Using Trello offline
Asked by Uri Hurvitz:

I can use Trello offline on my smartphone, but not on my Windows based laptop. Is there a fix for that?  
Thanks.!  
Uri


Answers:
author: Torben_trello
body: Currently the offline mode is only available in our mobile apps. The desktop version via trello.com requires an active internet connection. I'll register your interest in this with our team.

comments: author: Brle
body: I have the same problem. Sometimes, we have problems with internet connection, and all of my plans and programs on Trello are unavailable for me. I am completely freezed.

Is there any way to use Trello offline on Windows PC? Or even to enter my plans?


author: Noshir Contractor
body: [@Torben_trello](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1124444) is there any (approximate/ballpark) timeline on when offline functionality will be available on the Mac OS desktop version?


author: Francesca Harris
body: [@Torben_trello](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1124444)I find offline functionality on desktops essential to continuing to use the service


author: Dan Weatherby
body: Any news on this, it would be great for my team and I to use the desktop app offline (or while connected to a VPN) and have it sync once reconnected.


author: ????? ????????
body: I'd love offline Windows desktop version, too. Since I'm often at places where there's no internet connection, but need access to my Trello boards.


author: Michael Byrne
body: Seconded!!!!


author: John Eastman
body: Third and fourth!


author: Omar ElNaggar
body: Fifth, this would be incredibly useful!


author: Barbara Decker
body: I need this also and am surprised to find that it is not available. Goodness.


author: Ivo Alexander Gorny
body: Same here - an offline version is desperately needed


author: Rebecca Gibbeson
body: The offline Iphone version only works up to a certain extent, because a lot of my powerups don't work on the Iphone. When I added the desktop version of Trello to my Macbook, I mistakenly thought it would have offline capability. I would love to see this happen!

I'm wondering though, what is even the purpose of a desktop version? Don't both the web and desktop versions do the same thing?


author: L?o Pierrot
body: Hello [@Torben_trello](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1124444)

I am considering leaving Trello in the next few weeks.

Working with a bad connection / being a commuter + Trello is a total nitghtmare.

Thx for your help


author: Khalil Gdoura
body: Indeed, it's even counter-productive to work with software that can leave our work unsaved, anytime, because of a shaky connection.

Shall you find any reliable alternative which enables importing our boards, please let us know since this thread ironically pushes us to workarounds amid the silence of Trello folks.


author: Eva Kuhl Bornefelt
body: Here's what Trello responded on a different thread in Oct 2020:

[![Michael Pryor](https://api-private.atlassian.com/users/557058:d2ad6f2d-56d9-4870-8dc1-55dc2d496b90/avatar?initials=public "Michael Pryor")](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1131556)[Michael Pryor](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1131556) [Oct 04, 2020](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Trello-questions/Re-What-s-the-ETA-of-offline-Trello-for-Mac-OS/qaq-p/1497779/comment-id/35155#M35155)

We don't have plans for offline mode on the desktop apps. iOS and Android do have offline mode.


author: Angel Smith
body: I really feel this functionality is pretty standard in all apps. The windows app serves no purpose compared to the browser version.

If you loose the internet you have only your phone to keep you afloat.


author: Janca
body: Hello,**For the desktop users: I am working on something that may help (Linux/Windows for now)**

**See [https://f-p.app](https://f-p.app/)**

Expect a "single card + list grid view" rather than a board or timeline.

Do expect

* **past board data** (saved on your PC for whenever) +
* **a growing offline mode**,
* **notifications with snooze**
* **dark (/bright) theme, and**
* image editing,
* a battery-friendly nature
* among other things (but rather than collaboration, chat, power-ups \& animations)

It's still in development, and **primarily for the focused/deep work** part, for now, I suppose it's already better than nothing if you need to bridge an hour or two of power and other outages esp. with restarts.  

**Do feel free to try (thank you!)** and - if on Windows - grab a free or pro license!  

Cheers,  

Janos


author: H O
body: Hello everyone,

are there updates to this topic ? [@Torben_trello](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1124444) can you tell us if there has been any changes to this ? Thanks in advance.

