6 ms·

Xbrowsersync – open-source Bookmark Synching

110 points by ecliptik 4y ago

pmontra 4y ago
Do people really use their desktop bookmarks on their phones, and how? Actually even on desktop I'm parking pages in tabs, one browser window per virtual desktop, one virtual desktop per customer, plus some links on the bookmarks bar of Firefox. That basically killed my need for bookmarks. I had hundreds of them and I'm still carrying them with me but they are buried in the bookmarks menu and seldom see the light. At best they are helping firefox at completing urls when I start typing them, but that could be from the history. I've got some pages pinned in the home screen of Firefox on my phone, a few bookmarks just in case the browser give priority to them when I type in the url. The sets of pages I use both on desktop and on phone don't overlap much. Technical documentation is on desktop, HN is on both. I surely don't want to sync tabs, bookmarks maybe (wouldn't harm me) but years have proven that I don't need it. If I want to send a page to the other device I share it with gs/kdeconnect. It works also between mobile devices with the laptop off.
- imiric 4y ago
  > Do people really use their desktop bookmarks on their phones, and how? Sure. I routinely add things to Pinboard, and check it on mobile. I often look up things I found interesting, but don't remember the link. Finding categories of things using a combination of tags, and being able to drill down further by adding more tags, is very powerful and convenient. I never understood how tab pinning in a certain browser is manageable for hundreds or even dozens of sites, where any sort of syncing across browsers or platforms becomes a chore. I use 4 browsers on 3 operating systems on a daily basis, and wouldn't be able to function without a central storage for bookmarks.
  - pmontra 4y ago
    I can see how that would be difficult. I use only one laptop, one OS and one main browser. Sometimes I open Chrome to test things but I close it right away. No need for anything there. When I change laptop, not very often, I copy the mozilla directory to the new machine.
  - lproven 4y ago
    > I use 4 browsers on 3 operating systems on a daily basis, ^^^ This! ^^^ I use Waterfox for general web stuff and Chrome for Google Apps, on Linux and macOS; Firefox and Edge when I have to use Windows. I have 2 work laptops, and 3 main home laptops; all dual-boot 2+ OSes; and a desktop iMac. It's a lot of stuff to keep in sync, and Mozilla's Firefox Sync is not much help because it does't talk to the Chrome-based majority of browsers. XMarks was wonderfully useful but it's gone. So this is of significant interest to me.
2Gkashmiri 4y ago
looks nice.... how do you do actual encryption of the data?
- SirGiggles 4y ago
  In their FAQ[1] (under the heading: "How is my data encrypted? I’m concerned about submitting it to unknown and untrusted servers. Can it really not be decrypted by anyone but me?" or if you click on "Show more FAQs") they list the following: "xBrowserSync utilises the browser’s native Web Crypto library to encrypt your browser data client-side before it is transmitted over the internet. For key derivation, xBrowserSync uses PBKDF2 with 250,000 rounds of SHA-256 (as a comparison, LastPass’ key derivation uses a similar approach but with only 100,100 rounds by default). The data is then encrypted using AES-GCM with a random 16 byte IV and the user’s random 32 char sync ID as a salt. This approach ensures your data cannot be decrypted without your sync password (which is never transmitted) so please ensure you use a strong password! If you would like to review the encryption code, the relevant functions are getPasswordHash and encryptData." [1] https://www.xbrowsersync.org/#faqs https://www.xbrowsersync.org/#faqs
  - 2Gkashmiri 4y ago
    so the user is responsible for keeping their syncID and password stored safely?
    - attentive 4y ago
      like any password - goes into my password manager
andrew_jef 4y ago
I mostly use OneTab to replace bookmarks. Will this support sync OneTab data?
shuckster 4y ago
It’s slightly buggy, but I do depend on this utility. Main point of contention: Adding a new bookmark in Chrome and changing the folder in which it is stored almost always causes an error and restore to the previous state. Not a huge deal, but I have to consciously remember to do each action atomically, add, rename, move, with a second or two in between each action. Even then it’ll usually take a couple of goes to her right. I also have a couple of “accounts” for work and play. Don’t forget to sign into one of them for more than a couple weeks. They expire. Good to use a bookmark backup script: https://gist.github.com/shuckster/a91724adf5db1897ef07a69165b40e44 https://gist.github.com/shuckster/a91724adf5db1897ef07a69165...
