How to delete bookmarks on Mac, and find and organise the rest
Team SnaggyThe people who make Snaggy7 min readSafari: press ⌃⌘1 to show your bookmarks, Control-click a bookmark and choose Delete. Chrome: open the Bookmark Manager with ⌥⌘B, click ⋮ next to a bookmark and choose Delete. Export a copy first, because Chrome can't undo a deletion and sync can carry it to your other devices.
Before you delete: make a backup
It takes ten seconds and saves a lot of regret. Both browsers export your bookmarks as an HTML file that any browser can import again.
- Safari: choose File › Export › Bookmarks and save the file.
- Chrome: open the Bookmark Manager, click ⋮ at the top and choose Export bookmarks.
If you use Safari with iCloud, Apple also keeps archived copies of your bookmarks that you can restore at icloud.com/recovery.
How to delete bookmarks in Safari on Mac
Delete one bookmark
- Press
⌃⌘1, or choose Bookmarks › Show Bookmarks, to open the bookmarks sidebar. - Control-click the bookmark (or folder) and choose Delete.
Delete several at once
- Choose Bookmarks › Edit Bookmarks for a full window view.
- Click one bookmark, then
⌘-click the others (or Shift-click to select a run of them). - Press Delete.
Delete a folder or remove from the Favorites bar
Deleting a folder deletes every bookmark inside it, so open it and check first. To take something off the Favorites bar, drag it off the top of the bar.
Delete all Safari bookmarks
Safari has no "delete all" button. In Edit Bookmarks, click any bookmark, press ⌘A to select everything in that view and press Delete. Then open Favorites and repeat if anything is left.
How to delete bookmarks in Chrome on Mac
New to Chrome's bookmark manager? Here's a full tour of it.
Delete one bookmark
- Open the Bookmark Manager: press
⌥⌘B, or choose ⋮ › Bookmarks and lists › Bookmark Manager. - Click ⋮ to the right of the bookmark and choose Delete.
On the bookmarks bar, right-click a bookmark and choose Delete. Google is clear that after you delete a bookmark, you can't get it back, so keep that export.
Delete several, or all of them
- In the Bookmark Manager, open the folder you want to clear.
⌘-click bookmarks to pick several, or press⌘Ato select everything in the folder.- Press Delete. Repeat for each folder (Bookmarks bar, Other bookmarks and so on).
How to find a bookmark on Mac
- Safari: press
⌃⌘1and type in the search field at the top of the bookmarks sidebar. - Chrome: type
@bookmarksin the address bar, press Tab, then type what you're looking for. Or search at the top of the Bookmark Manager.
Both only search the title and address. If you saved a page as "Untitled" or can't remember the site, these searches won't find it.
How to organise bookmarks into folders
| Task | Safari | Chrome |
|---|---|---|
| New folder | In the sidebar, click More › New Folder | Bookmark Manager ⋮ › Add new folder |
| Rename | Select it and press Return | ⋮ › Edit |
| Move | Drag into a folder | Drag into a folder on the left |
| Sort A to Z | Sidebar More › Sort By | Bookmark Manager ⋮ › Sort by name |
| Export | File › Export › Bookmarks | Bookmark Manager ⋮ › Export bookmarks |
A folder system that stays tidy is small and boring: a handful of top folders by area of life (Work, Reading, Shopping, Tools), and an Inbox for anything you haven't sorted yet. Empty the inbox once a week.
Bookmark keyboard shortcuts on Mac
| Action | Safari | Chrome |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmark this page | ⌘D | ⌘D |
| Show bookmarks | ⌃⌘1 (sidebar) | ⌥⌘B (Bookmark Manager) |
| Show or hide the bar | View › Show Favorites Bar | ⇧⌘B |
| Open all in a bar folder | ⌘-click the folder | Right-click › Open all |
Why bookmarks get messy, and an easier way
Bookmarks pile up because saving is one click and sorting is five: rename the title, open the folder menu, find the right folder. Most people skip the sorting, and the bookmarks end up in one long list. Using two browsers makes it worse, because each has its own pile.
Snaggy: one library, sorted for you
Snaggy is a Mac menu bar app that keeps your bookmarks from every browser in one place.
- Import your Safari and Chrome bookmarks with their folders, or let Snaggy sort them. (Reading Safari's bookmarks needs Full Disk Access, which you turn on in System Settings.)
- Save new pages with
⌘Din Safari, Chrome, Arc, Dia, Brave or Orion. Apple Intelligence files each one into the right folder, on your Mac. - Search everything in one place, and select many links at once to move or remove them.
- Delete without fear: removed links wait in an archive for 60 days before they're gone.
Comparing other apps too? See the best bookmark managers for Mac. Leaving Arc? Its pinned tabs aren't normal bookmarks: here's how to export them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I delete all bookmarks on my Mac?
Neither Safari nor Chrome has a single delete all button. In Safari, open Bookmarks › Edit Bookmarks, press ⌘A and press Delete. In Chrome, open the Bookmark Manager (⌥⌘B), open each folder, press ⌘A and press Delete. Export a backup first.
Why do my deleted bookmarks come back?
Usually sync. If another Mac, iPhone or iPad has the bookmark and syncs through iCloud or your Google account, it can reappear. Delete it with sync working on every device, then give it a few minutes.
Can I recover deleted Safari bookmarks?
If you use Safari with iCloud, yes: sign in at icloud.com/recovery to restore an archived version of your Safari bookmarks. Chrome says deleted bookmarks can't be recovered, so restore from an exported file instead.
What is the shortcut to bookmark a page on Mac?
⌘D in both Safari and Chrome. Safari's bookmarks sidebar is ⌃⌘1, and Chrome's Bookmark Manager is ⌥⌘B.
How do I search my bookmarks on Mac?
In Safari, press ⌃⌘1 and type in the search field at the top of the sidebar. In Chrome, type @bookmarks in the address bar, press Tab and type your search.
Sources
- Bookmark webpages to revisit in Safari on MacApple Support
- Delete a bookmark in Safari on MacApple Support
- Sort and rearrange bookmarks in Safari on MacApple Support
- Safari keyboard shortcuts and gesturesApple Support
- Create, view and edit bookmarksGoogle Chrome Help
- Import and export bookmarksGoogle Chrome Help
Zen