Documented Session Buddy JSON migration

Import Session Buddy collections into local FreeSpace workspaces.

Choose a documented Session Buddy v4 or v3 JSON export, review each detected workspace and its fidelity notes, then select exactly which workspaces FreeSpace should create. The source file is parsed locally in the extension.

Plan disclosure: In a qualified supported region, import is available during an eligible PayPal-approved 30-day trial and the $1.99 USD/month base-price subscription that follows until canceled. FreeSpace shows the selected region, exact seller-collected tax, recurring total, and due-now amount for acceptance before it creates a PayPal subscription. Checkout is available to United States residents only. Existing local data remains readable, unlockable, exportable, and deletable if entitlement ends.

Conservative format detection

Two exact object hierarchies.

FreeSpace identifies Session Buddy only when the JSON root and nested records follow the documented object shapes below. Other JSON can still use the generic URL-and-title importer, but it is not treated as a Session Buddy backup.

Session Buddy JSON shapes recognized by the dedicated adapter
VersionRequired hierarchyFreeSpace result
Session Buddy v4collections → folders → linksEach nonempty collection becomes one FreeSpace workspace. A named folder becomes a Chrome tab group for its unpinned tabs.
Session Buddy v3sessions → windows → tabsEach nonempty session becomes one FreeSpace workspace. A named window becomes a Chrome tab group for its unpinned tabs.
Root and workspace records

The version key stands alone.

  • V4 requires a root object whose only property is a collections array. Every collection requires a folders array.
  • V3 requires a root object whose only property is a sessions array. Every session requires a windows array.
  • Collection and session records may also have string title or name fields and finite-number created or updated fields.
Containers and tab records

Every nested value is type-checked.

  • Folders require links; windows require tabs. Both may include title, name, incognito, placement numbers, and documented state or type values.
  • Every link or tab requires a string url. Optional fields are title, favIconUrl, pinned, active, groupId, and titleOriginal.
  • An extra key or wrong field type prevents dedicated Session Buddy detection for the whole file; the bounded generic JSON importer may still find safe URL records.

Format basis

These hierarchies and field names come from Session Buddy's official Supported Formats documentation. FreeSpace's automated coverage uses synthetic fixtures written from that specification, not a retained or copied user export.

Local preview

Inspect, select, then create together.

  1. 1
    Choose the JSON export.

    Open Move from another tab manager in FreeSpace and select the Session Buddy file from your device.

  2. 2
    Review the accessible preview.

    A labelled dialog reports the detected version, counts, fidelity notes, and a bounded tab sample. Native checkboxes and a live selection total support keyboard and screen-reader review.

  3. 3
    Create selected workspaces atomically.

    Choose one or more source workspaces. FreeSpace validates and writes the selected batch together, so a failed batch creates none of them.

Preserved

Names, tabs, pins, and safe icons.

  • Collection or session names and their source order.
  • Tab order, titles, and valid HTTP, HTTPS, or local-file URLs.
  • Pinned state and bounded embedded PNG, JPEG, WebP, or GIF favicons.
  • The same URL in separate source workspaces; duplicates are removed only within each workspace.
Mapped deliberately

Named folders and windows become groups.

  • Named v4 folders and v3 windows map to deterministic Chrome tab groups.
  • Repeated group names are disambiguated instead of merged.
  • Pinned tabs keep their pinned state and remain ungrouped to match Chrome's tab model.
  • Tabs from unnamed folders or windows remain ungrouped.
Not preserved

Session and window-state metadata.

FreeSpace does not reconstruct:

  • Collection or session creation and update timestamps.
  • Window position, dimensions, type, non-normal state, or incognito mode.
  • Active-tab selection, Session Buddy group IDs, or original edited-title history.
  • Remote, unsafe, or unsupported favicon values, unsupported URLs, or empty source collections and sessions. Remote favicon URLs are discarded rather than requested.
Hard limits

Bounded before anything is written.

  • Maximum input file size: 4 MB.
  • Maximum created workspaces: 200.
  • Maximum accepted tabs across the file: 5,000.
  • The preview reports skipped, duplicate, unsupported, and safety-limit counts before creation.
Local-first boundary

Your Session Buddy file stays on your device.

Parsing, preview, selection, and workspace creation happen locally in Chrome. FreeSpace's entitlement service does not receive the import file, tab URLs, titles, favicons, or workspace names.

If optional Chrome Sync is already enabled, created workspaces may be included in a later compressed Chrome Sync backup.

FreeSpace is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Session Buddy.

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