To take Safari bookmarks with you, open Safari on your Mac and check File > Export Browsing Data to File. Select Bookmarks, choose a save location, and save the export. Safari’s current guide says the export is a ZIP file, so check what your new browser can import before relying on that file: Chrome’s documented file-import route asks for an HTML bookmarks file. Apple’s Safari export guide, Google’s Chrome import guide

Export bookmarks from Safari

  1. Open Safari on your Mac.
  2. From the macOS menu bar, choose File > Export Browsing Data to File.
  3. Select Bookmarks. Safari also offers other data categories; leave them unselected if your task is only to move bookmarks.
  4. If Safari shows profile choices, choose the profile to export from or All Profiles. Apple says bookmarks are shared across Safari profiles, while history and extensions are profile-specific.
  5. Click Download, choose a clear filename and a location you can find later, then click Save.

Apple documents this current export as a .zip file and warns that it is not encrypted. Keep it somewhere private while transferring your data, and delete it after importing if you no longer need it. Do not rename the ZIP file to .html: changing a filename extension does not convert its contents into another format. Apple Support

Check the destination browser before switching

The export step creates a copy; the destination browser determines whether and how you can bring the bookmarks in. Look for an import option in that browser’s settings, and check whether it can import directly from Safari or requires a particular file type. If it offers an HTML-file import, confirm that you have an HTML bookmarks file. Apple’s current instructions describe a ZIP export, while Chrome’s instructions describe choosing a bookmarks file; they do not explain a conversion from Safari’s ZIP export to HTML.

For Chrome, open More > Bookmarks and lists > Import bookmarks and settings, then choose the file when prompted. Google’s help says Safari bookmarks should first be exported from Safari as HTML; if Chrome’s picker requires HTML and the Safari export you have is a ZIP, the cited instructions do not provide a way to use that ZIP in this flow. Don’t assume that selecting the ZIP or changing its extension will work. Check whether your installed Safari or Chrome offers another documented route before making the switch. Google Chrome Help

For Firefox, Mozilla documents importing data from another browser through File > Import from Another Browser… or Firefox Settings. The available data and profiles depend on what the import wizard presents. If it does not list the source browser or the data you need, Mozilla’s general guidance is to export bookmarks as an HTML file and import that file; this is a separate route and does not establish that Firefox accepts Safari’s ZIP export. Mozilla’s Safari import guide, Mozilla’s general import guide

If your Mac shows a different Safari menu

Safari’s menu names can vary by version. Apple also documents an older Mac route: File > Export > Bookmarks, which saves an HTML file, commonly named “Safari Bookmarks.html” unless you change the name. That HTML format is useful when a destination browser specifically offers HTML import. Apple’s older-device support page gives these steps for Mac; use the menu actually available in your installed Safari rather than expecting both export commands to appear. Apple Support: copy or export bookmarks

Verify the transfer before removing Safari

After importing, open the destination browser’s bookmarks or favorites manager. Look for an imported folder and open a few bookmarks, including one from a nested folder. Destination browsers may add imported bookmarks alongside existing ones instead of replacing them; Chrome says imported bookmarks go into a separate location when bookmarks already exist. Keep Safari available until you have confirmed that the important folders and links are present. Google Chrome Help

A Safari bookmark export is a portable copy, not a promise that every browser accepts that export format. The reliable sequence is to identify the destination’s supported import route, export from Safari in a compatible format when that option is available, then inspect the imported folders before relying on the new browser.

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