# Import From Another Browser

Source: https://metadock.app/docs/import

# Import from another browser

Moving to MetaDock does not mean logging back into everything. The import wizard reads an existing browser install on the same machine and copies its bookmarks, saved logins, cookies, history, autofill, payment cards, and search engines into a MetaDock profile, including the live sessions, so you stay logged in.

## How do I start the import wizard?

Open **Import browser data** from the application menu. MetaDock looks for installed browsers on your PC and lists the ones it finds, along with each of their profiles. Nothing is read until you choose a source and press Next.

## Which browsers can I import from?

Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Arc, and Firefox. For most of them MetaDock reads every profile under the browser's user data folder, so you can pick which one to bring across rather than taking all of it.

Browser and Notes

Browser

Notes

Microsoft Edge

All profiles under your Edge user data folder

Google Chrome

All profiles

Brave

All profiles

Opera

The installed profile

Vivaldi

All profiles

Arc

All profiles

Mozilla Firefox

Every profile with browsing data, read from your Firefox profile folder

You can tick more than one source in a single run, and you can run the wizard again later for anything you skipped.

## What data can I bring across?

The second page is a set of checkboxes plus the MetaDock profile everything should land in. Pick as few or as many categories as you want:

Category and Where it ends up

Category

Where it ends up

Bookmarks

Your MetaDock bookmarks, with the original folder structure

Passwords

The password vault, as login entries

Cookies

The target profile's live session store, so you stay signed in

History

Your browsing history, tagged with the target profile

Autofill

Saved form entries

Payment cards

The password vault, as card entries

Search engines

Your global search engine list

Note

Passwords and payment cards go into the [password vault](https://metadock.app/docs/password-vault), so the vault has to be unlocked before the wizard will let you continue with either of those selected.

Not every browser stores every category. Firefox, for example, does not keep payment card numbers in a readable form, so that category is skipped for Firefox sources rather than reported as a failure.

## What if the source browser is still running?

Browsers hold their data files open while they run, and some categories cannot be read around that. The confirmation page checks whether the source browser is currently running and, if it is, offers to close it for you before the import starts.

Warning

MetaDock never closes another browser without your explicit permission. If you decline, the affected categories report a clear error instead, and you can close the browser yourself and run the wizard again.

The source browser's own files are only ever read, never modified.

## How do I import from Firefox with a primary password?

If your Firefox profile is protected by a primary password, MetaDock cannot read the saved logins without it. The wizard will prompt you for it during the run and then retry just the passwords category. Every other category continues normally in the meantime.

## How do I track an import in progress?

The final page shows a progress bar across the whole job, with a running count of what has been added, skipped, and failed per category. Cookies are always handled last, because replaying them into your profile needs a browser session of its own.

When it is done you get an honest verdict rather than a blanket “complete”: if a category failed, or a source held nothing to import, the summary says so.

## What else should I know about importing?

Everything lands in the one MetaDock profile you picked. Running it twice is not symmetrical: passwords, cards, and search engines are de-duplicated, but bookmarks, history, and autofill are added again. Import is local only and deliberately unavailable over the API.

-   •Import into a specific profile: everything lands in the MetaDock profile you chose, so you can keep a work import separate from a personal one
-   •Run it more than once carefully: passwords, cards, and search engines are de-duplicated, but bookmarks, history, and autofill are added again on a second run
-   •Some sessions will not survive: session cookies vanish when the source browser closes, and some sites tie a login to the browser it was made in and will ask you to sign in again
-   •Some saved logins may be skipped: recent Chrome and Edge versions protect certain stored secrets so that only they can read them; those entries are reported as skipped instead of silently lost
-   •Import is local only: it runs entirely on your machine and is deliberately not available over the API, so no script or AI assistant can trigger a credential import

Moving between two machines you already run MetaDock on? Use [backup and restore](https://metadock.app/docs/backup) instead; it carries profiles, workspaces, and settings across in one file.

Importing is normally the first step in moving a set of accounts across. [See the multi-account workflow](https://metadock.app/multi-account).

Trying this yourself? The 14\-day trial grants MetaDock Pro with no credit card.

[Start free trial](https://metadock.app/download)
