Offline & installing the app
Install routess as an app and use it with a poor connection.
routess is a progressive web app (PWA): you can install it from the browser and it keeps working when your connection drops, which is exactly when you're out on a trail.
Install it
The easiest way is from inside routess: open Settings and use Install app. On most browsers that triggers the install prompt directly; on iOS it walks you through Safari's Share → Add to Home Screen steps.
Installing from the browser itself also works:
- Chrome / Edge (desktop and Android): open the browser menu and choose Install app (or Add to Home screen).
- Safari (iOS): tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
The installed app opens in its own window, without browser chrome.
What works offline
After your first visit, routess caches:
- the app itself, so it loads instantly even without a connection
- map tiles, styles, and fonts you've already viewed
- recent route calculations and location searches
Areas you've planned in before stay browsable, and routes you've opened stay available offline across app updates. Anything new (unvisited map areas, fresh route calculations, saving to your library) needs a connection; if a save can't reach the server, routess tells you rather than pretending it worked.
Updates
The app updates itself in the background. When a new version is ready, a toast offers Reload; the update applies when you confirm or on the next fresh start, never mid-edit.