What NavShelf is

NavShelf is a free, no-signup start page that runs in your browser. A nested folder tree on the left, link cards on the right: you put the dozen sites you actually use into your own categories and see them the moment you open a new tab — no feed, no pop-ups to dismiss. It ships in English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, with light and dark themes and a tools column of browser-based utilities (Base64, JSON formatting, timestamps). Folders, links and search settings live in your browser; nothing is uploaded, and there is no account.

Two kinds of content, one dashboard

A navigation page tends to hold two very different things: the links you saved yourself, and the links someone else already vetted and organised. NavShelf keeps them in separate modes rather than mixing them into one list.

The switch is the star button in the toolbar, next to Blog. Off, the page shows My collection — your folders, your links. On, the same page shows the Tools directory that ships with the app. Clicking it again takes you back.

What the Tools column actually contains

Currently it is five categories — Development, Design, AI, Productivity and Writing — holding 28 entries that open the site’s own utilities (Base64, JSON formatting, timestamp conversion, image compression, QR codes, and the rest of the Free Tools), plus 17 external sites worth keeping around: GitHub, VS Code, Cloudflare, CodePen, Figma, Dribbble, Coolors, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Notion, Slack, Trello, Grammarly, DeepL, Hemingway.

Two visual signals tell you that you have left your own collection:

  • The breadcrumb starts with System instead of My collection, and clicking it returns you to the root of the directory.
  • An amber strip across the top of the content area reads “Read-only system directory”, with a reminder that clicking Tools again goes back.

Folder cards in this mode carry a small System badge, and the folder tree marks them with a star instead of a coloured dot.

Read-only means read-only

In this mode the right-click menu collapses to a single item: Open. There is no New folder, no Edit, no Delete, and nothing is draggable. The built-in directory cannot be reorganised by accident, and nothing you do here can damage the list.

It also sits outside your data entirely:

  • It is bundled with the app and updated when the app updates, so it never drifts into a half-edited state.
  • It is not part of an export. Export your collection and you get your folders and links; the system directory is not in that file, and importing a file never overwrites it.
  • Its text follows your interface language. Switch the interface to Traditional Chinese and the folder names and descriptions switch with it.

Your own collection is untouched while you browse it, and the toggle remembers where you were: turn Tools on, look around, turn it off, and you land back in the folder you were reading.

The one thing it does not do

A built-in directory cannot be edited, which is a deliberate trade: if it were editable, the next update would either overwrite your changes or leave you wondering which version you are looking at. So it is a reference shelf, not a second collection.

If you want part of it as your own, build it yourself: right-click in your collection and create the links you actually use. The mechanics are the ones in Right-Click to Manage — a new link needs only a title and a URL, and a description is worth the ten seconds.

When to actually use it

  • Finding a tool. The 26 utilities run in the browser without an account, and the directory is a faster way in than remembering a URL.
  • Starting from zero. On a new device with an empty collection, the built-in directory gives you something useful to click before you import or rebuild anything.
  • Passing the screen around. It is a presentable, read-only list of what the site offers, which is handy when showing someone what NavShelf is.
  • Borrowing structure. Seeing how five categories are drawn is a reasonable starting point for your own top level, as discussed in Five Levels of Folders.

FAQ

Is the built-in content written by other users? No. It is curated by the site and published with each app version.

Can I copy the whole directory into my collection in one click? Not currently. Recreate the links you want with the right-click menu; a handful is usually enough.

Did turning it on change my bookmarks? No. The two sets of content are completely separate, and switching back returns you to the folder you were in.

Why are some entries internal and some external? Internal entries open NavShelf’s own tools, which run locally in your browser. External ones are sites that are broadly useful to have one click away.

Does the directory appear in my export file? No. Export gives you your own folders, links, search engines and settings only. The background is covered in Your Data Stays in Your Browser.

Does it work on a phone? Yes — the same toolbar button switches modes on mobile.

Two lists, one page

One list is yours and editable; the other is a maintained reference that cannot be broken. The star button is the line between them, and that line is the point: nothing you do to your own collection can affect the built-in one, and vice versa.

Open NavShelf and click the star in the toolbar to see both sides.