Offline Access in Tana: What the Latest Office Hours Revealed!

I just got caught up on the latest Tana Office Hours with Matt and Olav, and wow, there was a ton of exciting stuff shared! There was news about new tabs and panels, the long-awaited export to markdown, new AI models, and even improvements to mobile editing.

But for me, one of the biggest takeaway was the update on a feature I've all been eagerly anticipating, Tana's offline mode. It's been talked about for a while, and getting it "out" is a stated goal for the next focus period. Hearing the team talk about the progress and their vision for it was seriously encouraging for those of us who tend to cut the cord from time to time.

Here’s a breakdown of what I learned from the office hours about where Tana stands with offline functionality:

The Core Goal: Tana on the Go!

The intention for the offline mode is pretty clear and exactly what many of us need: to be able to open your Tana client while you're on a plane or otherwise disconnected from the internet. The main idea is that you should be able to access all your workspaces that had been loaded.

This means if you have a workspace showing in your sidebar, one of your active workspaces, it should be available for you to browse while you're offline. This capability to just open Tana and have your data there, even without a connection, is going to be a game-changer for Tana users.

What to Expect in the First Iteration

The team has a "fair understanding" of what the first version will look like. In this initial release, the intention is to let you edit your own personal workspaces while offline.

However, they were upfront about what might not be included right away. Collaborative workspaces probably won't be part of this first iteration. This makes sense, as syncing changes made offline across multiple users in a shared space adds significant complexity.

There are also challenges they need to figure out regarding things like attachments, uploads, and header images. So, they're working through how to handle these effectively.

The Desktop App is the Priority (For Now)

It sounds like the initial focus for the offline mode is mainly the desktop client. They mentioned that while underlying work is being done that will eventually help enable proper offline functionality for mobile as well, the desktop version is the most pressing priority. Mobile offline will be looked into after the desktop version.

This emphasis on the desktop app is something the team has highlighted before. They strongly encourage users to download and use the desktop app for the best Tana experience overall, pointing out that features like tabs – and likely offline mode – will be exclusive to the desktop client because you simply can't replicate that kind of functionality within a standard browser tab.

So When Will It Ship?

Ah, the million-dollar question! The Tana team works in six-week "shape up" cycles. The good news is that they are actively working on offline mode during the current cycle. The goal is definitely to have something shippable by the end of this cycle. Olav even mentioned using "some sort of offline mode in internal testing" already.

They plan to extend the test to include external users "at some point," but there are "no guarantees when that will be". It's clearly a key project, listed as a goal for the "next focus period".

Underlying Work is Paving the Way

Interestingly, some other important work is happening right now that feeds directly into the offline project. Tana's internal workspace has grown very large, leading to longer loading times and higher memory usage. They are taking immediate steps to significantly reduce the loading time and memory usage for large workspaces. This underlying work is crucial "building blocks" that will improve performance overall and also make the offline experience possible.

Wrapping Up

Hearing these updates makes me even more excited about where Tana is headed! Offline mode is a crucial piece for many of us who need to work untethered. It's great to know it's being actively developed and is a priority for the team.

While the first version might have some limitations, the core ability to browse and edit your personal knowledge graph while disconnected is huge. The focus on the desktop experience makes sense given its capabilities.

So, if you haven't already, definitely download and start using the Tana desktop app to be ready for when offline mode arrives! And keep an eye on the Tana community and future office hours for updates.

What are you most excited about with Tana's offline mode? Let me know in the comments.