3np 4y ago
Another alternative: Mozilla's FF Sync is all open source and can be self-hosted. It's easy enough. It still authenticates through their endpoints, though, so if you want to do it fully self-hosted, you also need to host their identity and accounts stack, which is doable but not for the faint of heart.
- attentive 4y ago
  Not really. It's an alternative to chrome/brave sync. Xbrowsersync will sync cross firefox/brave/chrome/edge.
  - 3np 4y ago
    Fair point!
  - rjzzleep 4y ago
    Chrome and Brave don't have native tagging for bookmarks either, so this looks fantastic.
  - brycewray 4y ago
    v.1.6.0, still in beta[0], is supposed to support Brave and Edge[1] but it hasn’t been released yet because the maintainer hasn’t had time[2]. [0]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/releases https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/releases [1]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/wiki/Roadmap https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/wiki/Roadmap [2]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/issues/425 https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/issues/425
    - attentive 4y ago
      Not sure what to say on that other than I am using it on brave and edge for years and and it's currently at 1.5.2
- Tepix 4y ago
  From the xbrowsersync FAQ: It can be self hosted, see https://github.com/xbrowsersync/api https://github.com/xbrowsersync/api
cersei 4y ago
I've been using this and it's been working great. I don't use folders anymore since this supports tags which are better. The data is easy to backup although I haven't done it very often. I've been using the hosted endpoint, but want to setup my own when I have time.
pt_PT_guy 4y ago
This is super awesome. Together with bitwarden allows me to have multiple-browser data sync
9dev 4y ago
I found bookmarks to be inferior to just keeping tabs open. The other problem I have is that practically all the bookmarks I have saved over the years now point to broken links or missing domains; I could clean them up, but what’s the point? I don’t look at those links anymore anyway. I’ve come to terms with the internet, and life in general, to be too much in flux for a piece of information to provide value for multiple years.
- toyg 4y ago
  I don't disagree, but there is one use-case they cover well: quick shortcuts for the most used tools you need, particularly now that every desktop app is getting replaced by a web one. I keep updating and maintaining the bookmark toolbar in my browser, because i use it several times a day. Some people do that with some sort of homepage, but I find the toolbar quicker for me.
  - Sakos 4y ago
    This is my main use-case for bookmarks nowadays. There are maybe 20ish sites that I use semi-regularly throughout the year that I may forget the URL for. I have them saved as bookmarks so I can access them quickly by typing the right keywords into the address bar. In my experience, using bookmarks for anything else has been an abject failure.
  - stinos 4y ago
    Some people do that with some sort of homepage, but I find the toolbar quicker for me. I've used both but it gets annoying quickly. For me doing that by typing the first couple of letters, just one is sometimes sufficient, in the browser address bar is by far the most convenient and quickest. Like ctrl-t - type yc - down arrow - enter. Or in an existing tab replace ctrl-t with alt-d. Want to check my threads on HN instead? Just an extra down arrow away in the sequence. Want to look for history within a domain? type space then type another part of the address. No screenspace eaten by toolbar, no seperate window needed to go look for in bookmarks, single unified interface which also allows going to open tabs or search etc, no real limit on amount of entries. You should really give it a try. Granted it could even be better, it's not always flawless. There are also plugins for doing this with fuzzy matching IIRC.
wruza 4y ago
All these syncers lack one important feature: local-only or otherwise visibility-managed bookmarks/folders. I don’t want my hentai preferences to be synced to my office and I don’t want all these company’s business bookmarks bs at home staring at me ruining my weekend mood. I only want to sync a handful of specific folders: documentation, tools, localhost:ports, and few common mail/yt/github/etc, which are actually shared. But they sync them all, and show them all. It’s like a dropbox, but it always syncs all your disks.
