How to show the Firefox bookmarks toolbar (and stop it disappearing)

Updated 18 October 2026

Press Ctrl+Shift+B (Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac), or right-click an empty spot on the tab strip and choose Bookmarks Toolbar > Always Show. Out of the box, Firefox shows the toolbar only on the New Tab page, which is why it vanishes as soon as a website loads.

Ways to turn it on

1. Keyboard: Ctrl+Shift+B, or Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac.
2. Right-click: right-click a blank part of the tab strip or toolbar, point to Bookmarks Toolbar and pick Always Show, Never Show or Only Show on New Tab.
3. Main menu: menu button > Bookmarks > Show bookmarks toolbar. It reads Hide bookmarks toolbar while the toolbar is on.
4. Customize: menu button > More tools > Customize Toolbar…, open the Toolbars menu at the bottom, choose Bookmarks Toolbar and a setting, then click Done.
5. Mac menu bar: View > Toolbars > Bookmarks Toolbar.

The three settings

The shortcut and the menu’s show/hide item only ever pick Always Show or Never Show, based on whether the toolbar is visible right now. Pressed on a website, where the default hides it, they choose Always Show. Pressed on a new tab, where the default shows it, they choose Never Show, and the toolbar disappears from new tabs as well.

Toolbar not showing or keeps disappearing?

Restore Defaults resets more than the toolbar: Mozilla notes it also switches vertical tabs back to horizontal and resets the theme. If none of this helps, restart Firefox and check for updates, which Mozilla lists as the next step.

Toolbar showing but empty

An empty toolbar reads “For quick access, place your bookmarks here on the bookmarks toolbar” with a Manage bookmarks… link. It shows only what’s in the Bookmarks Toolbar folder, so:

• After an HTML import: your bookmarks are in the Bookmarks Menu folder. Drag them onto Bookmarks Toolbar in the Library (Ctrl+Shift+O); importing bookmarks into Firefox explains why.
• To add a site: drag the padlock (or shield) icon from the address bar onto the toolbar, or click the star and set the folder to Bookmarks Toolbar.
• The message shows over bookmarks you know are there: the Bookmarks toolbar items block was probably dragged off the toolbar in Customize Toolbar…. Drag it back, or click Restore Defaults.
• Still nothing: you may be in another profile; about:profiles shows the one in use.

Other Bookmarks and the Import button

When the Other Bookmarks folder holds anything, Firefox shows it as a folder at the right end of the toolbar. To hide it, right-click it or a blank spot at the end of the toolbar and untick Show Other Bookmarks; the bookmarks stay in the Library. A new profile can also start with an Import bookmarks… button on the toolbar. It disappears after a successful import, or you can drag it off in Customize Toolbar….

Toolbar, menu or Other Bookmarks?

These are Firefox’s three main bookmark folders. Bookmarks Toolbar is what the toolbar shows. Bookmarks Menu appears in the Bookmarks sidebar (Ctrl+B) and the menu bar’s Bookmarks menu. Other Bookmarks holds the rest. New bookmarks go to the folder you used last, and your very first one goes to the toolbar. A toolbar too full for its row tucks the rest behind the » button (Show more bookmarks); for a long vertical list, the sidebar is easier.

These settings are for Firefox on Windows, Mac and Linux; on Android, your bookmarks open from the three-dot menu > Bookmarks. If you also use Chrome or Brave and want more than one row, Stackboard lays your bookmark folders out as a board on the new tab page.