Top 3 Ways to Import Passwords from CSV in Google Chrome

Google Chrome only offers the ability to import passwords directly from Firefox. But this also requires both browsers to be installed on the same PC or Mac. So if you plan on getting your login information from a different browser or computer, you should rely on the good old CSV file.

Most browsers, including Chrome, allow you to easily export passwords to a spreadsheet. But importing said data from a CSV file is another matter entirely. While Chrome does have the ability to import passwords via CSV, this is an experimental feature that you have to turn on manually.

However, there is a problem. The browser flag that lets you turn on importing passwords via CSV is constantly popping up in and out of various Chrome versions. At the time of writing, Chrome version 80 includes the flag, but it was missing in several previous iterations of Chrome.

The first method listed below shows you what to do to turn on the experimental feature via the Password Import browser flag. But if your Chrome version doesn’t have it, you’ll find two additional methods that will let you force-enable CSV password import in Chrome.

Warning: Importing passwords from a CSV file will overwrite previously saved similar password entries in Chrome. So before you start, consider making a backup of your current Chrome passwords to another CSV file.

1. Enable Password Import Flag

Enabling the Password Import browser flag via the Chrome Experiments panel allows you to turn on the ability to import passwords and other login information contained in a CSV file into Chrome. The process involves restarting your browser, so save your work before going through the steps below.

Stage 1: Medicine chrome://flags into the address bar and then press Enter.

Step 2: Medicine password import In the search bar at the top of the Experiments screen. This should bring up the Password Import browser flag.

Note: If you can’t filter or find the Password Import browser flag, use method 2 or 3 instead to enable password import via CSV in Chrome.

Stage 3: Open the drop-down menu next to Import Password and then select Enabled.

Step 4: Click the Restart button to restart the browser.

Step 5: Open the Chrome menu and then click Settings.

Step 6: Click Passwords under the AutoFill section.

Step 7: Click on the three-dot icon opposite Saved Passwords.

Step 8: Click on the option labeled Import.

Step 9: Select the CSV file you want to import via the File Explorer or Finder window that appears on the screen, and then click Open.

Then you should find all the imported passwords combined with existing passwords in Chrome. Similar entries will be replaced.

As long as the Password Import flag is set to Enabled, password import via CSV will be enabled. If you want to turn the feature off after importing your passwords, go back to the Chrome Experiments panel and set the flag to Default.

2. Enable CSV Password Import via Command Prompt (CMD) or Terminal

If the Password Import flag is not available in Chrome, you can use Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (macOS) to force-enable passwords import via CSV. However, you have to go through the steps every time you want to use the functionality. But considering you won’t always be importing passwords, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Note: Before you begin, exit any running instances of Google Chrome. You can use another browser to follow the steps below or copy them offline for reference.

Google Chrome – Windows

Stage 1: Open the start menu, type cmdand then click Open.

Step 2: Copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt console and then press Enter:

cd "\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application"

Stage 3: Copy and paste the following command and then press Enter:

chrome.exe -enable-features=PasswordImport

When the command is executed, Chrome will launch automatically.

Step 4: Go to Chrome Settings > Passwords, then click the three-dot icon next to Saved Passwords.

Click on the option labeled Import and then select the CSV file from which you want to import your passwords.

Google Chrome – macOS

Stage 1: Open Finder, click Go, then Utilities.

Step 2: Double click Terminal.

Stage 3: Type the following command in Terminal and then press Enter:

/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome -enable-features=PasswordImport

Chrome will start automatically after the command is executed.

Step 4: Go to Chrome Settings > Passwords, then click the three-dot icon next to Saved Passwords.

To import your passwords from a CSV file, use the Import option that now appears.

3. Use DevTools to show Import option

An alternative method to force-enable passwords import is to use the built-in DevTools functionality in Chrome to ‘show’ the Import option. But as in the method above, you have to do this every time you want to export passwords via CSV in Chrome.

Stage 1: Go to Chrome Settings > Passwords, then click the three-dot icon next to Saved Passwords. Next, right-click Export Passwords, and then click Check.

Step 2: Find the word labeled ‘hidden’ in the DevTools pane shown on the right side of the screen. It is located just above the highlighted item by default.

Stage 3: Double click on ‘hidden’ to select it.

Step 4: Press the Delete key to delete the selected word. Follow by pressing the enter key. The result should look similar to the screenshot below.

Step 5: Shift your focus from the DevTools pane to the Passwords screen. Click on the three dots icon next to Saved Passwords and you should see the Import option listed in it. Then you can use it to import passwords from a CSV file.

You can exit the DevTools pane. But if you walk away from the Passwords screen, you’ll have to follow the steps above to show the Import option again.

Open Economy

It’s understandable why Google hides the ability to import passwords via CSV by default – overwrite issues. Regardless, it’s surprising to see the browser flag that enabled the functionality completely disappear and reopen without warning. However, as long as you go through the alternative methods listed above, you should have no problem activating the feature.

Next: Is it really a good idea to use Chrome’s built-in password manager first? Click the next post link to find out.