Installing EtherPK As An App
EtherPK runs in the browser, and the browser can install it as an app: its own window without tabs or an address bar, an icon in the Start menu, Dock, launcher or home screen, and a place on the device's share sheet. Nothing is downloaded beyond what the browser already has, and the app still needs a connection to load, because EtherPK does not yet work offline.
Why install
- Folder permission survives a restart. A browser forgets a website's permission to a folder when it closes, so a local graph asks "Let this site edit files in MyNotes?" once per session. An installed app keeps the permission, and a Local Mirror restarts on its own (Local Graphs, Keeping A Local Copy Of A Synced Graph).
- Your data is less likely to be cleared. Phone browsers in particular free space by clearing a website's storage. They keep an installed app's, so a synced graph's cached documents and your passkeys stay put (Where Your Data Lives).
- Sharing from other apps. Only an installed EtherPK appears on the share sheet, so text and links from other apps can land as quick notes (Quick Notes).
Install it
Open Settings > General and look under Install on this device, at the foot of the tab:
- Install EtherPK shows the browser's install dialog. Confirm it and EtherPK opens as an app from then on.
- "Install EtherPK via your browser menu" means the browser has not offered, or never does. Use the browser's own control: in Chrome or Edge on a desktop, the install icon at the right end of the address bar or Install in the browser menu; on Android, Install app or Add to Home screen in the browser menu; on an iPhone or iPad, Share and then Add to Home Screen.
- "EtherPK is installed on this device" means it already is.
The installed app opens the same graphs, with the same settings, as the browser tab did; it is the same browser profile presented differently.
Where it works
Chrome, Edge, Brave and other Chromium browsers install web apps on Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS and Android. Safari adds an icon to the home screen on iPhone and iPad and to the Dock on macOS. Firefox does not install web apps on a desktop.
The share sheet entry needs the Web Share Target feature, which Android Chrome, ChromeOS, and desktop Chrome and Edge provide. Safari does not, so an installed EtherPK on an iPhone is not on the share sheet.
A copy of EtherPK running on your own computer installs exactly as the hosted one does (Running EtherPK On Your Own Computer).
Updates
EtherPK checks for a new version every minute and loads it on the next navigation, in the browser and in the installed app alike. There is nothing to update by hand.