Guides › How BookmarkFiles opens and saves your files
How BookmarkFiles opens and saves your files
Most websites cannot touch the files on your computer, and that is a good thing. BookmarkFiles is different on purpose: you pick files, and the page reads and writes them for you. This guide explains how that works in simple terms.
The browser feature behind it
Modern desktop browsers based on Chromium, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, include the File System Access API. It lets a web page ask you to choose a file with the same open dialog you see in any desktop program. After you choose, the page receives a handle, which is a permission slip for that one file. Without a handle, the page cannot see your disk at all.
What happens when you add a file
- You press Add File and the browser shows its own file picker.
- You select one or more files. The page gets a handle for each of them, never the full path of the file.
- BookmarkFiles reads the text inside the file and shows it in the editor. The reading happens inside your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
You can also drag files straight from Windows File Explorer (or Finder) into the page. Drop them on the list to add them, or drop one on the editor to open it right away. Either way the file is added to your list.
What happens when you edit and save
When you type in the editor, the change exists only in the page. A red dot appears next to the file name to show that the file on disk is different from what you see. When you press Save or use Ctrl+S, the browser asks for permission to write to that file the first time, then replaces the file contents with the text in the editor. The dot disappears once the write finishes.
Because saving replaces the whole file, it is worth keeping a copy of anything important. Our guide on backing up before you edit has a few easy habits.
What is remembered between visits
BookmarkFiles keeps your list in your browser's own storage (IndexedDB). It stores the handles, the file names, your descriptions, your folders and the order of the list. It does not store a copy of your file contents. When you come back, the browser may ask you to confirm access again before the page can read a file. Choosing “Allow on every visit” in that prompt reduces how often it asks.
Limits to know about
- It works in desktop Chromium browsers. Firefox and Safari do not offer the needed feature.
- It is meant for text files. Binary files, such as images or archives, are refused.
- Files larger than 10 MB are refused to keep the editor responsive.
- The browser never reveals the folder a file lives in, so the page cannot show full paths.
- Chrome protects some folders, such as system folders and Downloads, from folder-level access.
The short version
You choose the files, the browser grants access to just those files, and BookmarkFiles edits them locally. No account, no upload, no copy on our servers.
Related guides
- How to open and edit a .txt file in Chrome or Edge
- Which browsers can open and save local files?
- Is it safe to open local files in a web page?
Ready to try it? Open BookmarkFiles in Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer.