Browser Integration

GatherHub can automatically scan and import bookmarks and browsing history from popular web browsers, allowing you to create archives of web content you've visited or saved.

Note: Browser integration requires read access to browser profile directories, which are typically located in your user profile folder.

Supported Browsers

GatherHub currently supports the following browsers for bookmark and history import:

Firefox

Imports bookmarks and history from Firefox's places.sqlite database.

Features:

Import browser bookmarks
Import browsing history
Filter by folders
Multiple profile support

Chrome

Imports bookmarks and history from Chrome's Bookmarks file and History database.

Features:

Import browser bookmarks
Import browsing history
Filter by folders
Multiple profile support

Chromium

Supports Chromium-based browsers like Brave, Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi.

Features:

Import browser bookmarks
Import browsing history
Filter by folders
Cross-platform profiles

Configuration

Browser sources are configured in your config.toml file under the sources section. Here's an example configuration for a Firefox browser source:

[[sources]]
name = 'Firefox'
type = 'browser'
path = 'browser://firefox'
table = 'moz_bookmarks'
id_column = 'id'
url_column = 'url'
title_column = 'title'
browser = 'firefox'
profile_path = ''
folders = []
exclude_folders = []

Browser Source Configuration Options

On mobile, table data is shown as individual cards for better readability.

Option	Description	Example Values
`name`	Friendly name for this source, used in the interface and logs	`Firefox`, `Chrome`, `Work Browser`
`type`	Source type - must be 'browser' for browser sources	`browser`
`path`	Special URL format for browser sources	`browser://firefox`, `browser://chrome`
`table`	Database table name containing bookmarks or history	`moz_bookmarks`, `moz_places`
`browser`	Browser type identifier	`firefox`, `chrome`, `chromium`
`profile_path`	Custom browser profile path, if not using default	`/path/to/custom/profile`
`folders`	List of folders to include (empty = all folders)	`["Research", "Archive"]`
`exclude_folders`	List of folders to exclude	`["Private", "Temporary"]`

name

Option: name

Description: Friendly name for this source, used in the interface and logs

Example Values: Firefox, Chrome, Work Browser

type

Option: type

Description: Source type - must be 'browser' for browser sources

Example Values: browser

path

Option: path

Description: Special URL format for browser sources

Example Values: browser://firefox, browser://chrome

table

Option: table

Description: Database table name containing bookmarks or history

Example Values: moz_bookmarks, moz_places

browser

Option: browser

Description: Browser type identifier

Example Values: firefox, chrome, chromium

profile_path

Option: profile_path

Description: Custom browser profile path, if not using default

Example Values: /path/to/custom/profile

folders

Option: folders

Description: List of folders to include (empty = all folders)

Example Values: ["Research", "Archive"]

exclude_folders

Option: exclude_folders

Description: List of folders to exclude

Example Values: ["Private", "Temporary"]

How Browser Integration Works

GatherHub's browser integration works by scanning the browser's profile data directly:

Firefox stores bookmarks and history in SQLite databases within the profile directory:

Locates the Firefox profile directory automatically (usually in ~/.mozilla/firefox/ on Linux or %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ on Windows)
Reads the places.sqlite database file, which contains both bookmarks and browsing history
Uses SQL queries to extract bookmarks from the moz_bookmarks table, joined with moz_places for URLs
Can filter by bookmark folders using parent IDs in the bookmark structure

Chrome uses different file formats for bookmarks and history:

Locates the Chrome profile directory automatically (usually in ~/.config/google-chrome/ on Linux or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ on Windows)
Reads the Bookmarks JSON file for bookmark data
Reads the History SQLite database for browsing history
Parses the nested JSON structure to extract bookmarks and their folder hierarchy
Can filter by bookmark folders by name in the JSON tree

Chromium-based browsers like Brave, Edge, Opera, and Vivaldi use the same file format as Chrome:

Each browser has its own profile directory, but the internal format is the same
The browser field in configuration determines which browser's profile directory to look for
Supports the same features as Chrome integration
Can specify custom profile paths for non-standard installations

Security & Privacy Considerations

Security Note:

GatherHub requires read access to browser profile directories, which may contain sensitive information. Consider these security implications:

Data Access

GatherHub only reads bookmark and history data, not passwords or cookies
Browser profile files are opened in read-only mode
No data is sent to external servers
All data remains on your local system

Best Practices

Run GatherHub under the same user account that owns the browser profiles
Use the folder filtering options to limit which bookmarks are imported
Create a dedicated bookmark folder for sites you want to archive
Consider using a separate browser profile for GatherHub integration

Scanning Frequency

You can control how often GatherHub scans your browser sources using the scheduling settings:

[scheduling]
enabled = true
interval_minutes = 60

With the above settings, GatherHub will scan browser sources every 60 minutes when running in daemon mode. You can also trigger scans manually from the web interface or using the command line:

gatherhub --scan

Troubleshooting

On mobile, table data is shown as individual cards for better readability.

Problem	Possible Solution
Browser profile not found	Check that the browser is installed Provide an explicit `profile_path` in the configuration Ensure GatherHub has permission to read the profile directory
No bookmarks being imported	Check that you have bookmarks in the browser Verify the `folders` and `exclude_folders` settings Ensure the browser isn't currently running (which may lock the database)
Database locked errors	Close the browser before scanning Some browsers keep the profile locked even when not running - try restarting your system Consider creating a copy of the profile for GatherHub to use

Browser profile not found

Problem: Browser profile not found

Solutions:

Check that the browser is installed
Provide an explicit profile_path in the configuration
Ensure GatherHub has permission to read the profile directory

No bookmarks being imported

Problem: No bookmarks being imported

Solutions:

Check that you have bookmarks in the browser
Verify the folders and exclude_folders settings
Ensure the browser isn't currently running (which may lock the database)

Database locked errors

Problem: Database locked errors

Solutions:

Close the browser before scanning
Some browsers keep the profile locked even when not running - try restarting your system
Consider creating a copy of the profile for GatherHub to use

Browser Integration

Supported Browsers

Firefox

Features:

Chrome

Features:

Chromium

Features:

Configuration

Browser Source Configuration Options

How Browser Integration Works

Firefox Integration

Chrome Integration

Chromium-based Browsers

Security & Privacy Considerations

Data Access

Best Practices

Scanning Frequency

Troubleshooting

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