Installing KarmaWheel on Your Phone (PWA)

KarmaWheel runs in any modern browser, but you can also install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) — meaning it gets its own icon on your home screen, opens fullscreen with no address bar, behaves almost exactly like a native app. No App Store visit required.

Takes about 30 seconds on iPhone or Android.

On iPhone (Safari)

Open Safari (must be Safari — Chrome on iPhone doesn't support PWA install yet)
Navigate to karmawheel.app/app
Tap the Share button (square with up-arrow, at bottom of Safari)
Scroll down in the share sheet
Tap "Add to Home Screen"
Confirm the name (default: "KarmaWheel")
Tap Add in the top-right
Close Safari — KarmaWheel now lives on your home screen with the gold KarmaWheel logo

Tap the icon any time to open the app. It opens fullscreen — no address bar, no browser controls — feels like a native iOS app.

On Android (Chrome)

Open Chrome
Navigate to karmawheel.app/app
Look for an "Install app" prompt — Chrome usually auto-suggests this for PWAs. Tap it.
If you don't see the prompt, tap the three-dot menu in the top-right
Tap "Install app" or "Add to Home screen"
Confirm the name
Tap Install or Add

The icon appears on your home screen. Tap to launch fullscreen.

On other browsers

Firefox (Android) — supports PWA install via the menu → "Install"
Edge (any platform) — supports PWA install via the address bar's install icon
Brave / Opera — both support standard PWA install

What you get when installed

The PWA install gives you:

Home screen icon — fast access, no typing the URL
Fullscreen mode — no Safari/Chrome chrome eating your screen
App switcher integration — appears alongside native apps when you swipe through recent apps
Push notifications — for Gayatri reminders, transit alerts, holy days, etc. (with your permission)
Offline-friendly behavior — KarmaWheel can show your last-loaded chart even with no internet (basic functionality only; calculation requires connection)
Faster startup — installed PWAs launch noticeably faster than browser-tab access

Push notifications setup

After installing on iOS:

Open KarmaWheel
Go to Settings (gear icon)
Find the Push Notifications section
Toggle on the categories you want (Gayatri, Sandhya, daily Panchang, Holy Days, Transit Alerts, Moon events)
iOS will ask permission — tap Allow
You'll start receiving notifications

For more on push notifications, see Push Notifications Setup.

Notes for iPhone

iOS Safari has a few quirks:

Push notifications require the PWA to be installed — you can't get push from a browser-tab open page on iOS. Install first, then enable.
The PWA persists for as long as the icon stays on the home screen — it doesn't auto-delete from non-use
Storage limits: iOS gives PWAs ~50MB of local storage. KarmaWheel uses very little (your saved charts live on the server, not the phone).

Notes for Android

Android is more permissive:

Push notifications work in browser tabs too (not only installed PWAs)
Storage is essentially unlimited
You can install PWAs to a profile folder (Chrome → app icon → Manage app → ...)

Updating

PWAs auto-update. When KarmaWheel ships a new version, the next time you open the PWA on your phone, it picks up the new code automatically. No "update from App Store" step.

The version footer in the sidebar always shows the version you're running. If it doesn't match the latest (we tag updates in chat), force-refresh:

iOS: hold the icon, delete the PWA, re-install. (Annoying but it's the only sure way on iOS.)
Android: Chrome → ⋮ → Settings → Site settings → All sites → karmawheel.app → Clear & reset → re-open the PWA

Uninstalling

iOS: long-press the home-screen icon → "Remove App" → "Delete App"
Android: long-press the icon → "Uninstall" → confirm

Your account and saved charts stay on the server — they're available again the moment you re-install or sign in via browser.

Native app version

A native iOS / Android app version is on the roadmap (we have Capacitor wrappers ready). The PWA gives you essentially the same experience without waiting for App Store / Play Store review cycles.