Why it's a strong pick

Web Archives turns a dead link into a short trip to an old copy. It supports many archive and cache sources, and you choose which ones to use. It is open source under GPL-3.0, and its code is public on GitHub. It uses Manifest V3, Chrome's current extension format. Its latest repo release came in June 2026.

What it does

The README says it lets you find archived and cached versions of web pages, with support for various search engines. You start a search from the right-click menu or the toolbar. You can turn archive and cache sources on or off and put them in your own order in the options. The README also says it works in Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari.

Key features

Right-click search. Start from a link or a page.
Toolbar search. Look up the page you are on.
Many sources. The project wiki lists the supported archive and cache services.
Your order. Turn sources on or off and reorder them in options.
Other browsers. Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari are supported too, per the README.
Open source. The code is public under GPL-3.0.

Who it's for

Web Archives is for anyone who hits a dead link or a deleted page and wants an old copy fast. It suits researchers, writers and curious readers. It does not save pages for you. If you want to record a page yourself, use a tool that archives pages.

What permissions does Web Archives ask for?

Its Chrome manifest asks for alarms, contextMenus, storage, unlimitedStorage, tabs, activeTab, notifications, webRequest, declarativeNetRequest and scripting. It also asks for access to all sites (<all_urls>) and needs Chrome 123 or newer. That is broad. Read the install prompt, and decide whether the all-sites access is worth it to you.

Does it save a copy of the page for me?

No. It finds copies that other services already hold. It does not create an archive itself. If no archive has the page, it has nothing to show. To keep a page that may change, record it yourself with an archiving tool.

What does it do with my data?

The README does not include a privacy statement, so we cannot say what it does with pages you look up. We could not read the developer's privacy policy when we checked; read it before installing. Because it searches archive and cache services for you, check which sources you have turned on in the options before you search.

FAQ

Is Web Archives free? The README calls it an open source project and asks for donations. It does not state a price.

Can I pick which sources it uses? Yes. You can turn sources on or off and reorder them in the options. The project wiki lists the supported services.

Which browsers does it support? Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari, per the README.

Good to know

Open the options first and keep only the sources you trust. If one archive has no copy, try the next source in your list. For a page you cannot afford to lose, save your own copy while it is still online.

Other web clippers to compare

Web Archives is one of 5 picks in our web clippers and archivers guide:

ArchiveWeb.page: Record a full page with its loaded content into an archive in your browser, and replay it offline. Open source.
Copy as Markdown: Copy selected text, links, images and tab lists as Markdown. Open source.
Wayback Machine: The Internet Archive's official extension to see how a page changed over time, save pages and find archived copies. Open source.
SingleFile: Saves a full web page, with its CSS, images, fonts and frames, as one HTML file you can open offline. Free and open source.

Related tools in other guides:

ArchiveBox: send tabs to your own ArchiveBox server for offline preservation.
Wallabagger: save the page you are on to your wallabag server.