Microsoft Edge, like many modern web browsers, automatically saves your open tabs and sessions, ensuring that you can easily restore them in case of a crash or an unexpected shutdown. This feature is made possible by the EdgeStore, a component that manages and stores the browser's data, including your open tabs and sessions.
What is the Microsoft EdgeStore?
The Microsoft EdgeStore is a database that keeps track of various user data, such as bookmarks, open tabs, extensions, and other settings. It uses a technology called LevelDB, which is a fast key-value storage system developed by Google. The EdgeStore allows Microsoft Edge to provide useful features like automatically restoring your browsing session after a crash or allowing you to continue where you left off on another device.
Where is the EdgeStore located?
The EdgeStore is typically found in the following directory, based on your operating system:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\databases- on Windows~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge/Default/databases- on macOS~/.config/microsoft-edge-dev/Default/databases- on Linux
To access and manipulate LevelDB databases directly, you may need to use third-party tools. Keep in mind that editing these files can be risky, as incorrect modifications may corrupt the data or cause unexpected behavior.
How to Recover Open Sessions in Microsoft Edge?
When Microsoft Edge crashes, it attempts to automatically restore the previous browsing session when you reopen the browser. If this fails, you can recover your open tabs manually through the "Continue where you left off" feature or by using the "Restore pages" option.
- Open Microsoft Edge and click on the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the window.
- If the "Continue where you left off" option is available, click on it to restore your previous browsing session.
- If the "Continue where you left off" option is not available or you want to restore a specific set of pages, click on "Settings" from the menu.
- Under "On startup," select "Open a specific page or pages."
- Click on "Add new page" and enter the URL of the page you want to restore, or click on "Use a recent page" to select a previously opened page from the list.
- Repeat the previous step for each page you want to restore.
These methods allow you to recover your open sessions in Microsoft Edge. However, if you are interested in examining the raw EdgeStore data or creating your own tools to manipulate this data, further information is provided below.
Exploring the EdgeStore Data Structure
The EdgeStore uses several LevelDB databases to manage different types of user data. These databases include:
- History: Stores the browser's browsing history.
- Favorites: Contains your saved bookmarks.
- Local Storage: Holds local storage data for websites.
- Roaming State: Manages roaming data, such as bookmarks and settings, synced across multiple devices.
- Top Sites: Stores frequently visited websites.
- Web Data: Contains various types of data, like cookies and form data.
- Extension State: Holds information about installed browser extensions.
To fully understand the EdgeStore's data structure, refer to the Microsoft Edge documentation or use tools like Storage Monitor, which provides detailed information about what each database contains.
Microsoft Edge uses the EdgeStore, a LevelDB-powered database, to manage various types of user data, including open tabs and sessions. While the browser automatically attempts to recover your browsing session after a crash, manual methods are available if automatic recovery fails. Exploring the raw EdgeStore data structure and creating custom tools requires detailed knowledge of the underlying databases, which may be obtained through Microsoft Edge documentation and tools like Storage Monitor.
References
-
Type: Online Resource
Title: Microsoft Edge Storage and Sync Overview
URL: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/appearance-customization/edge-storage -
Type: Online Resource
Title: LevelDB
URL: https://github.com/google/leveldb -
Type: Online Resource
Title: Storage Monitor
URL: https://github.com/chromium/chromium/tree/main/tools/storage_monitor