Kind regards


author: David Brenner
body: I'd love to see offline working on MacOS as well

comments: author: Andrew
body: +1

I need it.

Sticking to OneNote until this is available.


author: LudekHoloubek
body: Do you have some tips, how to effectively use OneNote as Kaban Board? some tamplates or examples or link? I have the same idea.


author: Paulo
body: I'm done waiting as well!

Something as simple as a desktop offline app....and these guys can't do it.

I'm again a commuter, in flight most of the time, and I find myself jotting tasks in notepad to wait to get back online to pass them to trello. How crazy is that in 2019!

In addition to that, my company policy doesn't allow Windows Store installs....moreover, if I want to use a privacy browser, I have to do 3-4 steps as part of the sign in before actually getting to my boards...

I'll be trying alternatives, despite most like i'll be losing many of the nice features of Trello like Google integrations etc...but waiting over 2-3 years?! that's just poor customer service and lack of tuning into your users/customers!


author: Daniele Grandesso
body: nothing much to add, i'm waiting an off-line / backup version.

I can't afford a trello sudden switch off, so I cannot serously operate on it


author: Khalil Gdoura
body: Does anyone from Trello even care about this ridiculously trivial feature request ? The last message from the Trello team dated back to.. May 2017! Shall we start looking for an alternative that just fulfills this basic need ?!

comments: author: Rebecca Gibbeson
body: My feeling is no. I haven't seen it discussed on any of the public boards they post to. Between this issue, the need to card sync and the need to make certain cards private on team boards, Trello has become a real source of frustration for me and is actually beginning to make my work even more complicated. I'm continuing to use the product, holding out hope that they will get it together, but at the same time I'm starting to shop for other options that might suit me better.


author: Roger McInnis
body: Any luck on an alternative? No offline is really issue for me.


author: Rebecca Gibbeson
body: I think I might have! I came across the app Notion a few days ago. It seems really promising and I was able to copy all of my boards over in a few minutes. That way I can test them out simultaneously.

I plan on playing with it in depth while I'm on vacation next week.

A few things I really like so far:

1. Offline functionality, both on my phone and laptop.

2. You have the ability to use either a card layout similar to Trello or an outline style like Todoist.

3. It seems like it will work really well with my google calendar and gmail. I'm hoping it works with Outlook and MS as my company is planning on switching in the future.

4. There don't seem to be a ton of extra fees for additional features. I'm a Trello Gold member, but it's frustrating af, to have a 3 power up limitation. I have 15+ boards which at most use 1 power up, but my main dashboard uses all 3 and I could easily use 3 more given the opportunity. Charging me extra to make my boards flow seamlessly when I'm already paying and i know they've no plans to help their customers is frustrating.

I will try to update later on! If anyone has an opinion about Trello vs Notion, please let me know!


author: LudekHoloubek
body: Thank you for that. I am also offline worker with team of four people. I need to open my notebook in elsewhere in the forest, with no data, no smart phone, ... just work on my work. I am going to test is also.

Ludek


author: LudekHoloubek
body: Even Notion is not so "pretty" as Trello. Offline client for PC is great and free version in enough for my projects. Even it is not so minimalistic and simple as trello... I can use it! Trello is perfect, but... cannot use it, I have stop using it.

If some one has another tip what kaban tool is promissing like the Notion. please suggest. thank you.


author: Frank Reiter
body: Same for me. I'm commuting a lot and internet access is often shaky, so working offline and getting stuff sync as soon as being back online is a must have for.

Will look for a Trello alternative but actually would love to stick with Trello - if an offline mode would be supported.


author: Khalil Gdoura
body: Trello team, is this really your official forum ? Do you even listen to this thread ? Is this how you treat your (potential) customers ?


author: Daniel Willis
body: I work with a global team and am often in the air trying to follow up an dprepare for other aspects. Not having access on my desktop device means I'm really limited to what I can acheive especially when travelling can be up to 20 hours or more. And the cost of data in the air is prohibitive.

