Chrome has an amazing variety of extensions. Sometimes extensions get updated and lose features, so it may be a good idea to backup your extensions to keep a copy of the old Chrome extensions or simply to have a backup in place.
Where Are Chrome Extensions Stored?
Extensions are stored in the AppData directory “Local”. Before you can access the AppData folder you may have to unhide it.
The exact path to your Chrome extensions will look like:
- Windows C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions
- Linux ~/.config/google-chrome/Default/Extensions/
[username] is a placeholder for the username of your account that you use to log into your Windows PC.
Where Do I Find AppData And The Local Chrome Folder?
1. Step Open the Windows Explorer (Windows key + E)
2. Step Copy and paste %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\ into the address or manually go to C:\Users\ and double-click the folder with your username, it maybe shortened if you logged in with a Microsoft account
3. Step (Optional) If you can’t see the AppData folder, follow the instructions here to unhide it . Windows 7 users can try this guide
4. Step Dig deeper into Local, Google, Chrome, User Data, Default
5. Step You can now select the folder Extensions and hit CTR + C to copy it into your clipboard. Go to your backup drive and hit CTRL + V to copy it (this will not move the folder, it will copy it and create a working backup that you can restore)
What Other Files Can I Backup?
The other Chrome files stored in C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\ include your bookmarks, cookies and session data.
The files have no extension and are simply called ..
- Bookmarks,
- Cookies,
- Current Tabs,
- Favicons,
- Last Session,
- Last Tabs,
- Login Data,
- Shortcuts,
- History,
- Visited Links
The files are pretty self-explanatory. You can for example backup a copy of your visited links if you deem them important and restore them at a later date.
Can I Schedule A Backup Of Bookmarks, Cookies, Extensions?
Google also keeps track of your login data, history and even your last sessions or tabs that way, so it’s very easy to make manual backups of those files or use the Windows Task Scheduler to copy the files on a daily basis elsewhere.
If you are not sure how to schedule a task, you should read this guide on scheduling tasks