- vachina 4y ago
  Weird how whiny comments like these are always top in HN threads. Browser profiles exists exactly for use cases like yours.
  - _Algernon_ 4y ago
    >Weird how whiny comments like these are always top in HN threads. I prefer whiny comments about the topic at hand over whiny meta comments about other commenters. And yes, I'm aware of the irony of choosing to post this.
  - wruza 4y ago
    It doesn’t have too many upvotes, probably a time-ranking issue. Sorry if it annoyed you, but using profiles implies that all my browsers support them and they are easy to use/maintain. Changing browsers would break other workflows and patterns, which is not worth it for me.
- throwaway0x7E6 4y ago
  because it's pointless. just use different browser profiles for work stuff and fun stuff.
  - xnickb 4y ago
    Arrogant ignorance is a giveaway of a modern developer. There is shared content there. If you lack it doesn't mean everyone else is. My music preferences are saved as bookmarks in my browser (among other places). I want to listen to the same music both at home and at work.
fariszr 4y ago
I generally found floccus to be better
noja 4y ago
Synching -> Syncing
notepalf 4y ago
Reminds me of xmarks
uuencode8 4y ago
My bookmark solution with folders and tags (nobody else uses it): https://marktagged.com/ https://marktagged.com/ No need to register, login or install anything - there's a bookmarklet on desktop and the PWA app on Android allows you to add bookmarks from the share menu. The extensions work on Android with Firefox Beta/Nightly, Mull, Fennec, Kiwi browser. You can connect to multiple bookmark stores, share bookmarks from one store to another and switch between stores easily. A demo store with bookmarks: StoreID: store / StoreKey: 12345
- uuencode8 4y ago
  Well, someone managed to delete the demo store (there's an option to delete stores). It's now reset or restored if missing every 10 minutes.
- zvr 4y ago
  Nice, but: > Self-hosting > How to self-host the software on your premises > Coming soon! Please let us know when this is available!
nashashmi 4y ago
This would be a great Mozilla project if Mozilla is looking to diversify. Anything that will facilitate the enhancement of browser features on every browser should be a Mozilla project. But there is a data collecting AI advantage that could be added to this. Older gen people are trained to store bookmarks of everything interesting they find in the web. My mom has a hundred of links to YouTube videos and food recipes. Most I don’t think she will ever willingly see again. And the problem lies there is no AI that can do sorting, categorizing, and presenting the bookmarks she gathers.
jrm4 4y ago
Why any central server? This is the thing that seems silly here, especially in a world where e.g. Syncthing exists (which is actually why I ended up looking, for a sec I thought this was a thing that worked via Syncthing) (I suppose it creates the possible need for people to have their own server/homebox to be running all the time, to which I say, uh, yeah)
- xuhu 4y ago
  Can you turn off your office workstation, go home and have your bookmarks copied by Syncthing when you turn on your laptop ?
  - jrm4 4y ago
    Right, which is why I said possibly the "home server" thing -- but also, I don't turn off my office workstation. But again -- this is one of those things that's actually pretty easy but for some reason everyone wants to make it out to be difficult. An always on raspberry pi or other repurposed machine running all the time with syncthing is not at all a difficult task.
awill 4y ago
Some companies actively block native browser bookmark/profile syncing. Does this get around that?
wdb 4y ago
I wish something similar would work for Safari. Would be great if I could share bookmarks between my personal and work computers.
- hysan 4y ago
  Sadly, this won’t be possible until Safari supports the Bookmarks API. I remember reading a reply years ago where they said it was being worked on. However, nothing has yet to materialize. It’s anyone’s guess as to when this will be available.
  - wdb 4y ago
    Safari web extentions appears to allow managing the Reading List. Guess that's a good alternative :thinks:
hackrnusr 4y ago
Not a reliable service. Lost large number of bookmarks with it earlier this year. Now use built-in browser sync instead.

