Consolidating bookmarks in Safari

[2024]

My Safari bookmarks are a conglomeration of many bookmark folders imported from various browsers. I’d like to consolidate them and get rid of the many duplicate links. I think I’d want to create a list of the duplicates and which folder each is in, so I can delete the ones that aren’t where I want them to be. Edit Bookmarks in Safari looks to be way too basic for this. Does anyone have any suggestions — an app or method — that will help me get this done with the least pain? Anything that could also identify dead links would be a bonus. Thanks in advance.

I'm using Safari 17.6 in Sonoma.

 

[mblm85]

I don't know of an app but I can tell you my method. I used the Sidebar within Safari for this, rather than 'Edit Bookmarks'.

First I created a folder called 'Z' (to keep it out of the way) and moved all of my existing mess into there. Then I created the new folder structure I wanted and started dragging and dropping links from Z into my new setup, still within Sidebar. Clicking the link to see if it was still alive, and then drag. Delete duplicates and dead links as I went. I only used 'Edit Bookmarks' to tweak URLs if needed. Then, at the end, delete the Z folder and I was done.

Takes a while the first time but much easier to manage since.

 

[2024]

Thanks for the explanation. I'm hoping there's a faster way, but if not I'll probably resort to much the same procedure.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

#2 is the way. Note that in your new bookmark folders, you can copy from "Z" only those you actually want to access as you want to access them. Eventually, all of the sites you tend to use are in your new bookmarks folders/menus. After some period of time, you'll probably realize that what is left in "Z" are websites you just about never access- like all of the rest of the websites in the world- and could thus delete "Z" and direct access any of those websites if the need subsequently arises as you would now to access a website you've never been to before.

In short: you probably have a lot of bookmark "clutter." Dump the junk you don't frequently access by this method of letting actual demand drive which websites move from Z to your new bookmarks setup.

 

[2024]

Thanks for the advice. It sure looks like I’ll have to do this. However, many of my bookmarks are for older research projects and I use them rarely. Having so many duplicates would keep me from sorting alphabetically (as per another thread here). Hmm, what to do. Then I remembered that on an old HP laptop I still have a pre-Quantum version of Firefox installed, with an extension for finding duplicate bookmarks. So I exported from Safari, imported into Firefox, and was able to weed out over a thousand duplicates even before going with the “folder Z” idea. That at least gives me a head start.

I’m surprised that no one has made a Safari app to do this. Maybe it’s too locked down to do it?

Oh well, thanks again all; I appreciate it. 👍

 

[2024]

Just thought I'd come back here to add something I found which I think is on-topic for this thread: mass deleting bookmark folders. Took me a while to figure it out. Simply doing a ⌘A in Edit Bookmarks worked, but pressing Delete did nothing. Long story short, after trying other ideas and searching online, I learned that the Favorites and Tab Groups folders have to be deselected after doing ⌘A because they are not allowed to be deleted. Once I did that, it worked fine. So I thought I'd mention it in case it might help someone else at some point.

 

[MacGizmo]

I’m surprised that no one has made a Safari app to do this. Maybe it’s too locked down to do it?

Apple with its ridiculous obsession with locking down the entire OS for security has made it virtually impossible for any developer to waste time coding an app that adds functionality to Safari that may or may not even be approved to get listed in the App Store.

In short, don't hold your breath waiting for anything useful to be added to Safari via plugins/extensions.

 

[2024]

I don't think an obsession with security is "ridiculous". As MS has proven, its lassiez faire approach has created a security sieve, not a shield, around its products. Even my daughter, a long-time MS/Android fan, is disgusted by it now and is curious about why Apple seems so much more secure. I'll take some inconvenience over half-assed security every time.

 

[MacGizmo]

I don't think an obsession with security is "ridiculous". As MS has proven, its lassiez faire approach has created a security sieve, not a shield, around its products. Even my daughter, a long-time MS/Android fan, is disgusted by it now and is curious about why Apple seems so much more secure. I'll take some inconvenience over half-assed security every time.

I agree that it's better than the alternative that is Windows... but we're not talking about an inconvenience here. Developers simply aren't coding for the Mac because it's so locked down that they can't do anything. Safari used to have a pretty decent amount of extensions (none of which I ever heard of being a security risk) until Apple forced them to A) Code an entire app just to have it install an extension in Safari, and B) distribute the app/extension ONLY on the Mac App Store where C) they may not even get approval from Apple to distribute it to begin with.

Ever since Apple implemented these rules, we have only 3 categories of Safari extensions: Ad Blockers, Shopping Helpers, and Note/Snippet saving. It's sad.

 

[escargot3]

I agree that it's better than the alternative that is Windows... but we're not talking about an inconvenience here. Developers simply aren't coding for the Mac because it's so locked down that they can't do anything. Safari used to have a pretty decent amount of extensions (none of which I ever heard of being a security risk) until Apple forced them to A) Code an entire app just to have it install an extension in Safari, and B) distribute the app/extension ONLY on the Mac App Store where C) they may not even get approval from Apple to distribute it to begin with.

Ever since Apple implemented these rules, we have only 3 categories of Safari extensions: Ad Blockers, Shopping Helpers, and Note/Snippet saving. It's sad.

You are saying “Mac” when you really only mean safari extensions, which is a different matter altogether. There are tons of vibrant developers making wonderful Mac apps.

 

[MacGizmo]

You are saying “Mac” when you really only mean safari extensions, which is a different matter altogether. There are tons of vibrant developers making wonderful Mac apps.