We need an offline version quickly otherwise I'll have to return to multiple applications which allow me to work offline.


author: Ziv Yekutieli
body: Same request here. I need to pick an app for my company to work with, the fact that desktop version does not work off line is a downer. Kind of strange when the mobile app does. Is this going to be changed?

comments: author: Robert Simms
body: Same here!! Offline mode for my desktop is essential.


author: Klm B
body: I will try to get their attention in somewhere else. Because it's kind of important to me to have an offline option, i live in the country side, and i have not always wifi or 4G. But i still want to use Trello because i am building team on 3 projects. Please check your forum, and answer us.


author: Klm B
body: Hello, please i am just waiting for an offline app for windows to be able to switch 100% to trello for my projects. I will gladly pay the offline app if i can use it without worry to have internet all the time.


author: Khalil Gdoura
body: Almost 2 years since the request was made, any updates from Trello team ?? I find it absolutely meaningless that a desktop app can't be used once internet connection is lost or unstable!

I have never seen a productivity solution that makes itself unavailable like this! Please don't cite mobile apps because I just need the desktop app to **fully** take advantage of Trello.

We are waiting for your updates!


author: Maro
body: Currently working to pitch trello to my superiors, in order to apply all the great features you packed into this marvel of a tool, within a hospital/retirement home setting.  

Would do a whole world of good there, especially during the pandemic.  

Big hurdle for digital upgrades, like trello is sensitive data-protection.  

An offline-enabled Desktop app/payment plan, would clear a major roadblock.  

Anyway - keep it up and thanks for the great work!  

comments: author: Eva Kuhl Bornefelt
body: Here's what Trello responded on a different thread in Oct 2020:

[![Michael Pryor](https://api-private.atlassian.com/users/557058:d2ad6f2d-56d9-4870-8dc1-55dc2d496b90/avatar?initials=public "Michael Pryor")](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1131556)[Michael Pryor](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1131556) [Oct 04, 2020](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Trello-questions/Re-What-s-the-ETA-of-offline-Trello-for-Mac-OS/qaq-p/1497779/comment-id/35155#M35155)

We don't have plans for offline mode on the desktop apps. iOS and Android do have offline mode.


author: andrei_shevelev
body: What a pity. I like Trello so much.

But since Covid I have to often work on my laptop with sometimes unstable cellular connection and Trello loses sync not allowing me to create or edit cards.

It's 2020 already! There are service workers, Electron with behind-the-scene updates and god knows what else.

I'll look for alternatives :(

comments: author: Khalil Gdoura
body: I'm astonished by the nonchalant attitude of those who are are supposed to listen to their customers on such a trivial feature request. Either they don't check their forum, or they simply do not care, taking things for granted. Meanwhile, this thread has turned into a lookout for alternatives.

Electron would be a great candidate, is it possible to transfer boards, lists and cards we have invested much time polishing them ?


author: andrei_shevelev
body: Sorry, Electron is a technology to run web application on desktop OSes, like Windows. It would be easy for the Trello team to create desktop app with it that would work offline finely.

I found two recent articles on Trello alternatives, you can read them.

<https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/best-trello-alternatives-top-kanban-tools/>

<https://www.smartsheet.com/how-to-pick-the-best-trello-alternative>


author: LudekHoloubek
body: All paid.

I searched a lot of time. only NOTION is usable offline and for free for a few projects. They listen to the users on their forum. it is not perfect, but it works for me.

