The extension is optional. Everything in Bookmarks Pal works from an exported bookmarks file, and if you would rather not install anything, that route is genuinely fine. What the extension buys you is the removal of two annoying steps: exporting a file before you start, and cleaning up a duplicate folder tree after you re-import.
Right now the extension is Chrome only. Edge and Firefox versions are in progress and this page will cover them as they land. There is no Safari version and none is planned for the moment, for the reason explained at the bottom. On any browser without the extension, the file-import route does everything the extension does apart from editing your bookmarks in place.
What it actually does
The extension holds one permission, bookmarks, and acts as a bridge between the Bookmarks Pal web page and your browser's real bookmark store. When the page needs to read your bookmark tree, or delete or move something, it asks the extension, and the extension performs the operation through the browser's own bookmarks API.
The consequences worth understanding:
- No export step. Open the app and your live bookmarks are already there, folders and all.
- No duplicate tree. Changes are applied to the bookmarks you already have, rather than producing a second cleaned copy you then have to reconcile.
- Live mode becomes possible. A deletion can take effect the instant you make it. Staged mode still works the same way, and is still the default: nothing is applied until you review the queue.
- You get a toolbar popup. Save the page you are on into any folder, create folders, rename them, and see a warning if the page is already bookmarked somewhere you forgot about.
What it cannot do
It cannot read the content of pages you visit, your browsing history, your cookies, or anything you type. The bookmarks permission does not grant any of that, and the extension requests nothing else. Its content script runs on the Bookmarks Pal domain only, which is how the web page and the extension talk to each other, and nowhere else on the web.
Installing in Chrome, Edge, Brave or any Chromium browser
- Open the Bookmarks Pal listing on the Chrome Web Store.
- Click Add to Chrome, then Add extension in the confirmation dialog. The dialog will say the extension can "read and change your bookmarks", which is the one permission described above.
- Open Bookmarks Pal. The header should show a green Extension connected pill. If it does not, reload the page once.
Other Chromium browsers, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi and Opera, can usually install anything from the Chrome Web Store, so the listing above will often work there too. Chrome is the only one we currently build and test against, though, so treat that as unsupported until the dedicated versions ship.
Edge
A dedicated Edge build is in progress and not published yet. In the meantime, Edge can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store once you allow it, but that path is untested, so the file-import route is the dependable option on Edge today.
Firefox
The Firefox build exists but the Add-ons listing is not live yet. To load it temporarily in the meantime:
- Go to
about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox. - Click Load Temporary Add-on….
- Select the extension's
manifest.json. - Open Bookmarks Pal and reload the page.
Firefox drops temporary add-ons when you restart the browser, so this is fine for trying it out but not for regular use. The file-import route is the better option on Firefox until the listing is approved.
Safari
There is no Safari extension. Safari requires extensions to be distributed inside a signed native macOS app, which is a different build and release process. Use the file import route on Safari. It works exactly the same, with the export and re-import steps around it.
Using the toolbar popup
Click the extension icon on any http or https page and you get a small save dialog:
- The page title is pre-filled and editable.
- Pick a destination folder: search by name, or browse the tree. You can create a new folder with ＋ New folder, or rename an existing one.
- Click Save bookmark, or press Enter in the title field. The popup closes itself.
If the page is already bookmarked, the popup says so and lists every folder it is saved in, each with a × to remove that specific copy. This is the fastest way to notice you have bookmarked the same article three times over the years.
You can sign in from the popup, or use it as a guest. Saves made here count toward the same allowance as decisions made in the web app, 10 for guests, 50 on a free account, and the badge in the popup's corner shows the running total. See how the limits work for the detail.
When the connection pill stays grey
The header pill reads Extension connected when the bridge is working and File mode when it is not. If it stays on file mode after installing:
- Reload the page. The content script is injected at page load, so a tab that was already open before you installed the extension will not have it.
- Check the extension is enabled on your browser's extensions page, and that it is not disabled in private browsing if that is where you are.
- Check you are on the right domain. The content script only runs on the Bookmarks Pal site; it will not connect from a local copy or a preview deployment unless that origin is in the extension's manifest.
- Try the Reload button in the app header, which re-runs the handshake without a full page refresh.
If none of that helps, the file-import route always works, and the feedback button in the app header will tell us which browser and version you are on.