Yes, I'm referring to Safari extensions for the Mac – in the context of: there are a ton of developers writing extensions/plug-ins for other browsers for the Mac... just not Safari.

 

[escargot3]

Yes, I'm referring to Safari extensions for the Mac – in the context of: there are a ton of developers writing extensions/plug-ins for other browsers for the Mac... just not Safari.

Right but you said "Developers simply aren't coding for the Mac because it's so locked down", which is not correct.

 

[MacGizmo]

Dude, we're in a thread talking about Safari and extensions. I think it's implied that I was referring to Safari extension developers on the Mac and not macOS in general.

But since you bring it up, I think that while software development for the Mac is arguably better than it has ever been, it's still pretty limited when it comes to small developers who tend to code the "cool" utilities and apps. So many customization and productivity utilities have died in the last several years due specifically to Apple locking down the OS with sandboxing and their rules in the App Store (not to mention the fees).

I'm not saying it's entirely a bad thing (sandboxing, and security measures in general), but I would prefer it if they do what they feel they need to with iOS and iPadOS but leave macOS a LOT more open for people who know what they're doing. That's not going to happen, and I accept that. But I would hate to get to the point where the Mac App Store is the only place we can get apps and all the apps function on Apple's terms.

 

[2024]

I agree that it's better than the alternative that is Windows... but we're not talking about an inconvenience here. Developers simply aren't coding for the Mac because it's so locked down that they can't do anything. Safari used to have a pretty decent amount of extensions (none of which I ever heard of being a security risk) until Apple forced them to A) Code an entire app just to have it install an extension in Safari, and B) distribute the app/extension ONLY on the Mac App Store where C) they may not even get approval from Apple to distribute it to begin with.

Ever since Apple implemented these rules, we have only 3 categories of Safari extensions: Ad Blockers, Shopping Helpers, and Note/Snippet saving. It's sad.

I get what you're saying, I really do; but you're only looking at one side of the coin. Add-ons and extensions are a privacy nightmare. How many millions of downloads of adware/malware have there been for Chrome browsers? I wouldn't touch any of that with the proverbial ten-foot pole.

Here's a personal example from just recently. I put Thunderbird on my iMac a few months ago because I've used it for decades and know it well. I also installed a single add-on to make a small cosmetic change in the UI. A couple days ago I looked at the add-on's permissions for some idle reason, and this is what it showed:

Wtf -- full access to my computer?! I know it didn't say that when I first installed it, because I never would have used it in the first place.

I get where you're coming from. Back in the good ol' Firefox days I had many extensions, like so many others did. But I wouldn't do it today. There's far too much personal data on my Mac for me to be as trusting as I used to be. It's one of the main reasons I left the caveat emptor PC market. So to me, yes, the bookmarks issue is just an inconvenience.

 

[comer]

My Safari bookmarks are a conglomeration of many bookmark folders imported from various browsers. I’d like to consolidate them and get rid of the many duplicate links. I think I’d want to create a list of the duplicates and which folder each is in, so I can delete the ones that aren’t where I want them to be. Edit Bookmarks in Safari looks to be way too basic for this. Does anyone have any suggestions — an app or method — that will help me get this done with the least pain? Anything that could also identify dead links would be a bonus. Thanks in advance.

I'm using Safari 17.6 in Sonoma.

There is an app named "URL Manager PRO" on the AppStore. Among its many features, it does find duplicate files and is a powerful tool. However I find it needs a little time to understand it and "wrap you mind around the concept".

The description says "no data collected".

Another app on the AppStore is "One Bookmark". The second app seems to have a twin app from the same developer and both do have some bad ratings, but the YouTube video of the developer, make it looks like the app is simple, but fulfilling its purpose. And it is cheaper than unlocking the full feature set of "URL Manager PRO".

Still I would recommend URL Manager Pro over the other one as it can manage bookmarks for other browsers too and has a iOS-Companion app.

Hope this helps.

 

[comer]

My Safari bookmarks are a conglomeration of many bookmark folders imported from various browsers. I’d like to consolidate them and get rid of the many duplicate links. I think I’d want to create a list of the duplicates and which folder each is in, so I can delete the ones that aren’t where I want them to be. Edit Bookmarks in Safari looks to be way too basic for this. Does anyone have any suggestions — an app or method — that will help me get this done with the least pain? Anything that could also identify dead links would be a bonus. Thanks in advance.

I'm using Safari 17.6 in Sonoma.

I found another option to get rid of duplicates.
- From the side-bar (Bockmarks) in Safari you can SHIFT-Select al the folders and links and
- drag them to a folder on your Desktop.
- Now you can backup the links first (e.g. compress to an archive),
- then use a duplicate files finder to delete or move the duplicates.
- you might want to move all the existing bookmark in Safari to yet another "backup" folder or delete them all.
- The last step would be to import the cleaned up folder from Finder to Safari again.

 

[2024]

Thanks -- those are some good tips. I certainly wasn't aware that bookmarks can be turned into files like that.

 

[comer]

Thanks -- those are some good tips. I certainly wasn't aware that bookmarks can be turned into files like that.

You are welcome.
Should it happen that you can not delete a folder or link from the finder, it is possible to do so using the terminal.
Type the following command in a terminal window:

rm -R {and drag and drop the folder you want to delete to terminal}

the inconvenience might occur if the link name contains some unwanted characters.