110 points by ecliptik 4y ago

Do people really use their desktop bookmarks on their phones, and how? Actually even on desktop I'm parking pages in tabs, one browser window per virtual desktop, one virtual desktop per customer, plus some links on the bookmarks bar of Firefox. That basically killed my need for bookmarks. I had hundreds of them and I'm still carrying them with me but they are buried in the bookmarks menu and seldom see the light. At best they are helping firefox at completing urls when I start typing them, but that could be from the history. I've got some pages pinned in the home screen of Firefox on my phone, a few bookmarks just in case the browser give priority to them when I type in the url. The sets of pages I use both on desktop and on phone don't overlap much. Technical documentation is on desktop, HN is on both. I surely don't want to sync tabs, bookmarks maybe (wouldn't harm me) but years have proven that I don't need it. If I want to send a page to the other device I share it with gs/kdeconnect. It works also between mobile devices with the laptop off.

imiric 4y ago
> Do people really use their desktop bookmarks on their phones, and how? Sure. I routinely add things to Pinboard, and check it on mobile. I often look up things I found interesting, but don't remember the link. Finding categories of things using a combination of tags, and being able to drill down further by adding more tags, is very powerful and convenient. I never understood how tab pinning in a certain browser is manageable for hundreds or even dozens of sites, where any sort of syncing across browsers or platforms becomes a chore. I use 4 browsers on 3 operating systems on a daily basis, and wouldn't be able to function without a central storage for bookmarks.
- pmontra 4y ago
  I can see how that would be difficult. I use only one laptop, one OS and one main browser. Sometimes I open Chrome to test things but I close it right away. No need for anything there. When I change laptop, not very often, I copy the mozilla directory to the new machine.
- lproven 4y ago
  > I use 4 browsers on 3 operating systems on a daily basis, ^^^ This! ^^^ I use Waterfox for general web stuff and Chrome for Google Apps, on Linux and macOS; Firefox and Edge when I have to use Windows. I have 2 work laptops, and 3 main home laptops; all dual-boot 2+ OSes; and a desktop iMac. It's a lot of stuff to keep in sync, and Mozilla's Firefox Sync is not much help because it does't talk to the Chrome-based majority of browsers. XMarks was wonderfully useful but it's gone. So this is of significant interest to me.

2Gkashmiri 4y ago

looks nice.... how do you do actual encryption of the data?

SirGiggles 4y ago
In their FAQ[1] (under the heading: "How is my data encrypted? I’m concerned about submitting it to unknown and untrusted servers. Can it really not be decrypted by anyone but me?" or if you click on "Show more FAQs") they list the following: "xBrowserSync utilises the browser’s native Web Crypto library to encrypt your browser data client-side before it is transmitted over the internet. For key derivation, xBrowserSync uses PBKDF2 with 250,000 rounds of SHA-256 (as a comparison, LastPass’ key derivation uses a similar approach but with only 100,100 rounds by default). The data is then encrypted using AES-GCM with a random 16 byte IV and the user’s random 32 char sync ID as a salt. This approach ensures your data cannot be decrypted without your sync password (which is never transmitted) so please ensure you use a strong password! If you would like to review the encryption code, the relevant functions are getPasswordHash and encryptData." [1] https://www.xbrowsersync.org/#faqs https://www.xbrowsersync.org/#faqs
- 2Gkashmiri 4y ago
  so the user is responsible for keeping their syncID and password stored safely?
  - attentive 4y ago
    like any password - goes into my password manager

andrew_jef 4y ago

I mostly use OneTab to replace bookmarks. Will this support sync OneTab data?

shuckster 4y ago

It’s slightly buggy, but I do depend on this utility. Main point of contention: Adding a new bookmark in Chrome and changing the folder in which it is stored almost always causes an error and restore to the previous state. Not a huge deal, but I have to consciously remember to do each action atomically, add, rename, move, with a second or two in between each action. Even then it’ll usually take a couple of goes to her right. I also have a couple of “accounts” for work and play. Don’t forget to sign into one of them for more than a couple weeks. They expire. Good to use a bookmark backup script: https://gist.github.com/shuckster/a91724adf5db1897ef07a69165b40e44 https://gist.github.com/shuckster/a91724adf5db1897ef07a69165...