Luda


author: Aleksey
body: + waiting for the offline version


author: Jutta Goldammer
body: Just adding another voice of urgent need of the desktop version working offline (for both, but in my case for mac). It is so annoying to type something in, and often I don't get immediate feedback from trello that the internet connection is instable and the whole card is for nothing and needs to be written again. When I downloaded the desktop app, this is what I expected, that it works offline, otherwise what is the difference to the browser version.


author: R
body: They need the app to run on the internet so you have to keep paying the subscription, if they allowed it to work offline, you could just keep the app indefinitely. It's part of the modern day subscription model where you are never allowed to own anything and you end up paying hundreds for one programme.


author: Juan Saenz-Diez
body: Hello all,

It's April 2022, the thread goes back to May 2017, and Trello still does not work offline??? Has anybody heard of developers' plans to release such a basic and critical feature? If so, please let me know. I tried Trello from Evernote, and I like it for what it does better, but without offline support it is worthless, I cannot risk to stop my work on the usual internet breakdown or poor cell coverage, or I am simply on a plane.

And in the meantime, as somebody pointed out, this thread becomes a discussion about alternatives to Trello, without a proper reaction from the developer. Quite sad.

Cheers!

comments: author: R
body: It's part of the modern day subscription model where you are never allowed to own anything and you end up paying hundreds for one programme.


author: Janca
body: Hello!**For the desktop users: I am working on something that may help (Linux/Windows for now)**

**See [Focus Project for Trello](https://f-p.app)**

Expect a "single card + list grid view" rather than a board or timeline.

Do expect

* **past board data** (saved on your PC for whenever) +
* **a growing offline mode**,
* **notifications with snooze**
* **dark (/bright) theme, and**
* image editing,
* a battery-friendly nature
* among other things (but rather than collaboration, chat, power-ups \& animations)

It's still in development, and **primarily for the focused/deep work** part, for now, I suppose it's already better than nothing if you need to bridge an hour or two of power and other outages esp. with restarts.  

**Do feel free to try (thank you!)** and - if on Windows - grab a free or pro license!


author: Khalil Gdoura
body: Just a gentle reminder of how absurd it is to rely on a completely online desktop "***solution***" when it gets problematic.. down.. unreachable for the second day in a row.

A thought to all students, professionals, and teams, who can't access their boards on their computers in the middle of their work. Not to mention those who struggle with a shaky Internet connection, hence, their updates and input on Trello might get unsaved.

Productivity, you said?

Four years on, if not more, Trello is still ignoring claims to provide an offline desktop version. Incredible. Is this a sci-fi feature? Or rather, is it harmful or costly to the company to develop it?

Anyone here from Trello to listen, to explain, and to mind about all the posts above?!

comments: author: Brle
body: Absolutely.


author: Andrew
body: I'm going to stick with OneNote until RocketBook has integration with Notion as this can do offline sync.

I can't use an app for live performance and presentations if I have to rely on good internet connectivity.

comments: author: LudekHoloubek
body: Do you have some tips, how to effectively use OneNote as Kaban Board? some tamplates or examples or link? I have the same idea.

More over, what RocketBook means? is there plan for notion to be fully offline???

Thank you for sharing more info.

thanks.

Ludek


author: luk_trello
body: When all complaints is said, it's time to get it done. Trello seemingly won't do it.

Someone gotta get electron.js and workbox to desktopify and cache his own boards to local storage

comments: author: LudekHoloubek
body: sorry I do not understand. This is the solution to trello offline for PC? Could you describe more detailed so even I (big PC Lama) can do it?

thank you.


author: luk_trello
body: Nothing specific really, I was just thinking aloud.

Basically , if you are good with caching technologies like workbox.js , you can catch your trello assets each time they are fetched from the server and save them on your localstorage, as either json, images, or texts depending on whether whatever you want to access locally is a kanban board, an image or text.

You will have to do an extra work of writing to your local storage (cache) and create triggers to push your changes to the server when you are back online.


author: luk_trello
body: In the interim, I am using Notion, doing whatever I want so far, but if you want a tool with more integration to things like Jira,codestream etc, you'll have to work with trello or asana.


author: LudekHoloubek
body: Even the Notion is not so pretty as Trello. Now, the offline mode works excellent. So I moved to it six months ago and till the Trello cannot work offline I will stay with notion.


Tags: atl-curate

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