---
title: "Safari Bookmarks to HTML"
description: "Turn Safari's Bookmarks.plist, binary or XML, from a Mac or a backup into a bookmarks.html that Chrome, Firefox and Edge import. Favorites, folders and the Reading List are kept."
url: https://findutils.com/convert/safari-bookmarks-to-html/
category: convert
---

# Safari Bookmarks to HTML

Turn Safari's Bookmarks.plist, binary or XML, from a Mac or a backup into a bookmarks.html that Chrome, Firefox and Edge import. Favorites, folders and the Reading List are kept.

**Use this tool:** [Safari Bookmarks to HTML](https://findutils.com/convert/safari-bookmarks-to-html/)

## Programmatic access

- REST id `safari-bookmarks-to-html`: POST https://api.findutils.com/api/tools/safari-bookmarks-to-html/execute (reference: https://findutils.com/api/safari-bookmarks-to-html/)
- MCP tool `safari_bookmarks_to_html` on https://mcp.findutils.com (reference: https://findutils.com/mcp/safari-bookmarks-to-html/)
- Data: The REST API and the MCP tool are a separate path from this page: a call sends the input you include to FindUtils over HTTPS, where it is processed and the result returned. FindUtils does not store that input, and logs the request without its content.

## Why Use Safari Bookmarks to HTML?

Safari stores bookmarks in Bookmarks.plist, a binary property list other browsers cannot read. While Safari runs, its own export menu gives you an importable file. When all you have is the file itself, from a Time Machine backup, a dead Mac's disk or a copied user folder, the usual route is the command line: plutil to turn it into XML, then an XSLT script to rebuild HTML. A generic plist to JSON converter leaves you with nested WebBookmarkType dictionaries, still not something a browser imports. This page reads the plist and writes the Netscape bookmarks.html that Chrome, Firefox and Edge import, keeping Favorites, the Bookmarks Menu, your folders and, if you want it, the Reading List.

## Tips for Converting Safari Bookmarks

- Safari's Favorites bar is written as a Favorites folder marked as the bookmarks toolbar, the same marker Chrome and Firefox write on their own bar folder.
- The Reading List becomes a Reading List folder, with the date each page was added. Turn Include Reading List off to leave those pages out.
- To clean the result up, run it through Dedupe Bookmarks, or merge it with another browser's export in Merge Bookmarks.
- For the raw contents of the plist, every key and value, use the Plist JSON Converter instead.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I open a Safari Bookmarks.plist file?

Drop it on this page: the file is read as a binary or XML property list and its folders and bookmarks are shown in a preview, then written as a bookmarks.html you can download. A text editor shows a binary plist as unreadable bytes, which is why it needs a converter.

### Where is Safari's Bookmarks.plist?

At ~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist in your home folder on the Mac. In a Time Machine backup or a copied disk it is under your user folder, then Library/Safari. Copy it to the Desktop before dropping it here, because macOS protects the Safari folder.

### Can I import Safari bookmarks into Chrome without a Mac?

Yes, if you have the Bookmarks.plist file. Convert it here on any computer, download bookmarks.html, and import it in Chrome as a bookmarks HTML file. Folders and titles come across as they were in Safari.

### Is the Reading List included?

Yes, by default, as a folder named Reading List with the date each page was added. Turn Include Reading List off to leave those pages out; the summary says how many were left out.

### Does it read binary and XML plists?

Both. Safari writes a binary plist, and a copy converted with plutil -convert xml1 is XML; the result is the same bookmarks.html either way.

### Why was my file refused?

It is not Safari's bookmarks file, or it is damaged. The message names what it looks like, for example an app's Info.plist or a .webloc shortcut. A damaged or cut-off binary plist is refused with the reason, and a bookmarks.html file is refused because browsers already import it as it is.

### Should I use this when Safari still runs?

You do not need to. Safari's File > Export Browsing Data to File saves a ZIP that includes your bookmarks, and browsers import those directly. This page is for the plist on its own, from a backup or another disk. It also opens that ZIP and offers the bookmarks file inside it.

### What is not carried over?

Icons, Reading List preview text and iCloud sync data. Folder names, nesting, bookmark titles and addresses, and Reading List dates are kept. The History entry Safari stores among the bookmarks is skipped.

### Is my Bookmarks.plist uploaded?

Not on this page. The file is read and converted by JavaScript in your browser tab, and nothing talks to iCloud. A bookmarks file can reveal accounts, internal tools and reading habits, which is why it stays in the tab. The REST API and MCP tool are a separate path: a call sends the input you include to FindUtils over HTTPS, where it is processed and the result returned. FindUtils does not store that input, and logs the request without its content.

## Related Tools

- [Bookmarks JSON to HTML](https://findutils.com/convert/bookmarks-json-to-html/)
- [Plist JSON Converter](https://findutils.com/developers/plist-json-converter/)
- [Bookmarks HTML to CSV](https://findutils.com/convert/bookmarks-html-to-csv/)
- [Merge Bookmarks](https://findutils.com/convert/merge-bookmarks/)
- [Dedupe Bookmarks](https://findutils.com/convert/dedupe-bookmarks/)
- [Bookmarks HTML to Markdown](https://findutils.com/convert/bookmarks-html-to-markdown/)