How to install a web app on any device

Short answer

Any Progressive Web App can be installed from the browser in a few seconds, with no app store involved. On Chrome and Edge, look for the install icon at the right of the address bar. On Safari, use File → Add to Dock on macOS, or Share → Add to Home Screen on iPhone and iPad. On Android, Chrome offers an install prompt or you use the ⋮ menu. You get a real icon, a window with no browser interface, and — for apps that support it — full offline use.

Desktop: Chrome, Edge, Brave

Open the site. Look at the right end of the address bar for a small icon of a screen with a downward arrow — that is the install button, and it only appears on sites that qualify as installable. Click it and confirm.

The app now has its own window with no tabs and no address bar, an entry in your Start menu, Launchpad or application list, and it can be pinned to the taskbar or dock like anything else. If the icon is missing, the site is probably not a PWA — or you are in a private window, where installation is disabled.

Mentioned here: ✏️ Excalidraw, 🖼️ Photopea, 🌀 Wormhole

Desktop: Safari on macOS

Safari 17 and later support installation through File → Add to Dock. The result is the same standalone window and dock icon.

Older Safari versions cannot install web apps. If you are on macOS 13 or earlier, use Chrome or Edge for this.

Phones and tablets

Android, Chrome: an install banner often appears by itself after a visit or two. Otherwise use the ⋮ menu → Add to Home screen (or Install app). The app appears in the launcher alongside store-installed ones.

iPhone and iPad: you must use Safari — other browsers on iOS cannot install web apps. Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Apple limits some capabilities compared to Android, but the icon, the standalone window and offline caching all work.

What changes after installing

The app launches without opening a browser first, keeps its own window state, and appears in your task switcher as a separate application. Updates arrive silently — you are never asked to reinstall.

Offline behaviour depends on the app, not on the installation — see what that means for Excalidraw: installing does not make an app work offline by itself. Apps built to cache their content will work with no connection; apps that need a server will not. Load the app once while online after installing, which is what fills the offline cache.