Safari history file locations
2026-05-19 · 1 min
On modern macOS, Safari data is split between the classic ~/Library/Safari
folder and the app's sandbox container.
Paths (macOS)
/Users/<username>/Library/Safari
/Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Cookies
/Users/<username>/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Preferences
What each file holds
| File | Format | Contents |
|---|---|---|
History.db | SQLite | Visits (history_visits) + URLs (history_items) |
Bookmarks.plist | Binary plist | Bookmarks |
Downloads.plist | Binary plist | Download records |
LastSession.plist | Binary plist | Session / open tabs |
RecentlyClosedTabs.plist | Binary plist | Recently closed tabs |
Cookies.binarycookies | binarycookies | Cookies |
com.apple.Safari.plist | Binary plist | Settings & recent searches |
favicons.db | SQLite | Favicon metadata/images |
Timestamps
Safari uses Mac absolute time — seconds since 2001‑01‑01 UTC. The
parser handles History.db, Bookmarks.plist and
Cookies.binarycookies and converts these timestamps for you.
Reference: Foxton Forensics — Safari history location.