we need the option for offline reading

Submitted ⁨⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨adminsforum@hubzilla.org [bot]⁩ to ⁨adminsforum@hubzilla.org⁩

𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼 wrote the following post Sun, 16 Aug 2026 10:55:39 +0200

we need the option for offline reading

This post may be better placed in the DEV Forum but i want to discuss it here first.

Hubzilla is a great system for networking and has the focus on privacy and data control.
What i miss in this aspect is an easy and convenient way to download threads and discussions to a local PC and have the option for offline reading and longtime archiving.
So it should work like Email where we have at the end all data also on a local device if we want - so that we can delete posts from servers and have threads archived on our PC. An offline reader/client would be needed for that.
In my believe this is a really important feature which has to be added to make Hubzilla really the best an unique fedi app/system.

What do you think about that?

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Comments

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harald@hub.volse.no@hub.volse.no ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I think the idea is cool! The data should already be available via the Hubzilla API, so it should be possible to do this without any significant extra work on the server side.
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- chris@im.allmendenetz.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
  @Harald Eilertsen so how to forge ahead here?
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pepecyb@hub.hubzilla.hu@hub.hubzilla.hu ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Spontaneously, I think it’s a very good idea. Above all, it would also make it possible to create something like a local knowledge database.
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pepecyb@hub.hubzilla.hu@hub.hubzilla.hu ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
In concrete terms, the idea would need to be implemented as a combination of an add-on (for ‘downloading’ the thread… a local SQLite database would be perfectly adequate for storage), which integrates into the Item menu, and a simple local server application for displaying and managing the offline threads. A simple local web server would also have the advantage of giving users the choice of which browser to use to view, search through and manage the archive, and it could be designed in such a way that it could be used properly even in purely text-based browsers (greetings to @citc@zotum.net 😉).
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- chris@im.allmendenetz.de ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  @Der Pepe (Hubzilla) ⁂ we have already the option to export content - but we can´t view it locally.
  
  Concerning for exporting only certain threads:
  
  I tried before to clip/download threads with the Joplin Web cipper (FF Browser addon) and archive HZ content in Joplin... it works somehow but not that good... but archiving HZ content with Joplin would still be a great thing if it would work better.
  I find Joplin in many ways a very useful local application.
  
  It would be also great to have the option to export Joplin content to Hubzilla with one click...
  
  So maybe a HZ Joplin Addon would be a way to get both things - an offline reader and offline creator for HZ content... As Joplin has also mobile apps this addon would work as a result also as some kind of HZ mobile App :-)
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  - pepecyb@hub.hubzilla.hu@hub.hubzilla.hu ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I’d understood it to mean that we were talking about archiving individual, complete threads offline. The export function isn’t any help here, as it only backs up your own content.
    
    Joplin is a brilliant application, which I myself use extensively, including with the Firefox add-on. An add-on that integrates with Joplin should be possible, but it would require a thorough understanding of Joplin.
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- citc@zotum.net@zotum.net ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  @Der Pepe (Hubzilla) ⁂
  a local SQLite database would be perfectly adequate for storage)
  
  Why would this be necessary?
  Thought of the e-mail analogy where messages are accessible via 'mbox' format.
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  - pepecyb@hub.hubzilla.hu@hub.hubzilla.hu ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    That was my first thought too. The downside is that you’d have to pack the thread’s items into separate files in a suitable format (JSON would be the obvious choice), which would then also have to maintain the parent-child relationship so that the threads are structured correctly when displayed. SQLite would therefore be a good option, as it is simply a text file (albeit monolithic), and you could easily adopt the item’s database structure from the Hub without having to implement a major conversion to your own format within the add-on. Alternatively, it would also be possible to incorporate an export function into the local app to a specific single-file format (which would still need to be specified), should the need arise.
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abu@hub.alfredbuehler.ch ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
@Hubzilla Support Forum Personally, I don't need such a feature, but it sounds interesting enough to support it. :thumbs_up:
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