Export Firefox Passwords

Export your Firefox passwords to a comma-delimited (CSV) file you can open with Microsoft Excel.

From time to time you may want to review all passwords that are saved in Firefox. Perhaps some of your passwords are weak or old (or both) and you would like to update them.

While it is simple to occasionally take a look at an individual password in Firefox to recall what it is, when you need to work with multiple passwords it is easier to open them in Microsoft Excel (or similar spreadsheet software).

If you are changing computers and want to transfer your passwords saved in Firefox, you can export Firefox passwords on the old computer, copy them over to the new computer, and import them back to Firefox there.

How to export Firefox passwords

To export Firefox passwords follow these seven simple steps.

1) Start Firefox web browser

Start Firefox on your computer.

2) Open Firefox password settings

On top right, click on the three vertical bars / hamburger icon (Step 1).

Then click on "Logins and Passwords" (Step 2).

3) Click on three horizontal dots

You are now in the Firefox Lockwise section of the Firefox configuration. Click on the three horizontal dots (top right).

4) Select "Export Logins..." from the pull-down menu

After clicking on the three horizontal dots, a pull-down menu will open. Select "Export Logins...".

5) Click on "Export passwords..."

You will see a warning that says:

"Your passwords will be saved as readable text (e.g., BadP@ssw0rd) so anyone who can open the exported file can view them."

This means that once you export Firefox passwords to an Excel (CSV) file, anyone who has access to that file on your computer can view your passwords. This is because your passwords will be stored in plain text and are not be encrypted.

You should minimize the time your exported passwords are stored on your computer. View them or back them up, and then delete the file.

6) Type your computer password

Your computer password is the only security mechanism Firefox has to protect your passwords. Anyone who has your computer password can export Firefox passwords that belong to you.

Enter your computer password to continue.

7) Save exported Firefox passwords

Firefox will export your passwords to a file on your computer called "logins.csv". This is not a very descriptive file name and you can rename it to something like "Firefox Passwords.csv".

The format of the file will be CSV, or comma-separated values. You cannot change this while saving the file on your computer, but once you open it in Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc, you can re-save it in another format. For example, if you use Microsoft Excel to open the file, you can save it (File -> Save As) as Excel Workbook (.xlsx).

Open file where you saved Firefox passwords

Your Firefox passwords are now saved on your computer in a comma-delimited (CSV) file. You can open the file with Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc (or Apple Numbers on Mac) and view your passwords.

This is what the file looks like

When you open the Firefox Passwords.csv file, the three fields you need the most are:

• Column A: the website URL (link)
• Column B: your username
• Column C: your password

It is important to realize that your passwords stored this way on your computer are at risk. Because the CSV file is not encrypted (and even if it is, Excel file encryption is easy to break) if someone gets a hold of it they can read your passwords.

In addition, your web browser has access to your computer files, and web browsers are not very secure themselves. So it is not unimaginable that any file, including this passwords file, could get uploaded from your computer to password thief's computer.