Offline Mode
Ziptask keeps working when your device loses its connection. Recently-viewed task lists stay visible, and the core task actions you take in the field are saved on your device and sent to the server automatically the moment you’re back online. This is built for crews working in basements, remote sites, and other spots where signal comes and goes.
There’s nothing to turn on — it works automatically on the phone apps and in the web browser, for every member.
What works offline
| Action | Offline? |
|---|---|
| Browse task lists you’ve already opened | ✓ (saved on your device) |
| Open a list and view its items | ✓ (if opened before) |
| View the dashboard | ✓ (last version you loaded) |
| View the calendar | ✓ (last-viewed window) |
| See which files a list has attached | ✓ (names + a file icon) |
| Mark an item started / complete (or reopen it) | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Add a new item to a list | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Edit an item’s title, description, or points | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Delete an item | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Add or remove a tag on a list | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Archive, unarchive, or delete a list | ✓ (syncs on reconnect) |
| Open, upload, or delete an attachment | — Requires a connection |
| View, add, or delete comments | — Requires a connection |
| Assign or unassign members on a list | — Requires a connection |
| Create, edit, or schedule a list | — Requires a connection |
| Create a list by voice (voice-to-list) | — Requires a connection |
| Create, rename, or delete a tag (Tag Management) | — Requires a connection |
| Anything in Members, Teams, Store, Reporting, Admin | — Requires a connection |
Actions that require a connection are now shown as unavailable while you’re offline — the button is dimmed, and hovering (on desktop) or tapping it (on a phone) explains that it needs a connection — instead of letting you tap through to a generic error.
How it works
Browsing offline
The lists and items you open are saved to your device. When you lose connection, the app shows the most recent version it has, with a small “Last synced” time so you know how fresh it is. It’s read-only history — new changes from teammates won’t appear until you reconnect.
Making changes offline
When you complete, add, edit, or delete an item with no connection, the change appears immediately as if it saved — and it’s placed in a queue on your device. A banner shows how many changes are waiting to sync.
The moment your connection returns, the app sends the queued changes to the server in the order you made them, then refreshes to show the confirmed, up-to-date list. Your queued work survives closing and reopening the app.
If two people change the same thing
If a teammate changed the same item while you were offline — for example you both picked up the same task — their change is kept, your queued change is discarded, and your view refreshes to match the saved version on reconnect. The member whose change was discarded sees a single brief notice (“Some changes you made offline couldn’t be applied…”), shown once per sync — not once per item, even if several changes were affected. Your other queued changes still apply normally.
If a change can’t sync
There are two cases:
- Permanent rejection (the item was already taken, changed, removed, or you no longer have permission): the change is discarded — retrying wouldn’t help — and you get the single “couldn’t be applied” notice above. Your view is refreshed to the correct state.
- Temporary problem (the server is briefly unreachable or busy): the change is kept and retried automatically. If it still can’t go through after a few attempts, a “failed to sync” banner appears with a Retry button, plus a Skip button to abandon the stuck change(s) and clear the banner (the view then refreshes to the server’s version). Everything else in the queue continues to sync independently.
Support notes
- Nothing is lost on reconnect. Even if the app is closed while offline, queued changes are stored on the device and sent when it next comes online.
- Unsynced changes are protected even if the device runs low on storage. The app keeps a disposable cache of recently-viewed data for instant/offline loading. If the device’s browser storage fills up, the app automatically clears that disposable cache to make room — it never sacrifices a member’s unsynced offline changes to do so (those changes take priority). The cleared cache simply reloads from the server on the next connection.
- Changes made offline stay visible after closing and reopening the app. A task you add, complete, or edit offline is still shown when you return to that list — and it still syncs once the device reconnects.
- Signing out clears everything saved offline on that device, including any changes that haven’t synced yet (a privacy safeguard on shared devices). If a member has unsynced changes when they sign out, the app now warns first (“You have N change(s) that haven’t synced yet — sign out now and they’ll be lost for good”) so they can cancel, reconnect, and let changes sync before signing out.
- Signing out works offline too. A member can sign out even with no connection — the app clears their session locally and returns to the sign-in screen without getting stuck. Their server session is fully revoked the next time the device is online.
- Photo/file uploads are online-only — they can’t be saved for later. If a member reports these “not working offline,” that’s expected behavior. Their buttons now appear dimmed with a short “online only” explanation offline, rather than failing after a tap.
- Comments are online-only, including viewing them. Opening the comments on an item while offline shows a brief “available online only” message (not a stuck spinner), and the send/delete buttons are dimmed. Comments aren’t saved to the device.
- Applying a tag to a list works offline; managing the tags themselves doesn’t. A member can add or remove an existing tag on a list with no connection (it appears instantly and syncs on reconnect), but creating, renaming, or deleting a tag in Tag Management still needs a connection (those controls show as unavailable offline).
- Archiving, unarchiving, and deleting a list now work offline — the list disappears from the view immediately and the change syncs on reconnect (just like item changes). From a list’s ”⋯” menu on the task list page, those actions stay available offline; only Edit is dimmed there.
- Creating, editing, and scheduling a list are still online-only. Creating a new list (including by voice), editing a list’s details, changing its recurrence, and assigning/unassigning members are shown dimmed with a reason while offline — they rely on pickers (teams, projects, members) that aren’t saved to the device. (Rule of thumb: doing the work and archiving/deleting are offline; creating and editing lists, and anything account-level, need a connection.)
- Opening a list you’ve never viewed before while offline shows a “Not available offline” message, not a blank screen. Only lists opened at least once while online are saved for offline viewing — reconnect to view a list for the first time. Offline pages also show a small “Last synced” time so members know how fresh the data is.
- The dashboard, list, and item views shown offline are the last version you loaded, including the most recent teammate activity you’d received before losing connection. Live updating resumes once the connection returns.