How to View and Export Firefox Browsing History on Windows

Firefox stores a detailed record of every page you've visited — but its built-in history library doesn't show visit frequencies, has limited export options, and can be slow to search through large histories. Here's how to get full access to your Firefox history data.

This guide covers Firefox's own history tools and a dedicated free viewer that unlocks your complete database — including visit counts, full-date sorting, and export to CSV for use in Excel or other tools.

Method 1: Firefox's Built-In History Library

Firefox includes a History Library that gives you access to your browsing history without any additional tools.

How to open it:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + H, or
• Click the menu (☰) → History → Manage History, or
• Press Ctrl + H for the sidebar view

What it shows:

• Visited pages grouped by day, week, or month
• Page title and URL per entry
• Date and time of each visit
• Search box to find entries by keyword
• Right-click to delete individual entries or time ranges

Limitations:

• No visit count column — Firefox shows individual visits but not how many times you visited a URL in total
• Export is limited to JSON backup (via Import and Backup) — no CSV or spreadsheet-friendly format
• Large histories can be slow to browse in the UI
• No column sorting by URL or other fields

Method 2: SterJo Firefox History — Complete Access and Export

SterJo Firefox History is a free Windows tool that reads Firefox's history database (places.sqlite) directly, giving you complete access to every record — with full sorting, searching, and export to multiple formats.

Step-by-Step:

1. Download SterJo Firefox History (free, installer or portable)
2. Close Firefox completely before running — Firefox locks its database while open
3. Run the tool — it automatically locates and loads your places.sqlite history database
4. Your complete history appears with URL, page title, visit count, and last visit timestamp
5. Use the search bar to filter by URL, domain, or page title
6. Click Export → choose CSV, TXT, or HTML

Where Firefox Stores Its History

Firefox stores browsing history in a SQLite database file called places.sqlite. On Windows, the default location is:

C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[profile-id].default\places.sqlite

The AppData folder is hidden by default. SterJo Firefox History finds this file automatically — you don't need to navigate there. But knowing its location is useful if you want to make a manual backup of your history before a reinstall.

Manual Backup of Firefox History:

1. Close Firefox
2. Press Windows + R, type %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles, press Enter
3. Open your profile folder (it ends in .default or .default-release)
4. Copy places.sqlite to a safe location

Firefox Built-In vs SterJo Firefox History

Common Reasons to Export Firefox History

• Before reinstalling Windows — Keep a complete record even if Firefox Sync doesn't restore everything perfectly
• Find a site you visited months ago — The export lets you search through history in Excel with full filtering power
• Identify your most-visited sites — The visit count column shows which sites you access most frequently
• Migrating to a different browser — Keep a full record of your Firefox browsing history before switching
• Parental or employee monitoring (own devices) — Export and review history for oversight purposes on devices you own

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