Browser syncing Without iCloud (Firefox sync or Orion sync) - via Kagi servers for paid users

Hi Vlad and everyone else,

I'm also very interested in this subject, and I understand it's a complex issue, and depending on how it's tackled, it could mean a lot of work.
Since this topic speaks about 2 different things, Bookmarks & Self Hosting, I'll separate them for now.

Right now, 2 of the most commonly referred-to methods for syncing bookmarks between browsers seem to be 2 extensions, xBrowserSync and floccus.
I've tried the Firefox and Chrome stores versions of both, and couldn't make them work on Orion.
Of the 2 floccus seems the most interesting and the most mature, giving a lot of choice to the user, and the ability to self-host the Bookmarks.
xBrowserSync, on the other hand has E2E and you can either use one of the available public xBrowserSync services or run your own.
I don't know what stops both extensions from working in Orion, and how difficult it can be to make it work.

One last thing I want to mention is that a lot of people speak about knowing if we can trust a company (like Apple, Mozilla, etc.), and I think the best situations are when trust is not necessary, meaning as much E2E as possible.

If I have encrypted files on iCloud Drive, granted Apple knows already a lot of information, like who is putting those files, what clients are used, when, etc. but it is still a great to have encrypted files.

I have heard of software like etebase to help with that, but I have no idea how hard it is to implement and to use, just food for thoughts!

Best regards,
Charlie

Hey Vlad ,

Thank you for your answer :-) , and I think one of those extensions working very well with Orion is closer than one might think!
I have good news about that: I tried a few different options and I finally got Floccus to work and to sync with Orion!

Before setup : I unticked the iCloud Sync of Orion on macOS & iOS, and deleted the iCloud data from the settings app to start fresh, and kept it unticked for now.

Step by step :

1. I used another browser (Brave) to create a Floccus sync folder (called Default like the profile) with Nextcloud as the target.
2. Since Orion doesn't work when trying to create the connection, instead, I exported the account with the Floccus extension on Brave, and imported it in Orion, which worked.
3. The Floccus extension on Orion says it ‘doesn't find the folder’ (I suppose the 2 browsers have a different way to manage bookmark folders.
4. In the Orion Floccus extension options, one should change the local folder that is used for syncing, and use the root folder in the window.
5. That way, I'm not entirely sure if everything works, but the Bookmark Tar of each browser is synced properly, which is great!
6. Ticking again the iCloud Sync in macOS then iOS.
7. The Bookmarks are Syncing to iOS too :-)

Hope those infos and steps might help others to set up that Floccus cross-browser bookmarks syncing!

Best regards to everyone,
Charlie

CharlieCortial Your trick worked! FYI, I had my Brave floccus set to the root folder already, and I was able to export and import this profile directly in Orion and it synced without issues.

Hi patrixl, I'm very glad I could be of help, and that it worked for you too!
Since then, I kept using this setup and it works well, I didn't have any real problem. I just tend to mostly switch between Push and Merge options, depending on the situation, and also switch between Auto and Manual sync.
Cheers,
Charlie

CharlieCortial Is this still working for you? I've tried following these steps but the extensions requests permission to access *://*/*, clicking 'Allow' doesn't seem to do anything as I end up with errors in floccus for "E036: Missing permissions to access the sync server"

Extension is set to be always allowed on all websites.

Orion, OS, Hardware
Orion Version 0.99.127.2-beta (WebKit 619.1.1), macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, M2 Air

jbeg You can use Floccus extension which should work with Orion.

Hi @Vlad,
I tried out the Floccus Extension with Orion, because it would be exactly what I wished for. Still I can't get it to work with either the Chromium as well as the Firefox extension.

Have you or others got this working?

In my case, the Firefox extension throws an exceptions, the Chromium one is just not syncing.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi, I am in an unusual situation, where I'm using Orion while at work as well. However, as you might expect, iCloud syncing is disabled on the work laptop, therefore I can't use the browser sync feature.

Then I realised that for me this would be the one feature that would definitely get me to sign up for the browser subscription:

Implement a feature that mimics the existing iCloud-based sync but on the Kagi servers, so that it could work independently. I am not suggesting replacing the existing sync, but rather offering this as an alternative, potentially for paid users to offset the cost of storage.

Simply having a dropdown menu in settings to choose the type of syncing the user chooses.

One other idea -- sync data via IMAP server. Since IMAP ~ email and already trusted with sensitive/personal information (and it may be a self-hosted for many), storing this kind of data there doesn't spread it to new servers. I realize that IMAP wasn't designed for this (for Notes to use IMAP it basically creates a sometimes hidden folder there) and this is unlikely to drive the revenue for Kagi but still wanted to throw the idea out there as I am trying to minimize the use of proprietry services outside of my control.

I also can’t sync with iCloud on my work computer. Having a non-iCloud option for Kagi and/or Orion+ subscribers would be awesome. Also, I would love if all profiles synced, but that’s probably another suggestion

Just found this thread, as I was searching for a way to sync my bookmarks across different browsers on Windows, Mac, and iPhone. I am currently using XBrowserSync and Eversync (Everhelper). Both work great and allow any changes that anyone in my family makes to bookmarks in Chrome, Firefox, or Edge -- at work or home -- to propagate to all of our devices, Windows and Mac. Unfortunately, to use this extension (or any other), one must disable any native browser bookmark sync (Chrome, Firefox, etc.), as failure to do so will result in a mess as multiple systems try to sync data. iPhone browsers do not support extensions, so Firefox on my iPhone cannot get any of the bookmarks saved on Windows or Mac.
I was hoping Orion would be my solution, even though there is no Windows version yet. Unfortunately, neither of the two extensions works on Orion, either on mobile or desktop.
To answer Vlad's question (reiterated frequently, as a clarification of complexity and cost of development): I am an Orion Lifetime subscriber and Kagi subscriber. I would happily pay more for a working bookmark syncing feature to enable headache-free access to all of my bookmarks via native bookmark interfaces in Firefox, Chrome, and Orion.
Thank you for all the hard work and effort you put into continuing it.