcut Ctrl + Shift + H for example)
  2. Click on Import and Backup, then Save
  3. Choose a name and a folder to save the backup file

If you are worried about losing your bookmarks, you can active a feature to save automatically bookmarks in HTML format when you close Firefox.

  1. Type about:config in the address bar and validate
  2. Find the line browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML
  3. Double-click on the corresponding value (false by default) for changing to true
  4. Close the about:config tab
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These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox

FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) {web link} FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more. In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild your saved files individually into installable .xpi files. It will also make backup of files that you choose.

OPIE {web link} Import/Export extension preferences

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Chosen Solution

A bookmarks JSON backup is created when you start Firefox when a comparing the current hash with the previous hash shows a difference, but you may have give Firefox some extra idle time if you have a large amount of bookmarks. If necessary then you can create a JSON backup manually. This is an uncompressed backup (.json).

If this isn't happening then maybe do a check of the places.sqlite database.

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Thank you Banban, Fred McD, and cor-el for your replies. I believe cor-el's reply provides the information that explains why I did not see a backup file with today's date -- too many bookmarks! LOL! A backup file was eventually created 40 min after my post on this forum. Thanks again.