The bookmark toolbar appears below the address bar and holds your most-used bookmarks
Chrome hides the bookmark toolbar by default. To show it, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows or Command+Shift+B on Mac. The toolbar will appear when ready below your address bar, displaying any bookmarks you have saved to the "Bookmarks Bar" folder.
If the shortcut does not work, you can also enable it through the menu. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner of Chrome, hover over "Bookmarks", then click "Show bookmarks bar". The toolbar stays visible until you toggle it off again using the same method or keyboard shortcut.
Key Takeaways
- Press Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows) or Command+Shift+B (Mac) to when ready show or hide the bookmark toolbar.
- Only bookmarks saved to the "Bookmarks Bar" folder appear on the toolbar; other bookmarks stay in the menu.
- You can drag bookmarks directly onto the toolbar from any webpage or from your bookmarks menu.
- The toolbar takes up permanent screen space, so remove bookmarks you no longer use regularly to keep it clean.
Where bookmarks go when you save them
When you bookmark a page in Chrome, it goes into a folder structure. By default, new bookmarks land in "Other bookmarks" unless you choose a different folder. Only bookmarks in the "Bookmarks Bar" folder show up on the toolbar itself.
To move a bookmark to the toolbar, right-click it in your bookmarks menu, select "Edit", and change the folder to "Bookmarks Bar". Alternatively, you can drag a bookmark directly from the menu onto the toolbar if the toolbar is already visible. This method works whether you are organizing a single bookmark or moving several at once.
Adding bookmarks directly to the toolbar
The fastest way to add a bookmark to the toolbar is to drag the site's icon (favicon) from the address bar onto the toolbar. Open any webpage, then click and hold the small icon to the left of the URL and drag it down to the toolbar. Chrome will automatically save it to the Bookmarks Bar folder.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D (Windows) or Command+D (Mac) while viewing a page. A dialog box opens asking where to save the bookmark. Click the dropdown that says "Bookmarks Bar" to place it on the toolbar instead of in another folder. This method gives you the option to rename the bookmark before saving it.
Organizing bookmarks on the toolbar
Once bookmarks appear on the toolbar, you can rearrange them by dragging and dropping. Click and hold any bookmark, then drag it left or right to reorder. This is useful for putting your most-used sites at the beginning where they are easiest to click.
You can also create folders on the toolbar to group related bookmarks. Right-click the toolbar, select "Add folder", name it (for example, "Work" or "News"), then drag bookmarks into that folder. The folder appears as a dropdown menu on the toolbar, letting you keep the toolbar itself uncluttered while still keeping related links within one click.
Removing bookmarks from the toolbar
To delete a bookmark from the toolbar, right-click it and select "Delete". The bookmark is removed entirely from Chrome. If you want to keep the bookmark but just remove it from the toolbar, right-click it, select "Edit", and change the folder to "Other bookmarks" instead.
You can also remove individual bookmarks by clicking the three-dot menu, going to "Bookmarks", then "Bookmark manager". Find the bookmark in the list, click the three dots next to it, and select "Delete". This method is useful if you want to review all your bookmarks at once before deciding what to remove.
Syncing bookmarks across devices
If you sign into Chrome with a Google account, your bookmarks sync automatically across all devices where you use that account. The bookmark toolbar appears the same way on your phone, tablet, and computer, though the toolbar itself only displays on desktop versions of Chrome.
To check that syncing is on, click the three-dot menu, go to "Settings", then "Sync and Google services". Make sure "Sync everything" is selected or that "Bookmarks" is checked in the list of items to sync. Syncing happens in the background, so changes you make on one device appear on others within a few minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the bookmark toolbar not show up even after I press the keyboard shortcut?
The shortcut toggles the toolbar on and off. If it is not appearing, try pressing it again—you may have accidentally turned it off. If it still does not show, try using the menu method: click the three-dot icon, hover over "Bookmarks", and click "Show bookmarks bar".
Can I have different bookmarks on the toolbar on different devices?
No. If you are signed into the same Google account on multiple devices, all bookmarks in the Bookmarks Bar folder sync across them. If you want different bookmarks on different devices, you would need to use separate Google accounts or manually edit which bookmarks are in the Bookmarks Bar folder on each device.
What is the difference between the bookmark toolbar and the bookmarks menu?
The toolbar shows bookmarks all the time below the address bar. The menu is accessed by clicking the three-dot icon and hovering over "Bookmarks", and it holds all your bookmarks organized in folders. Only bookmarks in the "Bookmarks Bar" folder appear on the toolbar.
Can I hide the bookmark toolbar on just one tab or window?
No. The bookmark toolbar setting applies to all tabs and windows in Chrome. When you toggle it on or off, it affects your entire browser. However, you can open a new window and hide the toolbar there while keeping it visible in another window if you sign out of that window's Google account.