Does Excalidraw work offline?

Why it works without a connection

Excalidraw is a Progressive Web App. That means the browser stores the application itself — the code, the fonts, the icons — the first time you visit. On every later visit it loads that stored copy instead of fetching it again, which is why it opens instantly and why it opens at all when you are offline.

Your drawings follow the same logic. They live in your browser's local storage, on your own machine. Nothing is uploaded unless you explicitly start a collaboration session or export a link. That is also why clearing your browser data will delete unsaved drawings — the flip side of local-first storage.

Installing it so it behaves like a desktop app

On Chrome or Edge, open excalidraw.com and look for the install icon at the right of the address bar — a small screen with a downward arrow. Click it, confirm, and Excalidraw gets its own window, its own icon in your dock or taskbar, and no browser chrome around it.

On Safari (macOS 14 and later), use File → Add to Dock. On iOS and iPadOS, use the Share button then Add to Home Screen. On Android, Chrome will usually offer the install prompt on its own after a couple of visits.

Load the app once while online after installing. That first visit is what fills the offline cache; skipping it is the single most common reason people think offline mode is broken.

What stops working offline

Live collaboration needs a connection — it relays changes between participants through a server, so there is nothing to fall back on. Shareable links have the same constraint, since the recipient must be able to fetch the drawing.

Everything else keeps working: drawing, editing, libraries you have already loaded, exporting to PNG or SVG, and saving to a local file. In practice you can work an entire flight and sync nothing until you land.

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