---
title: "Install as an app"
description: "Install Notarium as a PWA: an offline shell (but not offline data) and updates."
---

# Install as an app

Notarium is a PWA (Progressive Web App): you can **install it as an app** with an icon on your home screen or in your launcher and run it in its own window, without browser tabs or an address bar. It starts instantly thanks to precached static assets.

> [!important] The shell is available offline, not the data
> Installation covers **only the app shell**: installability, the static-asset cache, and an offline fallback for the shell itself. Offline **data** (reading and editing notes without a connection, syncing, conflict resolution) is **not** part of it. Data lives on the server, and the service worker does not cache it.

## How to install

Installation lives in **Settings → About**. What you see depends on your browser and platform:

- **An "Install app" button** — when the browser has offered installation and the app is not yet installed.
- **An "Installed" status** — when Notarium is already running in its own window.
- **Add to Home Screen instructions** — on iOS, where there is no system prompt and the app is added manually from Safari.
- **A hint** — for browsers that do not support installation.

## What works offline

The shell itself is served offline for any navigation request — the static assets (code, styles, icons, fonts) are precached at build time. But requests for data (`/api`) and to the MCP gateway (`/mcp`) **always go to the network**: without a connection they return a network error, and the app shows its own error state rather than swapping in stale cached notes.

## Updates

An update never reloads the page out from under you on its own. When a new version has been built, the app shows a sticky toast **"A new version is available"** with a **"Reload"** action — only clicking it switches you to the new version. The same action is mirrored by a **"Reload to update"** button in Settings → About.

For starting Notarium from scratch, see [Quick start](/docs/getting-started/); for the fonts and themes that are cached for the offline shell, see [Reading and appearance](/docs/guides/reading/).