How to Recover All Browser Passwords at Once on Windows
Most people accumulate saved passwords across multiple browsers over years — Chrome for personal use, Edge for work, Firefox for a specific app. When you need to find a password and can't remember which browser saved it, checking each one individually is slow and error-prone. There's a better way.
This guide shows how to recover saved passwords from every browser on your Windows PC in a single operation, and explains when an all-in-one tool makes more sense than a browser-specific one.
Quick Answer
Download SterJo Browser Passwords (free) → close all browsers → run the tool → every saved credential from every browser appears in one searchable list. Supports Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, IE, Vivaldi, Brave, and more.
📖 In This Guide
How to Recover All Browser Passwords — Step-by-Step
- Download SterJo Browser Passwords — free, installer or portable version
- Close all browsers before running (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera — all of them, including minimized or tray instances)
- Run SterJo Browser Passwords — it automatically scans all supported browser profiles on your Windows user account
- All found credentials load into a single list: website URL, username, decrypted password, and which browser saved each entry
- Use the search bar to find entries by site name or username, or filter by browser to narrow results
- Copy any password to clipboard, or export the full list for backup
🌐 SterJo Browser Passwords v1.7
Free • Portable • Windows XP to 11 • All major browsers
- Recovers saved credentials from Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, IE, Vivaldi, Brave, and more in one scan
- Displays website URL, username, decrypted password, and source browser per entry
- Filter by browser or search by site name to find entries instantly
- Copy to clipboard or export all results
- No per-entry Windows authentication confirmation required
- Portable version available — no installation needed
- Works entirely offline
Which Browsers Are Supported
SterJo Browser Passwords recovers saved credentials from:
- Google Chrome — Full support including current versions
- Mozilla Firefox — 32-bit builds; see FAQ for 64-bit note
- Microsoft Edge — Both Chromium-based Edge and Legacy Edge
- Opera — Chromium-based Opera browser
- Internet Explorer — Reads IE credentials from Windows Protected Storage
- Vivaldi, Brave, Epic Privacy Browser, Torch — All Chromium-based browsers supported
How Browsers Store Passwords — and Why Recovery Works
Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, Brave) store passwords in a SQLite database file called Login Data in each browser's profile folder. The passwords are encrypted using Windows DPAPI — the Data Protection API — which ties encryption to your Windows user account. Any application running as the same user can request decryption via the OS. SterJo Browser Passwords does exactly this.
Mozilla Firefox stores credentials in a logins.json file with encryption keys in key4.db, using Mozilla's NSS libraries. Recovery requires the matching 32-bit NSS libraries — hence the 64-bit Firefox limitation.
Internet Explorer stored credentials in Windows Protected Storage, a legacy Windows API that the tool also queries.
In all cases, recovery only works for the Windows user account that originally saved the passwords. The encryption is user-specific by design.
All-in-One vs. Individual Browser Tools
| Situation | Best Tool |
|---|---|
| Multiple browsers, not sure which one has the password | ✅ SterJo Browser Passwords (all-in-one) |
| Backing up all passwords before a Windows reinstall | ✅ SterJo Browser Passwords (all-in-one) |
| You know it's a Chrome password specifically | ✅ SterJo Chrome Passwords |
| You need Firefox 64-bit passwords | ✅ SterJo Firefox Passwords |
| Opera-specific recovery | ✅ SterJo Opera Passwords |
| Edge-specific recovery | ✅ SterJo Edge Passwords |
Before a Windows Reinstall: Back Up Everything
Before formatting your drive and reinstalling Windows, recovering browser passwords should be on your checklist. Browser sync doesn't always restore everything — older or rarely-used credentials may not be synced at all.
- Run SterJo Browser Passwords and export the complete list to a text or CSV file
- Save the export to an external drive or cloud storage — not the drive you're formatting
- After reinstalling, use the list to re-enter credentials into your new browser or import them into a password manager
📋 Full pre-reinstall checklist: See How to Backup All Passwords Before Reinstalling Windows for a complete guide covering browsers, Windows Credentials, Wi-Fi passwords, and product keys.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need the browser installed to recover its passwords?
No. SterJo Browser Passwords reads browser profile folders directly. As long as the profile folder exists on disk — even if the browser itself is uninstalled — the tool can recover passwords from it. This means you can recover credentials from browsers you removed months ago, as long as you haven't cleared that profile folder.
2. Why do I need to close all browsers before running?
Running browsers lock their database files to prevent corruption. Closing them releases the lock so the tool can read the password databases. You only need to keep them closed during the scan — you can reopen everything immediately afterward.
3. Can I recover passwords from a different Windows user account on the same PC?
No. Browser passwords are encrypted with Windows DPAPI, which is tied to the specific user account that saved them. You would need to log into that user account and run the tool from there.
4. My Firefox passwords show as blank — what's wrong?
This is a known limitation with 64-bit Firefox. SterJo Browser Passwords is 32-bit and cannot load 64-bit NSS decryption libraries. Use the dedicated SterJo Firefox Passwords for 64-bit Firefox.
5. Does the tool recover passwords from LastPass, Bitwarden, or 1Password?
No. It only recovers passwords saved by the browser's built-in password manager. Third-party password manager extensions store data in their own encrypted vaults, which this tool does not access.
6. Is exporting all my saved passwords a security risk?
Any plain-text export of passwords is sensitive. Store exports in an encrypted location — such as a password-protected archive or encrypted external drive — and delete the plain-text copy once you've moved the data to a password manager.
📚 Related Guides
Backup Passwords Before Reinstall
Pre-reinstall password backup for every browser and application.
Browser Passwords vs. Individual Tools
When to use the all-in-one tool vs. browser-specific tools.
✅ Recover Every Saved Password in One Step
SterJo Browser Passwords scans Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, IE, and more simultaneously — showing every saved credential in a single searchable list. Free and portable.
📋 Password Recovery Guides
- AllAll Browser Passwords
- ChromeChrome Passwords
- FirefoxFirefox Passwords
- EdgeEdge Passwords
- BackupBackup Before Reinstall
💡 Quick Tip
Close browsers in the system tray too — not just the visible window. Chrome and Edge often run background processes that keep the database locked even after the main window is closed.
📊 Did You Know?
Browser profile folders stay on disk even after you uninstall the browser. SterJo Browser Passwords can recover passwords from removed browsers — as long as the profile folder still exists.