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How to quickly search browser bookmarks

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Searching Bookmarks in Mozilla Firefox
  2. Searching Bookmarks in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge
  3. Conclusion

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You can search browser bookmarks directly from the address bar in Firefox, Chrome, and Edge. You do not need a separate extension for this; the feature is already built into the browser.

Searching Bookmarks in Mozilla Firefox

  1. Press Ctrl + L to highlight and select the address bar.
  2. Type * followed by a space and the name or URL fragment of the bookmark you’re looking for.
  3. Firefox will present you with a list of matching bookmarks from your collection.
  4. Navigate to your desired bookmark using the arrow keys and press enter to open it.

Searching Bookmarks in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome both use Chromium, so bookmark search works in a similar way. Their default bookmark search keywords — @bookmarks for Chrome and @favourites for Edge — take more typing than Firefox’s *, but you can change them.

Searching Bookmarks in Chrome’s and Edge’s Omnibox (Default Settings):

  1. Press Ctrl + L to instantly access the Omnibox.
  2. For Chrome, input @bookmarks and for Edge @favourites, hit space and then enter your search criteria. You can search by name or a fragment of the bookmark URL.
  3. A dropdown list will present matches based on your input.
  4. Use the arrow keys to select the bookmark of your choice and press enter to visit the site.

To make the shortcut consistent across browsers, change the Chrome and Edge keywords to match Firefox.

Modifying the Bookmark Search Keyword in Microsoft Edge:

  1. Open edge://settings/searchEngines?search=search in your Edge browser.
  2. Find the “favourites” search engine. Click the three dots to the right and select “Edit”.
  3. Replace the @favourites shortcut with *. Alternatively, choose any character that feels more intuitive for you.

Modifying the Bookmark Search Keyword in Google Chrome:

  1. Head to chrome://settings/searchEngines in Chrome.
  2. Under “Site Search”, identify the Bookmarks row labelled with @bookmarks and select the pencil icon for editing.
  3. Update the shortcut from @bookmarks to *. Again, feel free to select a different character if preferred.

After making these adjustments, your bookmark search process becomes even more efficient:

Searching Bookmarks in Chrome’s and Edge’s Omnibox (Optimized Settings):

  1. Use Ctrl + L to quickly highlight the Omnibox.
  2. Enter * and then input the name or a fragment of the bookmark’s URL.
  3. The dropdown will show bookmarks that match your query.
  4. Select the desired bookmark using the arrow keys and confirm with enter to access the page.

Conclusion

Firefox, Chrome, and Edge can all search saved bookmarks from the address bar. Once you know the shortcut, it is usually faster than opening the Bookmark Manager or installing another extension.