CLI Reference
The six commands and their flags: dump, dumpkeys, archive, restore, list, and version.
HackBrowserData ships six commands. dump is the default — running hack-browser-data with no command is the same as hack-browser-data dump.
Commands
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
dump | Extract and decrypt browser data — the default command. |
dumpkeys | Export Chromium master keys as JSON for cross-host decryption. |
archive | Pack Chromium profile files into a zip for cross-host restore. |
restore | Restore copied Chromium data with exported keys on another supported OS. |
list | List the browsers and profiles detected on this machine. |
version | Print the build’s version, commit, and date. |
Tip
Start with
listto discover browsers and profiles, then use the canonical key from Supported Browsers with--browser.
Global flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
-v, --verbose | false | Enable debug logging |
dump’s flags are also available directly on the root command. Output formats and the file model are documented on Output & Data Formats.
Logs and the run summary go to stderr. Command output goes to stdout: the list table, version, and dumpkeys JSON when it is not given -o.
Exit status
| Status | When |
|---|---|
0 | The command ran to the end — including runs with partial or error rows in the summary, and runs that found no browsers. |
1 | A flag was invalid (checked before any browser data is read or any file is written), or the command itself failed, e.g. the output could not be written. |
| signal | The run was stopped; see below. |
Stopping a run
Ctrl-C (or SIGTERM / SIGHUP) stops the run cleanly: the tool removes the temporary copies it made and prints no summary. Press Ctrl-C again to quit at once. The process then ends the way the signal would have ended it, so a calling shell or script sees that it was interrupted (on Windows, with the Ctrl-C exit status).
version
version prints the build’s version, commit, and build time (UTC) — handy for bug reports. A release binary prints:
$ hack-browser-data version
hack-browser-data 1.2.0
commit: ac8f76f
built: 2026-11-02T07:55:41ZThe commit is the short Git SHA the binary was built from. A build from a source checkout shows the commit’s own time as built; one installed with go install shows commit: none and built: unknown.
- dump — Extract and decrypt browser data — the default command.
- dumpkeys — Export Chromium master keys as JSON for cross-host decryption.
- archive — Pack Chromium profile files into a zip for cross-host restore.
- restore — Decrypt copied Chromium profile data using exported master keys.
- list — List detected browsers and profiles.