BaZi Offline · Help

Back to charts

Install on your iPhone

  1. Open the permanent HTTPS preview URL in Safari. A Windows .exe or a file:// HTML copy does not install this PWA.
  2. Wait for “Offline files installed”.
  3. Use Safari’s Share/menu → Add to Home Screen → Open as Web App, if offered → Add.
  4. Open BaZi from its Home Screen icon. Check offline readiness there too; browser and Home Screen storage behaviour can differ.
  5. Save a temporary person and notes. Export a backup to Files before relying on the app.

Initial download and application updates need internet. Calculations, profiles, notes and backup generation run on your device afterward. Free hosting serves public application files, not your private records.

Profiles and personal notes

Save a person before using Notes. Birth clock values use UTC+08:00 without automatic DST, longitude or solar-time correction. Viewed year and day boundary match the desktop conventions. Each person has a stable internal ID; renaming does not move notes to another person.

Use Save Notes to commit. Unsaved edits make recovery drafts on this device. Closing the editor asks whether to save, discard or continue. Draft recovery is best effort: storage failures or immediate process termination can prevent the most recent changes from being written. Browser close warnings are not reliable on every iPhone.

Backup and restore

Open Backup, restore & storage → Export all profiles + notes. In the download/share sheet choose Save to Files and confirm the file exists. The backup includes active/deleted people, notes, histories and drafts. Keep a separate copy outside browser storage.

Import Backup validates the full file, shows counts/conflicts and asks how to handle matching IDs. Skip preserves existing records. Replace keeps prior versions in history. Duplicate people under different IDs are rejected rather than merged. Import commits as a single database transaction.

Deleted profiles retain notes/history in Deleted profiles. Restore brings them back. There is no permanent-delete button in this preview.

Move data from Windows

Close the Windows app and copy its entire Profiles folder. Run the supplied tools/convert-desktop.ps1 against that copy. Transfer the resulting JSON backup to iPhone Files, then Import Backup. The converter reads profiles, separate notes directories, backups and recoverable archives. A .bazi export alone does not include separate notes.

Phone and Windows copies do not synchronize. Keep using a backup export when transferring between PWA devices. Reverse import into the Windows application is not implemented by this preview.

Storage and updates

Request persistent storage from the app. The displayed result is the browser’s actual answer. Persistence is not an absolute guarantee: deleting website data, removing the app, device problems or storage pressure may remove local records. Neither the hosting provider nor this application stores a remote copy of your records.

Keep the same HTTPS address. Changing the domain/origin creates a different browser storage area; export a backup before moving. Downloaded updates wait for your approval, and application-cache cleanup does not clear IndexedDB. Save all edits before updating.

Real-iPhone acceptance test

  1. Install and open from Home Screen. Check portrait/landscape, large text and keyboard access to Notes buttons.
  2. Create two temporary people with different multiline Chinese/English notes. Save, close and reopen; verify each person’s text.
  3. Rename one person, save and reopen Notes. Test long notes and cancel an unsaved-close prompt.
  4. Export to Files, inspect the saved file and import it in a separate browser/device test library. Check duplicate handling.
  5. Enable airplane mode. Fully close BaZi and reopen from Home Screen. Calculate a NEW birth date, save/edit notes and export another backup.
  6. Reopen while still offline and verify those saves. Test all chart sections, zoom and optional monthly charts.
  7. Cancel profile deletion. Then, if desired using only test data, confirm deletion and restore; verify notes. Test browser printing/share-to-PDF if offered.
  8. When an update is provided, back up first, save edits, accept the update and verify both people and notes remain.

Desktop Chromium/WebKit automation is not real iPhone certification. Physical-device testing is required before production approval. Printing availability and PDF/share options depend on Safari/iOS.

Costs and privacy

No paid API, backend database, Apple developer membership or account is needed to use this app. Appropriately licensed libraries and a free static-hosting tier can keep additional software/hosting fees at RM0 within provider limits. Development/testing time, existing Codex usage, hardware and internet are separate. Backups and notes are plain, unencrypted local data; keep your device and exported files private.