How to Import Arc to Zen Before December 22 (2026)

By Kshetez Vinayak, founder of SupaSidebar. Last updated 2026-10-26.

TL;DR

Arc to Zen is not a one-click import yet. As of October 26, 2026, Zen's stable release has no Arc option in its import wizard, so the move that works today is two steps. Convert Arc's sidebar file into a bookmarks file with SupaSidebar's free Arc Sidebar Exporter, then import that file into Zen. Zen merged its own Arc importer on October 24, 2026, and it will bring Spaces and pinned tabs across directly once it ships in a stable release. Arc stops working on December 22, 2026, so the safe order is simple. Copy Arc's sidebar file today, import the bookmarks now, and rerun Zen's importer when it lands.

Quick navigation

• Moving to Dia, Safari or Chrome instead of Zen? → How to Migrate from Arc, Step by Step
• Still deciding whether Zen is the right Arc replacement? → Zen vs Arc Browser
• Want an honest look at Zen on a Mac before committing? → Zen Browser Mac Review
• Only need your Arc bookmarks out as a file? → Arc Sidebar Exporter
• Moving your Arc setup into Zen? You are in the right place. Keep reading.

Four ways to get Arc into Zen, compared

Why Arc to Zen isn't one click yet

Arc does not keep its sidebar in normal browser bookmarks. Spaces, pinned tabs and folders live in one file, StorableSidebar.json, in Arc's Application Support folder. No other browser reads that file, so a standard import from Arc never sees the part of Arc people actually miss. The guide to exporting Arc's sidebar file covers what is inside it.

Zen's import wizard is the Firefox migration wizard, and in the current stable release it lists browsers like Chrome, Edge and Safari but not Arc. A May 2026 Arc-to-Zen migration write-up found exactly that, and a Zen GitHub discussion about importing Arc data has collected workarounds since June 2025. Arc's own new Export Data option does not close the gap either. The Arc farewell page describes it as a way to save Spaces and tabs as a list of links, and it never mentions a bookmarks file Zen can import.

The people who got bookmarks across hit a second wall. Zen keeps bookmarks separate from a Space's pinned tabs, so an import lands in the bookmarks library, not the sidebar. "After importing them into Zen, they only appear under Bookmarks," one Arc user wrote in a July 2026 r/zen_browser thread.

The real fix is on its way. Zen merged pull request #16130, "Allow support to import from Arc & Dia", into its development branch on October 24, 2026. The new Arc importer reads StorableSidebar.json and turns it into Zen Spaces with their icons, colors, folders and pinned tabs, while Chrome's importer code handles bookmarks, history and passwords. It is not in Zen 1.23.4b, the stable build released October 21. Zen's experimental Twilight build 1.24t, built October 25, already includes it, and Zen has not announced which stable release will.

Step 1. Save a copy of Arc's sidebar file today

Arc stops working on macOS on December 22, 2026, and The Browser Company says accounts are deactivated that day, per 9to5Mac's report on Arc's sunset date. Nobody has said whether the local sidebar file stays readable afterwards. A copy made now removes the question.

1. In Finder, press ⇧⌘G and paste ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/StorableSidebar.json.
2. Copy the file to Documents or an external drive.
3. Keep Arc installed until the move to Zen is finished.

That one file is the whole Arc sidebar. The Arc Sidebar Exporter and SupaSidebar's own Arc import both accept a copied file, so the copy keeps working as a backup. Zen's upcoming importer is different, because it reads Arc's data folder in place, so run it before December 22 while Arc is still on the Mac.

Step 2. Convert the file with the free Arc Sidebar Exporter

SupaSidebar's Arc Sidebar Exporter turns StorableSidebar.json into a standard bookmarks HTML file that Zen can import. The file is parsed in the browser tab, so the Arc data is never uploaded. The exporter asks for an email address before the download.

Checked against the exporter's parser code on October 26, 2026, the output maps Arc like this.

