modbender win-browser
Read bookmarks and browsing history from Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, open URLs, get active tab titles, and list downloads. Uses built-in PowerShell + winsqlite3.dll for history access.
Works on Windows 10/11 with Edge and/or Chrome.
Detect Installed Browsers
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$browsers = @(
@{ Name='Microsoft Edge'; Path='C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe'; Data="$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default" },
@{ Name='Google Chrome'; Path='C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe'; Data="$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default" },
@{ Name='Google Chrome (x86)'; Path='C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe'; Data="$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default" },
@{ Name='Firefox'; Path='C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe'; Data='' },
@{ Name='Brave'; Path='C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe'; Data="$env:LOCALAPPDATA\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default" }
)
foreach ($b in $browsers) {
if (Test-Path $b.Path) {
$ver = (Get-Item $b.Path).VersionInfo.ProductVersion
$hasData = if ($b.Data -and (Test-Path $b.Data)) { 'data found' } else { 'no profile data' }
Write-Host ('{0} v{1} ({2})' -f $b.Name, $ver, $hasData)
}
}
$handler = (Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\https\UserChoice' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).ProgId
Write-Host ''
Write-Host ('Default HTTPS handler: {0}' -f $handler)
"
Open URL
Opens a URL in the default browser:
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Start-Process 'URL_HERE'
"
Replace URL_HERE with the full URL (e.g., https://example.com).
Open URL in Specific Browser
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
Start-Process 'msedge' -ArgumentList 'URL_HERE'
"
Replace msedge with chrome, firefox, or brave for other browsers.
Get Active Tab Titles
Shows titles of all open browser windows (reflects the active tab in each window):
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.MainWindowTitle -and ($_.ProcessName -match 'msedge|chrome|firefox|brave') } | ForEach-Object {
Write-Host ('{0}: {1}' -f $_.ProcessName, $_.MainWindowTitle)
}
"
Read Bookmarks (Edge)
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$path = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Bookmarks\"
if (!(Test-Path $path)) { Write-Host 'Edge bookmarks not found'; exit }
$json = Get-Content $path -Raw -Encoding UTF8 | ConvertFrom-Json
function Show-BM($node, $indent) {
if ($node.type -eq 'url') {
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + $node.name)
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + ' ' + $node.url)
} elseif ($node.type -eq 'folder' -and $node.children) {
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + '[' + $node.name + ']')
foreach ($child in $node.children) { Show-BM $child ($indent + 2) }
}
}
foreach ($root in $json.roots.PSObject.Properties) {
if ($root.Value.children -and $root.Value.children.Count -gt 0) {
Write-Host ('[' + $root.Name + ']')
foreach ($child in $root.Value.children) { Show-BM $child 2 }
}
}
"
Read Bookmarks (Chrome)
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$path = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Bookmarks\"
if (!(Test-Path $path)) { Write-Host 'Chrome bookmarks not found'; exit }
$json = Get-Content $path -Raw -Encoding UTF8 | ConvertFrom-Json
function Show-BM($node, $indent) {
if ($node.type -eq 'url') {
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + $node.name)
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + ' ' + $node.url)
} elseif ($node.type -eq 'folder' -and $node.children) {
Write-Host ((' ' * $indent) + '[' + $node.name + ']')
foreach ($child in $node.children) { Show-BM $child ($indent + 2) }
}
}
foreach ($root in $json.roots.PSObject.Properties) {
if ($root.Value.children -and $root.Value.children.Count -gt 0) {
Write-Host ('[' + $root.Name + ']')
foreach ($child in $root.Value.children) { Show-BM $child 2 }
}
}
"
Search Bookmarks
Search across both Edge and Chrome bookmarks by keyword:
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$query = 'SEARCH_TERM'
$paths = @(
@{ Browser='Edge'; Path=\"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Bookmarks\" },
@{ Browser='Chrome'; Path=\"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Bookmarks\" }
)
function Search-BM($node, $q) {
$results = @()
if ($node.type -eq 'url') {
if ($node.name -match $q -or $node.url -match $q) {
$results += @{ name=$node.name; url=$node.url }
}
} elseif ($node.children) {
foreach ($child in $node.children) { $results += Search-BM $child $q }
}
return $results
}
foreach ($p in $paths) {
if (!(Test-Path $p.Path)) { continue }
$json = Get-Content $p.Path -Raw -Encoding UTF8 | ConvertFrom-Json
$found = @()
foreach ($root in $json.roots.PSObject.Properties) {
$found += Search-BM $root.Value $query
}
if ($found.Count -gt 0) {
Write-Host ('{0}: {1} match(es)' -f $p.Browser, $found.Count)
foreach ($r in $found) {
Write-Host (' ' + $r.name)
Write-Host (' ' + $r.url)
}
}
}
"
Replace SEARCH_TERM with your search keyword (case-insensitive regex).
