PWA and Offline Use

MIDAS is a Progressive Web App (PWA), an app you can install from your browser. Once installed, you can continue your data analysis even without an internet connection.

Install as an App

MIDAS is designed for desktop-sized displays. Installing as an app is supported on desktop and laptop computers running Chrome, Edge, or Safari (macOS). Firefox does not support installing as an app, but you can use MIDAS in the browser. For the APIs required to use MIDAS in a browser without installing, see Browser Requirements.

Installing MIDAS as an app lets you launch it from your OS app list or taskbar, in its own window separate from browser tabs. All analysis features work in the browser without installation. Installation adds offline use and OS integration for MDS files.

On installation, additional files needed for offline use (about 40 MB) are downloaded automatically. A banner at the bottom of the screen shows the status and displays Ready for offline use when it finishes. If the download is interrupted, it retries automatically the next time you open MIDAS online.

Offline, you can continue analyzing data already on your machine. Operations that need a network connection, such as loading or reloading a file from an external URL, are unavailable offline.

Chrome / Edge

Open MIDAS
Click the install icon at the right end of the address bar
Select "Install" in the confirmation dialog

Safari (macOS)

Add to Dock is available on macOS Sonoma and later.

Open MIDAS in Safari
Select File → Add to Dock from the menu bar

Uninstall the App

On Chrome and Edge, uninstall from the menu in the app window. On Safari (macOS), move the icon to the Trash from Launchpad or the Applications folder in Finder.

Automatic Updates

When a new version of MIDAS is released, the update is downloaded in the background on your next online visit. It takes effect the next time you launch the app — your current session is never interrupted. No manual update is needed.

The current version is shown on the launcher screen. There is no setting to disable automatic updates.

Opening MDS Files from Your OS

On Chrome and Edge desktop, double-click an MDS file (MIDAS project file) to open it directly in MIDAS. To associate MDS files with MIDAS in your OS file manager, install MIDAS as a PWA.

Safari does not support PWA file associations, so this feature is unavailable there. If you installed MIDAS with Safari, open MDS files from Open File on the launcher screen.