chromium-import-export

Debugging Import Issues - Quick Guide

How to Debug the Extension

1. Open Chrome DevTools for the Extension
   • Right-click the extension icon
   • Select “Inspect popup”
   • This opens DevTools for the extension popup
   • Go to the “Console” tab
2. Test Bookmark Import
   • With DevTools open, click “Import Bookmarks”
   • Select your exported JSON file
   • Watch the Console for detailed logs:
     • Import data structure
     • Current bookmark tree
     • Each node being processed
     • Success/failure for each bookmark
     • Total count at the end
3. Test History Import
   • With DevTools open, click “Import History”
   • Select your exported JSON file
   • Watch the Console for:
     • Total items to import
     • URLs being imported (first 5)
     • Skipped URLs (internal chrome:// URLs)
     • Final count (imported + skipped)

Common Issues Fixed

Bookmarks

• ✅ System folders (Bookmarks Bar, Other Bookmarks) are now handled correctly
• ✅ Empty folders are skipped
• ✅ Better error handling for invalid bookmarks
• ✅ Detailed logging shows exactly what’s being imported

History

• ✅ Internal URLs (chrome://, chrome-extension://, about:) are now skipped
• ✅ Invalid URL formats are caught and skipped
• ✅ Batch size reduced to 50 for better reliability
• ✅ Shows count of both imported and skipped items

What to Look For

If bookmarks show 0 imported:

• Check console for “Processing node:” messages
• Look for any error messages in red
• Verify the JSON structure matches expected format

If history shows 0 imported:

• Check if all URLs are internal (chrome://, etc.)
• Look for “Skipping internal URL:” messages
• Check for “Failed to import URL:” errors

Expected Console Output

Successful Bookmark Import:

Import data: {exportDate: "...", type: "bookmarks", ...}
Current bookmark tree: [...]
Other Bookmarks folder: {...}
Created import folder: {...}
Starting import from data.length: 1
Processing root node: {...}
Processing system folder children: Bookmarks Bar
  Processing node: Example Bookmark Type: bookmark
  ✓ Created bookmark: Example Bookmark
Total bookmarks imported: 5

Successful History Import:

History import data: {exportDate: "...", type: "history", count: 100, ...}
Total history items to import: 100
Skipping internal URL: chrome://extensions/
✓ Imported: https://example.com
✓ Imported: https://google.com
Import complete. Imported: 95, Skipped: 5

Next Steps

1. Reload the extension in chrome://extensions/
2. Open DevTools (right-click icon → Inspect popup)
3. Try importing again
4. Share the console output if issues persist

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