• Every Arc Space becomes a top-level bookmark folder named after the Space.
• Folders inside a Space stay nested, in Arc's order.
• Pinned tabs become bookmarks inside their folders.
• Unpinned tabs land in an "Unpinned tabs" folder within each Space.
• Split views are flattened into separate links.

One gap to know about. Arc's Favorites, the icon row at the top of the sidebar, are stored apart from the Spaces and are not in the export. With only a handful of them, re-adding them by hand as Zen Essentials takes a minute.

Step 3. Import the bookmarks file into Zen

Zen is Firefox-based, so it takes the same bookmarks HTML file Firefox does. Safari, Chrome and SupaSidebar's bookmarks import read that file too, so one export covers every browser on the Mac. Download Zen from zen-browser.app if it is not installed yet.

1. Open Zen and choose Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks from the menu bar.
2. In the window that opens, click Import and Backup.
3. Choose Import Bookmarks from HTML and pick the file from Step 2.

Mozilla's guide to importing bookmarks from an HTML file explains where they go. The bookmarks are added to the Bookmarks Menu folder, alongside anything already there. That is why one Zen user in an October 2026 r/zen_browser thread saw a success message and then nothing in the sidebar. The bookmarks were imported, just not into a Space.

To turn an Arc Space back into pinned tabs, switch to the matching Zen Space, open that Space's bookmark folder, open all of its links, and pin them. Sites that redirect to a sign-in page can lose their saved names this way, so renaming a few pins afterwards is normal.

The faster route, if Terminal doesn't scare you

Community scripts can write Arc's Spaces straight into Zen today, without waiting for the official importer. The best known is arc2zen by rafcabezas. It maps Arc Spaces to Zen Spaces, keeps pinned tabs in their folders, and turns Arc Favorites into Zen Essentials.

The trade-offs are real. arc2zen needs Python and the lz4 package, Zen has to be fully quit while it runs, and its README says to back up first and use it at your own risk. It does not move logins, cookies, Boosts or Easels. Treat it as a bridge until Zen's built-in importer arrives.

When Zen's own Arc importer ships

Once a stable Zen release includes the new importer, it becomes the best way to move Arc to Zen. Update Zen, open the import wizard, pick Arc, and choose Spaces and pinned tabs along with bookmarks and history. The wizard reads Arc's data folder directly, so Arc's files must still be on the Mac.

Check the result for duplicates if the HTML import from Step 3 already ran. Firefox-style imports add to existing bookmarks rather than replacing them, so the same Arc folder can show up twice. Deleting the older bookmark copy keeps the library clean.

Keep both files from Steps 1 and 2 afterwards. The bookmarks HTML imports into any browser, and the copied sidebar file still works with the Arc Sidebar Exporter and SupaSidebar's Arc import after Arc itself is gone.

The part no Zen import can fix

Every route above puts Arc's sidebar inside Zen, and that is the whole job if Zen becomes the only browser. A lot of Arc users never had one browser, though. Chrome often stays for work sign-in, Safari for battery life, and Zen Spaces simply do not exist in either of them. The sidebar that used to organize everything now covers one browser out of three.

Keep the Arc sidebar outside any one browser with SupaSidebar

SupaSidebar imports the same StorableSidebar.json into a native Mac sidebar that sits beside Zen, Safari and Chrome, so Arc's Spaces, folders and pinned tabs stay in one place whichever browser opens the link. The import runs from Preferences → Import & Export → Arc, and the import guide in SupaSidebar's docs shows how to preview the Spaces and pick which to bring in. A saved copy of the file works too, through Choose File.

Here is a typical setup for someone moving from Arc to Zen while keeping Chrome for work.

Switching Spaces swaps the whole sidebar with one shortcut. Work links open in Chrome, and personal links open in Zen when Zen is the default browser. One user who hopped between several browsers after leaving Arc described SupaSidebar as the thing that kept their saved context from getting lost along the way.

SupaSidebar's scope with Zen is specific. It saves the current Zen page, copies its URL and opens links in Zen, but its Live Tabs view does not cover Zen yet, per the SupaSidebar browser support table. It also does not move passwords or history into Zen, since it is a sidebar app, not a browser. It runs on macOS 14 and later.