3np 4y ago

Another alternative: Mozilla's FF Sync is all open source and can be self-hosted. It's easy enough. It still authenticates through their endpoints, though, so if you want to do it fully self-hosted, you also need to host their identity and accounts stack, which is doable but not for the faint of heart.

attentive 4y ago
Not really. It's an alternative to chrome/brave sync. Xbrowsersync will sync cross firefox/brave/chrome/edge.
- 3np 4y ago
  Fair point!
- rjzzleep 4y ago
  Chrome and Brave don't have native tagging for bookmarks either, so this looks fantastic.
- brycewray 4y ago
  v.1.6.0, still in beta[0], is supposed to support Brave and Edge[1] but it hasn’t been released yet because the maintainer hasn’t had time[2]. [0]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/releases https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/releases [1]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/wiki/Roadmap https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/wiki/Roadmap [2]: https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/issues/425 https://github.com/xbrowsersync/app/issues/425
  - attentive 4y ago
    Not sure what to say on that other than I am using it on brave and edge for years and and it's currently at 1.5.2
Tepix 4y ago
From the xbrowsersync FAQ: It can be self hosted, see https://github.com/xbrowsersync/api https://github.com/xbrowsersync/api

cersei 4y ago

I've been using this and it's been working great. I don't use folders anymore since this supports tags which are better. The data is easy to backup although I haven't done it very often. I've been using the hosted endpoint, but want to setup my own when I have time.

pt_PT_guy 4y ago

This is super awesome. Together with bitwarden allows me to have multiple-browser data sync

9dev 4y ago

I found bookmarks to be inferior to just keeping tabs open. The other problem I have is that practically all the bookmarks I have saved over the years now point to broken links or missing domains; I could clean them up, but what’s the point? I don’t look at those links anymore anyway. I’ve come to terms with the internet, and life in general, to be too much in flux for a piece of information to provide value for multiple years.

toyg 4y ago
I don't disagree, but there is one use-case they cover well: quick shortcuts for the most used tools you need, particularly now that every desktop app is getting replaced by a web one. I keep updating and maintaining the bookmark toolbar in my browser, because i use it several times a day. Some people do that with some sort of homepage, but I find the toolbar quicker for me.
- Sakos 4y ago
  This is my main use-case for bookmarks nowadays. There are maybe 20ish sites that I use semi-regularly throughout the year that I may forget the URL for. I have them saved as bookmarks so I can access them quickly by typing the right keywords into the address bar. In my experience, using bookmarks for anything else has been an abject failure.
- stinos 4y ago
  Some people do that with some sort of homepage, but I find the toolbar quicker for me. I've used both but it gets annoying quickly. For me doing that by typing the first couple of letters, just one is sometimes sufficient, in the browser address bar is by far the most convenient and quickest. Like ctrl-t - type yc - down arrow - enter. Or in an existing tab replace ctrl-t with alt-d. Want to check my threads on HN instead? Just an extra down arrow away in the sequence. Want to look for history within a domain? type space then type another part of the address. No screenspace eaten by toolbar, no seperate window needed to go look for in bookmarks, single unified interface which also allows going to open tabs or search etc, no real limit on amount of entries. You should really give it a try. Granted it could even be better, it's not always flawless. There are also plugins for doing this with fuzzy matching IIRC.

wruza 4y ago

All these syncers lack one important feature: local-only or otherwise visibility-managed bookmarks/folders. I don’t want my hentai preferences to be synced to my office and I don’t want all these company’s business bookmarks bs at home staring at me ruining my weekend mood. I only want to sync a handful of specific folders: documentation, tools, localhost:ports, and few common mail/yt/github/etc, which are actually shared. But they sync them all, and show them all. It’s like a dropbox, but it always syncs all your disks.

