What's the ETA of offline Trello for Mac OS?

[Ja]

Been waiting for 2-3 years now for an offline version of Trello for Mac OS, when is this going to be available to use.

It's definitely not smart to run important parts of our business on your app if we cannot access them when internet is off or spotty.

Please give us an update on this!

Thanks!

[Michael Pryor · Accepted solution]

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

[Ja]

Thanks for the update @Michael Pryor 

[Monica Fitzpatrick]

So I'm watching a lecture and internet is spotty. I fill in a few lists with information I obviously can't get back and every 5 minutes or so it bugs out and I have to wait and see what did and didn't get saved. That takes time. Then I reload and my work is lost. I'm a keyboard typer, the old fashioned kind. I can't keep up with a lecture on a phone or even an iPad keyboard. Trello has now become completely unusable. Suggestions?

[Eva Galanes-Rosenbaum]

@Michael Pryor  What can we do to change your minds? This seems like a remarkably simple feature that is standard on most desktop software. Its absence renders the desktop app virtually the same as using Trello in a browser—what's the point of the separate app if not offline use?

I will also share that this is the deal-breaker for widespread adoption in my organization: several of my senior management colleagues love Trello but have moved away from it because they cannot use it offline (e.g., on flights, on trains). I have remained loyal but limp along on a Trello Gold license, frequently running out of Butler actions each month, because I can't convince anyone else that Business or Enterprise would make sense.

I came over from this thread, where it seems like the demand exists (since at least 2017!) and many people are abandoning ship for the same reason.

[Michael Pryor]

Hi Eva,

Trello is available offline on flights and trains on mobile devices. 

At the moment, offline mode for the desktop app is not on our roadmap. 

[Eva Galanes-Rosenbaum]

@Michael PryorI appreciate the speedy response, though it adds nothing but further disappointment to this conversation.

I've used the offline option on my mobile phone.

Can you offer any insight into why this isn't on your roadmap? Is the company's theory that the vast majority of your users always have a strong and reliable internet connection while using Trello and that those asking for an offline version are a relatively small percentage of your users? Or that an offline app isn't part of Trello's brand? Or that the demand isn't there for this functionality compared with other features?

[Michael Pryor]

The work required to build offline mode for the desktop app would be substantial. We would either have to rewrite/rearchitect the app entirely. Or essentially write offline mode for the entire Trello web app. That coupled with the number of people that want offline mode for desktop but won’t use the mobile apps which do have offline mode is not currently large enough to prioritize it over other strategic initiatives for our product.

[Eva Galanes-Rosenbaum]

@Michael PryorThank you! This is really helpful. Disappointing, but illuminating.

[L]

Hello @Michael Pryor I understand that resources are limited. Since Apple's introduction of Apple Silicon, it is possible for developers to put their iPad apps on the Mac App Store (in addition to their Mac apps). I believe that this is a solution for Trello. Your team has already built the iOS app. It already has offline capabilities. Just tick the box in Apple's developer tools to allow it to be downloadable on Apple Silicon Macs.