Which Arc to Zen route should you pick?

• If December 22 feels close, run the Arc Sidebar Exporter and the Zen bookmarks import today. It works on every Zen version.
• If you want Arc Spaces as real Zen Spaces, wait for Zen's built-in importer, and keep Arc installed until it ships.
• If you want Spaces in Zen right now and know Terminal, run arc2zen, after a backup.
• If Zen won't be your only browser, import Arc into SupaSidebar too, so the same Spaces work in Safari and Chrome.
• If you are not sure Zen is the destination yet, read Zen vs Arc first. Dia imports Arc natively, as the step-by-step Arc migration guide covers.

What Arc users moving to Zen should do

The verdict for Arc to Zen in late October 2026 is to export now and import twice. The Arc Sidebar Exporter plus Zen's bookmarks import is the only route that works on every Zen version today, and Zen's own Arc importer, merged October 24, is the better route once a stable release ships it.

Single-browser Zen users should do the bookmarks import this week and rerun Zen's importer for proper Spaces later. Arc users with heavy setups, dozens of folders across several Spaces, get the most from waiting for the official importer, as long as Arc stays installed until it lands. Terminal-comfortable users can bridge the gap with arc2zen. Anyone splitting the day between Zen and Safari or Chrome needs the sidebar to live outside the browser, which is where SupaSidebar fits.

Whatever the route, copy StorableSidebar.json today. To keep Arc's sidebar across every browser, try SupaSidebar (free version available).

Why we recommend SupaSidebar

SupaSidebar is a macOS app that brings Arc's sidebar to every browser - one sidebar for tabs, bookmarks, files, and apps across 32+ browsers including Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Dia, Helium and Orion. With Zen it handles saving and opening links, and its Arc import reads the same sidebar file Zen's importer does. For Arc users moving to Zen who still keep a second browser, it keeps one set of Spaces across all of them.

FAQ

Can Zen Browser import from Arc?

Not in Zen's stable release as of October 26, 2026. Zen 1.23.4b's import wizard does not list Arc, though Zen's experimental Twilight build from October 25 already includes the new importer. Zen merged a native Arc importer into its development branch on October 24, 2026, which brings Arc Spaces, pinned tabs, folders and Favorites into Zen once it ships in a stable release.

How do I import Arc bookmarks into Zen?

Copy ~/Library/Application Support/Arc/StorableSidebar.json, convert it to bookmarks HTML with SupaSidebar's free Arc Sidebar Exporter, then in Zen choose Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks → Import and Backup → Import Bookmarks from HTML. Each Arc Space arrives as a bookmark folder with its nested folders and tabs.

Will my Arc Spaces become Zen Spaces?

Not through a bookmarks import, which puts them in Zen's bookmarks library as folders. Zen's upcoming built-in Arc importer creates real Zen Spaces with icons, colors and pinned tabs, and the community script arc2zen does the same today on macOS.

Why did my Arc bookmarks import into Zen but nothing shows up?

Zen adds imported HTML bookmarks to the Bookmarks Menu folder, not to a Space's sidebar. Open Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks and look under Bookmarks Menu, where each Arc Space appears as its own folder.

What happens to my Arc data after December 22, 2026?

Arc stops working on macOS and Windows on December 22, 2026, and accounts are deactivated. Whether the local StorableSidebar.json stays readable afterwards is not documented, so copying that file before the deadline is the safest backup.

Do Arc's Chrome extensions work in Zen?

No. Zen is built on Firefox, so it installs extensions from Mozilla's add-ons store, not the Chrome Web Store. Many popular Chrome extensions also publish a Firefox version, but each one has to be reinstalled and set up again.

Can I keep Arc's sidebar in Zen and Safari at the same time?

Not with Zen alone, since Zen Spaces only exist inside Zen. SupaSidebar imports Arc's sidebar file into a Mac sidebar that sits beside Zen, Safari and Chrome, so the same Spaces and links are available in every browser.

By Kshetez Vinayak, founder of SupaSidebar. Last updated 2026-10-26.