vachina 4y ago
Weird how whiny comments like these are always top in HN threads. Browser profiles exists exactly for use cases like yours.
- _Algernon_ 4y ago
  >Weird how whiny comments like these are always top in HN threads. I prefer whiny comments about the topic at hand over whiny meta comments about other commenters. And yes, I'm aware of the irony of choosing to post this.
- wruza 4y ago
  It doesn’t have too many upvotes, probably a time-ranking issue. Sorry if it annoyed you, but using profiles implies that all my browsers support them and they are easy to use/maintain. Changing browsers would break other workflows and patterns, which is not worth it for me.
throwaway0x7E6 4y ago
because it's pointless. just use different browser profiles for work stuff and fun stuff.
- xnickb 4y ago
  Arrogant ignorance is a giveaway of a modern developer. There is shared content there. If you lack it doesn't mean everyone else is. My music preferences are saved as bookmarks in my browser (among other places). I want to listen to the same music both at home and at work.

fariszr 4y ago

I generally found floccus to be better

noja 4y ago

Synching -> Syncing

notepalf 4y ago

Reminds me of xmarks

uuencode8 4y ago

My bookmark solution with folders and tags (nobody else uses it): https://marktagged.com/ https://marktagged.com/ No need to register, login or install anything - there's a bookmarklet on desktop and the PWA app on Android allows you to add bookmarks from the share menu. The extensions work on Android with Firefox Beta/Nightly, Mull, Fennec, Kiwi browser. You can connect to multiple bookmark stores, share bookmarks from one store to another and switch between stores easily. A demo store with bookmarks: StoreID: store / StoreKey: 12345

uuencode8 4y ago
Well, someone managed to delete the demo store (there's an option to delete stores). It's now reset or restored if missing every 10 minutes.
zvr 4y ago
Nice, but: > Self-hosting > How to self-host the software on your premises > Coming soon! Please let us know when this is available!

nashashmi 4y ago

This would be a great Mozilla project if Mozilla is looking to diversify. Anything that will facilitate the enhancement of browser features on every browser should be a Mozilla project. But there is a data collecting AI advantage that could be added to this. Older gen people are trained to store bookmarks of everything interesting they find in the web. My mom has a hundred of links to YouTube videos and food recipes. Most I don’t think she will ever willingly see again. And the problem lies there is no AI that can do sorting, categorizing, and presenting the bookmarks she gathers.

jrm4 4y ago

Why any central server? This is the thing that seems silly here, especially in a world where e.g. Syncthing exists (which is actually why I ended up looking, for a sec I thought this was a thing that worked via Syncthing) (I suppose it creates the possible need for people to have their own server/homebox to be running all the time, to which I say, uh, yeah)

xuhu 4y ago
Can you turn off your office workstation, go home and have your bookmarks copied by Syncthing when you turn on your laptop ?
- jrm4 4y ago
  Right, which is why I said possibly the "home server" thing -- but also, I don't turn off my office workstation. But again -- this is one of those things that's actually pretty easy but for some reason everyone wants to make it out to be difficult. An always on raspberry pi or other repurposed machine running all the time with syncthing is not at all a difficult task.

awill 4y ago

Some companies actively block native browser bookmark/profile syncing. Does this get around that?

wdb 4y ago

I wish something similar would work for Safari. Would be great if I could share bookmarks between my personal and work computers.

hysan 4y ago
Sadly, this won’t be possible until Safari supports the Bookmarks API. I remember reading a reply years ago where they said it was being worked on. However, nothing has yet to materialize. It’s anyone’s guess as to when this will be available.
- wdb 4y ago
  Safari web extentions appears to allow managing the Reading List. Guess that's a good alternative :thinks:

hackrnusr 4y ago

Not a reliable service. Lost large number of bookmarks with it earlier this year. Now use built-in browser sync instead.