Read Recent History (Edge)
Reads the last N visited URLs from Edge history. Copies the database first (Edge locks it while running).
To use this command, save the following to a .ps1 file and execute with powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File path\to\script.ps1, or run inline if no != characters cause issues.
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\History\"
if (!(Test-Path $src)) { Write-Host 'Edge history not found'; exit }
$tmp = \"$env:TEMP\pcclaw_edge_hist.db\"
Copy-Item $src $tmp -Force
Add-Type -TypeDefinition @'
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class SQ {
const string L = \"winsqlite3.dll\";
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_open_v2(string f, out IntPtr db, int flags, IntPtr vfs);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_close(IntPtr db);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_prepare_v2(IntPtr db, string sql, int n, out IntPtr st, IntPtr t);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_step(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern IntPtr sqlite3_column_text(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern long sqlite3_column_int64(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_finalize(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_bind_text(IntPtr st, int idx, byte[] val, int n, IntPtr d);
public static string Utf8(IntPtr p) {
if (p == IntPtr.Zero) return string.Empty;
int len = 0; while (Marshal.ReadByte(p, len) != 0) len++;
byte[] b = new byte[len]; Marshal.Copy(p, b, 0, len);
return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);
}
public static byte[] ToUtf8(string s) {
byte[] u = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
byte[] r = new byte[u.Length + 1]; Array.Copy(u, r, u.Length);
return r;
}
}
'@
$db = [IntPtr]::Zero
[SQ]::sqlite3_open_v2($tmp, [ref]$db, 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$st = [IntPtr]::Zero
$sql = 'SELECT url, title, visit_count, last_visit_time FROM urls ORDER BY last_visit_time DESC LIMIT NUM_RESULTS'
[SQ]::sqlite3_prepare_v2($db, $sql, -1, [ref]$st, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
while ([SQ]::sqlite3_step($st) -eq 100) {
$url = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 0))
$title = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 1))
$visits = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 2)
$ts = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 3)
$date = [DateTime]::new(1601,1,1).AddTicks($ts * 10).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm')
Write-Host (\"[{0}] ({1}x) {2}\" -f $date, $visits, $title)
Write-Host (\" {0}\" -f $url)
}
[SQ]::sqlite3_finalize($st) | Out-Null
[SQ]::sqlite3_close($db) | Out-Null
Remove-Item $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
"
Replace NUM_RESULTS with how many results to show (e.g., 20).
- Timestamps are Chrome/Edge format: microseconds since 1601-01-01 UTC.
- The database is copied to
%TEMP%first to avoid file locking issues.
Read Recent History (Chrome)
Same as Edge, but with Chrome's history path:
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\History\"
if (!(Test-Path $src)) { Write-Host 'Chrome history not found'; exit }
$tmp = \"$env:TEMP\pcclaw_chrome_hist.db\"
Copy-Item $src $tmp -Force
Add-Type -TypeDefinition @'
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class SQ {
const string L = \"winsqlite3.dll\";
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_open_v2(string f, out IntPtr db, int flags, IntPtr vfs);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_close(IntPtr db);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_prepare_v2(IntPtr db, string sql, int n, out IntPtr st, IntPtr t);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_step(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern IntPtr sqlite3_column_text(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern long sqlite3_column_int64(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_finalize(IntPtr st);
public static string Utf8(IntPtr p) {
if (p == IntPtr.Zero) return string.Empty;
int len = 0; while (Marshal.ReadByte(p, len) != 0) len++;
byte[] b = new byte[len]; Marshal.Copy(p, b, 0, len);
return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);
}
}
'@
$db = [IntPtr]::Zero
[SQ]::sqlite3_open_v2($tmp, [ref]$db, 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$st = [IntPtr]::Zero
$sql = 'SELECT url, title, visit_count, last_visit_time FROM urls ORDER BY last_visit_time DESC LIMIT NUM_RESULTS'
[SQ]::sqlite3_prepare_v2($db, $sql, -1, [ref]$st, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
while ([SQ]::sqlite3_step($st) -eq 100) {
$url = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 0))
$title = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 1))
$visits = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 2)
$ts = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 3)
$date = [DateTime]::new(1601,1,1).AddTicks($ts * 10).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm')
Write-Host (\"[{0}] ({1}x) {2}\" -f $date, $visits, $title)
Write-Host (\" {0}\" -f $url)
}
[SQ]::sqlite3_finalize($st) | Out-Null
[SQ]::sqlite3_close($db) | Out-Null
Remove-Item $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
"
Search History
Search Edge or Chrome history by keyword in URL or title. Replace BROWSER_NAME with Edge or Chrome, and SEARCH_TERM with your keyword.
