Installing Bun Agents as a native app on iOS, Android & desktop

Bun Agents is a Progressive Web App (PWA) — which means you can install it directly onto your home screen on any device and use it exactly like a native app, without going through the App Store or Google Play. No download required. No permissions you didn't ask for. No intermediary.

This guide walks you through the installation steps for every major platform: iPhone, Android, and desktop browsers. Once installed, you get a full-screen experience, fast launch times, and full offline access to all your data. The whole process takes under 30 seconds.

What is a PWA and why does it matter for privacy?

A Progressive Web App is a website that has been enhanced with a set of browser APIs — specifically a Service Worker and a Web App Manifest — that allow it to behave like a native application. When you add a PWA to your home screen, the browser creates a launcher entry that opens the app in a standalone window (no browser chrome, no address bar) and caches the application shell so it loads instantly even without a network connection.

For Bun Agents, the PWA model is a deliberate privacy choice, not a cost-cutting shortcut:

• No app store intermediary — Apple and Google cannot audit your data or require access to your usage patterns as a condition of distribution
• No required permissions — PWAs request permissions at the point of use (e.g., notifications) rather than at install time, so you only grant what you actually need
• Open source and auditable — the code running in your browser is the same code anyone can inspect; there is no compiled binary hiding behavior from you
• Instant updates — when we ship a fix or new feature, your app updates automatically the next time you open it, without requiring you to visit an app store

The short version: installing a PWA gives you all the convenience of a native app with none of the data collection trade-offs that native distribution platforms typically require.

Installing on iPhone and iPad (Safari)

Safari on iOS is the only browser on iPhone that supports installing PWAs to the home screen. Make sure you are using Safari specifically — Chrome and Firefox on iOS do not expose the "Add to Home Screen" option for PWAs due to Apple's platform restrictions.

1. 1
   Open Safari and navigate to app.bunagents.com The site will load in your browser as normal. You do not need to sign in first.
2. 2
   Tap the Share button This is the box-with-arrow-up icon in the Safari toolbar — at the bottom of the screen on iPhone, or at the top on iPad.
3. 3
   Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen" The share sheet will appear. Scroll the list of actions until you see "Add to Home Screen" with a plus icon, then tap it.
4. 4
   Confirm the name and tap "Add" You can edit the name that appears under the icon on your home screen. The default "Bun Agents" is fine. Tap "Add" in the top-right corner.
5. 5
   Open from your home screen Find the Bun Agents icon on your home screen and tap it. It opens in full-screen mode with no Safari UI visible.

Note for iOS 16.4+: Apple added push notification support for PWAs in iOS 16.4. If you want reminders for habits or tasks, you can enable notifications from within the Bun Agents settings after installation.

Installing on Android (Chrome)

Android has excellent PWA support across Chrome and most Chromium-based browsers. Chrome will often show an automatic install prompt (a bottom sheet asking if you want to install the app) when it detects a well-formed PWA. If the prompt does not appear automatically, you can trigger it manually.

1. 1
   Open Chrome and go to app.bunagents.com Samsung Internet and Edge on Android also support PWA installation through the same method.
2. 2
   Accept the install prompt if it appears Chrome may show a bottom sheet saying "Add Bun Agents to Home screen." Tap "Install" to proceed immediately.
3. 3
   Or: tap the three-dot menu → "Add to Home screen" If no prompt appeared, open Chrome's menu (three vertical dots, top-right), then select "Add to Home screen." Confirm the name and tap "Add."
4. 4
   Find the icon in your app drawer or home screen Android may place the icon in your app drawer as well as your home screen, depending on your launcher settings.

Installing on desktop (Chrome, Edge, and Arc)

On desktop, PWA installation works through the address bar install icon. Chrome and Edge both show this automatically when visiting a site that qualifies as an installable PWA.

1. 1
   Open Chrome or Edge and visit app.bunagents.com The site must load fully before the install icon appears.
2. 2
   Click the install icon in the address bar In Chrome, look for a computer-with-down-arrow icon at the right end of the address bar. In Edge, it is a similar icon with a "+" symbol. Click it.
3. 3
   Click "Install" in the dialog A small dialog will appear confirming the app name and icon. Click "Install." The app opens immediately in its own window.
4. 4
   Pin to taskbar or dock (optional) After installation, Chrome and Edge offer to pin the app to your taskbar (Windows) or dock (macOS). This gives you one-click access from anywhere.

On macOS with Safari, you can also add Bun Agents to the Dock via File → Add to Dock. This requires Safari 17+ on macOS Sonoma or later.

What you get after installing

Once installed, Bun Agents behaves like a native application in every practical sense. Here is what changes compared to running it in a browser tab:

• Full-screen mode — no browser toolbar, tab bar, or address bar. The entire screen is your app.
• Home screen icon — launches directly from your home screen or app drawer, just like any other app
• Offline access — all your data is stored locally via OPFS-backed SQLite. The app works fully without a network connection
• Fast launch — the app shell is cached by the service worker and loads in under a second, even on slow connections
• Standalone window on desktop — the app opens in its own window, separate from your browser, and appears in Alt+Tab / Cmd+Tab as its own entry
• Optional notifications — grant notification permission inside the app to receive habit reminders and task nudges

PWA vs native app: a direct comparison

Troubleshooting common installation issues

How updates work automatically

One of the advantages of the PWA model is that updates deploy silently and automatically. Here is how it works under the hood:

Bun Agents registers a service worker — a script that runs in the background even when the app is not open. The service worker intercepts network requests and serves cached assets, which is what makes the app work offline. When we ship an update, the service worker detects that the cached files have changed and downloads the new version in the background.

The next time you open the app, the updated version is already cached and ready. You will see a brief notification at the top of the screen saying "App updated" — and that's it. No manual update step, no app store review process, no waiting. Critical bug fixes reach every user within minutes of deployment.

This is fundamentally different from native apps, where updates require you to visit the App Store or Play Store, wait for the update to download, and sometimes restart your device. With a PWA, your app is always current.

Ready to install? Head to app.bunagents.com and follow the steps for your device. If you run into any issues not covered here, reach out at hello@bunagents.com — we reply to every message.