Convert Your Bookmarks to Safari for the iPhone/iPod Touch

NOTE #1: This requires your iPhone/iPod to be jailbroken already. You must also have some way to transfer files to the iPhone/iPod, such as SSH or FTP. I will not guide you through the process of jailbreaking. Google it.

NOTE #2: This converter is currently considered to be in “beta” stages. At the time of writing this message, it has only been tested on my own iPod using various browsers as the bookmarks source.

Step 1: Export your browser’s bookmarks to an html file.

Most of the popular PC browsers will allow you to do this. If you do not know how click the link below for instruction for recent popular browsers.

Instructions for other versions of your browser may be similar. But these are the only ones I current have.

Step 2: Upload your exported file through the online converter.

Unless you get an error or your file is over 1 Megabyte, the converter will convert your bookmarks file in to a file named Bookmarks.plist. Your browser will prompt you to download this file. Save it to your computer somewhere.

Browse for the file to upload:

Note: If you receive an Internal Server Error, then your bookmarks may have more subfolders than the converter is able to handle at one time.

Step 3: Backup your existing bookmarks.

Simply rename your existing Bookmarks.plist to something else, such as Bookmarks.plist.old, incase the new file doesn’t work.

On 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, the file is located in /private/var/root/Library/Safari.
On 1.1.3 and up, the file is located in /private/var/mobile/Library/Safari.

If you can’t find it in one, try the other. Different methods of jailbreaking 1.1.3 and up handle the root and media folders in different ways.

Step 4: Transfer the new Bookmarks.plist to the iPhone/iPod.

Find the existing Bookmarks.plist file as stated in step 3 and overwrite/replace it with the new Bookmarks.plist that the converter gave you.

Step 5: Restart Safari.

Even if you don’t have Safari on your screen on the iPhone/iPod, it may still be running in the background. And it must be completely restarted in order for it to read your new bookmarks file.

There are couple of way to force a restart:

  • Open Safari, then hold down the Home button until it closes.
    Holding down the Home button with any app open will force that app to terminate.
  • Power off and power on.
    This it the easiest way. Simply hold your Power button down for a few seconds.
  • Use the command killall -v MobileSafari in SSH.

Finished!

Now when you open Safari again, you should have all the bookmarks you exported from your browser.

If you don’t see your bookmarks in Safari after forcing a restart, your exported html file may not have been the correct format. If you don’t mind sharing your html file with me, please email it to samutz at samutz dot com, along with the name and version of the browser you exported from, so I can try to figure what’s wrong and fix the converter accordingly.

Disclaimer: Your uploaded file will never be read by anyone or anything other than the automatic converter. The moment you’ve downloaded the Bookmarks.plist file, the copy of your file on the server, as well as the information gathered from it to created the Bookmarks.plist file, is immediately deleted.