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$browser = 'BROWSER_NAME'
if ($browser -eq 'Edge') {
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\History\"
} else {
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\History\"
}
if (!(Test-Path $src)) { Write-Host \"$browser history not found\"; exit }
$tmp = \"$env:TEMP\pcclaw_search_hist.db\"
Copy-Item $src $tmp -Force
Add-Type -TypeDefinition @'
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class SQ {
const string L = \"winsqlite3.dll\";
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_open_v2(string f, out IntPtr db, int flags, IntPtr vfs);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_close(IntPtr db);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_prepare_v2(IntPtr db, string sql, int n, out IntPtr st, IntPtr t);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_step(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern IntPtr sqlite3_column_text(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern long sqlite3_column_int64(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_finalize(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_bind_text(IntPtr st, int idx, byte[] val, int n, IntPtr d);
public static string Utf8(IntPtr p) {
if (p == IntPtr.Zero) return string.Empty;
int len = 0; while (Marshal.ReadByte(p, len) != 0) len++;
byte[] b = new byte[len]; Marshal.Copy(p, b, 0, len);
return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);
}
public static byte[] ToUtf8(string s) {
byte[] u = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(s);
byte[] r = new byte[u.Length + 1]; Array.Copy(u, r, u.Length);
return r;
}
}
'@
$db = [IntPtr]::Zero
[SQ]::sqlite3_open_v2($tmp, [ref]$db, 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$st = [IntPtr]::Zero
$sql = 'SELECT url, title, visit_count, last_visit_time FROM urls WHERE url LIKE ?1 OR title LIKE ?1 ORDER BY last_visit_time DESC LIMIT 30'
[SQ]::sqlite3_prepare_v2($db, $sql, -1, [ref]$st, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$pattern = [SQ]::ToUtf8('%SEARCH_TERM%')
[SQ]::sqlite3_bind_text($st, 1, $pattern, $pattern.Length - 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$count = 0
while ([SQ]::sqlite3_step($st) -eq 100) {
$url = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 0))
$title = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 1))
$visits = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 2)
$ts = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 3)
$date = [DateTime]::new(1601,1,1).AddTicks($ts * 10).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm')
Write-Host (\"[{0}] ({1}x) {2}\" -f $date, $visits, $title)
Write-Host (\" {0}\" -f $url)
$count++
}
[SQ]::sqlite3_finalize($st) | Out-Null
[SQ]::sqlite3_close($db) | Out-Null
Remove-Item $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Write-Host ''
Write-Host (\"Found {0} result(s) in $browser history\" -f $count)
"
List Downloads
List recent downloads from Edge or Chrome. Replace BROWSER_NAME with Edge or Chrome.
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$browser = 'BROWSER_NAME'
if ($browser -eq 'Edge') {
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\History\"
} else {
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\History\"
}
if (!(Test-Path $src)) { Write-Host \"$browser history not found\"; exit }
$tmp = \"$env:TEMP\pcclaw_dl_hist.db\"
Copy-Item $src $tmp -Force
Add-Type -TypeDefinition @'
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class SQ {
const string L = \"winsqlite3.dll\";
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_open_v2(string f, out IntPtr db, int flags, IntPtr vfs);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_close(IntPtr db);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_prepare_v2(IntPtr db, string sql, int n, out IntPtr st, IntPtr t);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_step(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern IntPtr sqlite3_column_text(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern long sqlite3_column_int64(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_finalize(IntPtr st);
public static string Utf8(IntPtr p) {
if (p == IntPtr.Zero) return string.Empty;
int len = 0; while (Marshal.ReadByte(p, len) != 0) len++;
byte[] b = new byte[len]; Marshal.Copy(p, b, 0, len);
return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);
}
}
'@
$db = [IntPtr]::Zero
[SQ]::sqlite3_open_v2($tmp, [ref]$db, 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$st = [IntPtr]::Zero
$sql = 'SELECT target_path, total_bytes, start_time, end_time, state, tab_url FROM downloads ORDER BY start_time DESC LIMIT NUM_RESULTS'
[SQ]::sqlite3_prepare_v2($db, $sql, -1, [ref]$st, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
while ([SQ]::sqlite3_step($st) -eq 100) {
$path = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 0))
$size = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 1)
$startTs = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 2)
$state = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 4)
$tabUrl = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 5))
$date = [DateTime]::new(1601,1,1).AddTicks($startTs * 10).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm')
$sizeMB = [math]::Round($size / 1MB, 1)
$stateStr = switch ($state) { 0 {'in-progress'} 1 {'complete'} 2 {'cancelled'} 3 {'interrupted'} default {\"state=$state\"} }
$fileName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileName($path)
Write-Host (\"[{0}] {1} ({2} MB, {3})\" -f $date, $fileName, $sizeMB, $stateStr)
Write-Host (\" From: {0}\" -f $tabUrl)
}
[SQ]::sqlite3_finalize($st) | Out-Null
[SQ]::sqlite3_close($db) | Out-Null
Remove-Item $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
"
Replace NUM_RESULTS with how many downloads to show (e.g., 20).
