How to Migrate Your Chrome Data to Firefox (Without Losing Anything)

Switching from Chrome to Firefox is easier than most people expect. Here's a complete migration guide covering bookmarks, passwords, history, and extensions.

Before You Start: The Import Wizard

Firefox has a built-in import wizard that handles most things automatically:

1. Open Firefox → hamburger menu → Bookmarks → Import Bookmarks and Settings
2. Or: about:preferences → General → scroll to "Import Browser Data"
3. Select Chrome from the dropdown

The wizard can import:

• Bookmarks/Favorites
• Browsing history
• Saved passwords
• Cookies (for staying logged in on sites)
• Search engines

Note: Chrome must be installed on the same machine. The wizard reads Chrome's local profile files.

If Chrome is on a different machine or you want more control, follow the manual steps below.

Manual Bookmark Migration

From Chrome:

1. Open Chrome → three-dot menu → Bookmarks → Bookmark Manager
2. Three-dot menu in Bookmark Manager → Export Bookmarks
3. Saves as an HTML file

Into Firefox:

1. Firefox → hamburger → Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks (Ctrl+Shift+O)
2. Import and Backup → Import Bookmarks from HTML
3. Select the exported HTML file

Done. Your Chrome bookmarks are now in a folder called "Bookmarks from Chrome" in Firefox. Drag them wherever you want.

Password Migration

Option 1: From Chrome via CSV

1. Chrome → Settings → Autofill → Password Manager → gear icon → Export
2. Saves as CSV (contains all passwords in plaintext — treat securely)

Into Firefox:

1. Firefox → about:logins → menu (three dots) → Import from a File
2. Select the Chrome CSV

Firefox may warn about the format — make sure the CSV has columns: name, url, username, password.

Option 2: Use a Password Manager

If you're switching, this is a good time to move to a dedicated password manager (Bitwarden, etc.) that works in both Chrome and Firefox. You can:

1. Install Bitwarden in Chrome, import all Chrome passwords into Bitwarden
2. Install Bitwarden in Firefox — all passwords available

This approach means you're not tied to either browser's native password storage.

History Migration

The import wizard (about:preferences → Import Browser Data) imports history automatically if Chrome is installed locally.

For manual migration: Chrome stores history in SQLite at:

• Linux: ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/History
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/History
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\History

Firefox stores history in places.sqlite. They use different schemas — there's no simple copy operation. The import wizard handles the conversion automatically.

Extensions: What Has Firefox Equivalents

Most major Chrome extensions have Firefox equivalents. Common translations:

Chrome Extension	Firefox Equivalent
uBlock Origin	Same — uBlock Origin is available on both
LastPass	Same — but consider moving to Bitwarden
Bitwarden	Same — official Firefox extension
React DevTools	Same
Axe DevTools	Same
ColorZilla	Same
Momentum	Various tab customizers on AMO
Tab Groups (Chrome)	Tree Style Tab, or native Firefox sidebar tabs

For managing many tabs as Chrome Tab Groups users do: Tab Manager & Session Saver provides named session snapshots — save a group of tabs as a named context, restore when needed.

What Doesn't Transfer

Chrome-specific extensions: Chrome-only extensions (things only on Chrome Web Store) won't work. Firefox uses WebExtension APIs too, but the stores are separate. Check AMO (addons.mozilla.org) for Firefox versions.

Chrome Profiles to Firefox Profiles: Chrome and Firefox use different profile systems. You can set up multiple Firefox profiles (about:profiles) but they won't automatically mirror Chrome's profiles.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): Chrome can install PWAs as standalone apps. Firefox for desktop doesn't support PWA installation. PWA users may need to keep Chrome for specific apps.

Google account integration: Chrome is tightly integrated with Google accounts (Docs, Drive, Gmail autofill for Google forms). Firefox doesn't have this integration — standard web access to Google services works, but tight OS-level integration doesn't.

Firefox Sync Setup (After Migration)

Once you've migrated to Firefox:

1. Create a Mozilla Account (free): hamburger → Sign In to Sync
2. Enable what you want to sync: bookmarks, history, passwords, tabs
3. Sign into the same account on mobile (Firefox for Android/iOS)

Your migrated data now syncs across all your Firefox installations.

First Week Checklist

After migrating:

• [ ] Bookmarks imported and organized in Firefox
• [ ] Passwords imported (and Chrome export CSV deleted securely)
• [ ] Extensions installed from AMO
• [ ] Firefox Sync set up if using multiple devices
• [ ] Strict Enhanced Tracking Protection enabled (about:preferences → Privacy)
• [ ] Multi-Account Containers installed (if you used Chrome profiles)

The migration takes 30-60 minutes. The main friction is usually passwords — take the time to either use the CSV import or switch to a cross-browser password manager.