Bookmark ScoutFAQ and troubleshooting
Answers to common questions about Bookmark Scout, and fixes for the problems people run into most.
Questions
Is Bookmark Scout free?
Yes. It is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, with no ads, no account, and no paid plan. The optional AI features are the one thing that can cost money: they use your own account with an AI company, which may charge for each use.
Do I need to use AI?
No. AI is optional. Saving, search, organizing, cleanup, and import and export all work without it, and it stays off until you turn it on in Settings. To use it, you need an account with an AI company, such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, and a key from that account (an API key) that lets Bookmark Scout use it. Most of these companies charge for each use, usually a small amount; an AI program that runs on your own computer, such as Ollama, costs nothing but needs a fairly powerful computer. The bookmark titles and addresses an AI tool works on are sent to the company you chose. See Set up AI tools.
Does it send my bookmarks anywhere?
Not to the developer: there is no Bookmark Scout server. Data leaves your browser only when you use an AI tool you turned on (it goes to your provider), run a dead link check or title fetch (the bookmarked websites are requested), or let local AI agents look up your bookmarks (they get what they ask for through a program on your computer). See Privacy.
Will it change my bookmarks without asking?
No. Duplicate cleanup, URL cleanup, dead link repairs, fetched titles, AI reorganization, and imports all show a review before anything is written. Ask AI and local AI agents show their changes as a plan and wait for your approval. Deleting asks for confirmation by default, deletions, cleanups, and imports can be undone from their message, and the bookmarks manager undoes its changes with Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac).
Which browser stores list it?
Bookmark Scout is listed on:
Each store reviews an extension before listing it. If your browser's store does not list it yet, you can install it by hand (advanced).
Does it work in Firefox?
Not from Firefox Add-ons yet: the Firefox version is coming soon. Until then, it can be installed by hand as a temporary add-on, which Firefox removes when it restarts. Once installed, it works with a few differences: Firefox does not let extensions replace its bookmarks page, so open the Bookmark Scout manager, with its cleanup tools, import and export, and saved searches, from Open bookmark manager in the popup, and the browser's icon cache is not available. See Browser support.
Does it work in Microsoft Edge?
Not from Microsoft Edge Add-ons yet: the Edge version is coming soon. Until then, it can be installed by hand, and it then works much as in Chrome. See Browser support.
Does it work on my phone?
No. Bookmark Scout is an extension for browsers on a computer. Phone and tablet browsers do not run it.
Why not Safari?
Safari Web Extensions do not implement the bookmarks API that Bookmark Scout is built on.
Troubleshooting
Where is the bookmarks manager?
In Chrome, open the browser's own bookmarks page, for example with Ctrl+Shift+O (⌥⌘B on a Mac). Bookmark Scout replaces it with its manager. If the Tools sidebar is hidden, click Show tools in the manager's header.
Bookmark Scout disappeared from Firefox
Firefox removes temporary add-ons when it restarts. Load it again from about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox, as in Install.
Site icons are missing
Check that Show Favicons is on in Settings. Chrome and Edge show the icon they have cached for each site, so sites you have not visited recently show a generic globe. Firefox has no icon API for extensions. In any browser, Refresh Site Icons downloads each site's own icon and keeps it on this device.
My API key was not saved
A key that does not look like a key for the chosen AI company (the service's provider) is rejected and not saved, and a message says so. Check that the service's provider is the company that gave you the key. See Set up AI tools.
The dead link check says a working site needs a manual check
Sites that ask you to sign in, limit request rates, block automated checks, or have a server error are listed under Check manually, because they often still work in a browser. Open the link to see. Only pages that are not found, refused, unknown hosts, and redirect loops count as Confirmed dead. See Find and repair dead links.
The console shows "Failed to load resource" during a scan
Chrome logs one line for each failed request in the page's developer console. Extensions cannot suppress these lines, and they do not mean anything went wrong with the scan.
Reordering in the manager does not show in the popup
The popup shows the browser's saved order with the Browser Order sort (the default) and Folders First. Date Added and Alphabetical sorting keep re-sorting the list. Change Sort Order in Settings.
Search says there are more matches than it shows
Results stop at Max Search Results (20 by default). Refine the search, or raise the limit in Settings.
My tags, summaries, or saved searches are missing on another computer
They are stored only on the device where you made them and are not synced. To move them, export your bookmarks as JSON, which carries tags and summaries to the bookmarks its import creates, and save a backup with Back up settings at the bottom of Settings, which includes saved searches. Settings do sync, through your browser account, when browser sync is on.
I deleted something by mistake
Click Undo in the message within 10 seconds. It restores the item, everything inside it, and its saved tags and summaries; a restored item gets a new date added. In the bookmarks manager, Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac) also undoes a deletion made there, or by Ask AI or a local AI agent, until the browser closes. See Select, undo, and redo in the manager.
The quick save shortcut does nothing
If another extension already uses Alt+Shift+S (⌥⇧S on a Mac) or Alt+Shift+D (⌥⇧D on a Mac), the browser leaves Bookmark Scout's shortcut without keys, and the popup shows Quick save shortcut not set. Click Set it up, or open Keyboard shortcuts under Saving & Search in Settings, and choose other keys. On pages where extensions cannot show anything, such as the browser's own pages, the toolbar icon shows the result instead of a notification. See Save with a keyboard shortcut.
My settings are gone after an update
Updates normally keep your settings. One update, to version 0.3.3, moved Bookmark Scout's saved data to a new format and removed the old data instead of converting it. After it, settings are back to their defaults, AI services and their API keys need to be added again, and custom prompts, saved searches, recent searches and folders, tags and summaries, and saved site icons are gone. Your bookmarks themselves are not touched. If you saved your settings with Back up settings (then called Export) at the bottom of Settings before updating, open that file with Restore settings.
Get help
- The support page on the website.
- Report a bug or ask for a feature on GitHub.
- Email support@bookmark-scout.com.
- Report a security problem privately to security@bookmark-scout.com, not in a public issue.
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