state: 0 = in-progress, 1 = complete, 2 = cancelled, 3 = interrupted- Download records are in the same History database as browsing history.
Most Visited Sites
powershell.exe -NoProfile -Command "
[Console]::OutputEncoding = [System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8
$src = \"$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\History\"
if (!(Test-Path $src)) { Write-Host 'Edge history not found'; exit }
$tmp = \"$env:TEMP\pcclaw_top_hist.db\"
Copy-Item $src $tmp -Force
Add-Type -TypeDefinition @'
using System;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
public class SQ {
const string L = \"winsqlite3.dll\";
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_open_v2(string f, out IntPtr db, int flags, IntPtr vfs);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_close(IntPtr db);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_prepare_v2(IntPtr db, string sql, int n, out IntPtr st, IntPtr t);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_step(IntPtr st);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern IntPtr sqlite3_column_text(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern long sqlite3_column_int64(IntPtr st, int c);
[DllImport(L)] public static extern int sqlite3_finalize(IntPtr st);
public static string Utf8(IntPtr p) {
if (p == IntPtr.Zero) return string.Empty;
int len = 0; while (Marshal.ReadByte(p, len) != 0) len++;
byte[] b = new byte[len]; Marshal.Copy(p, b, 0, len);
return System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetString(b);
}
}
'@
$db = [IntPtr]::Zero
[SQ]::sqlite3_open_v2($tmp, [ref]$db, 1, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
$st = [IntPtr]::Zero
$sql = 'SELECT url, title, visit_count FROM urls ORDER BY visit_count DESC LIMIT 20'
[SQ]::sqlite3_prepare_v2($db, $sql, -1, [ref]$st, [IntPtr]::Zero) | Out-Null
while ([SQ]::sqlite3_step($st) -eq 100) {
$url = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 0))
$title = [SQ]::Utf8([SQ]::sqlite3_column_text($st, 1))
$visits = [SQ]::sqlite3_column_int64($st, 2)
Write-Host (\"({0}x) {1}\" -f $visits, $title)
Write-Host (\" {0}\" -f $url)
}
[SQ]::sqlite3_finalize($st) | Out-Null
[SQ]::sqlite3_close($db) | Out-Null
Remove-Item $tmp -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
"
Common Workflows
Look up a previously visited page
1. win-browser: search history for keyword
2. Use the URL from results
Find a bookmarked resource
1. win-browser: search bookmarks for keyword
2. Open the URL or use it in workflow
Check what user was browsing
1. win-browser: read recent history (last 20)
2. Summarize browsing patterns
Open a link and monitor
1. win-browser: open URL in default browser
2. win-browser: get active tab titles (verify it loaded)
Notes
- History database locking: Edge/Chrome lock their History database while running. All history commands copy the DB to
%TEMP%first, so they work while the browser is open. - Timestamps: Chrome/Edge use WebKit timestamps — microseconds since 1601-01-01 UTC. Converted via
[DateTime]::new(1601,1,1).AddTicks(ts * 10). - Bookmarks: Stored as JSON at
%LOCALAPPDATA%\{Browser}\User Data\Default\Bookmarks. No locking issues — safe to read directly. - Downloads: Stored in the same History SQLite database, in the
downloadstable. - Multiple profiles: Commands read from the
Defaultprofile. For other profiles, changeDefaulttoProfile 1,Profile 2, etc. in the paths. - Firefox: Uses a different database format (places.sqlite). Not currently supported — Edge and Chrome cover most Windows users.
- Privacy: All data is read locally. Nothing is sent anywhere.
- winsqlite3.dll: Ships with Windows 10 1803+. Zero external dependencies for history access.