Installation

Installation is the moment a PWA leaves the browser tab and becomes an app on the home screen, dock, or Start menu. Getting there means meeting each platform’s installability criteria, surfacing the install moment well, and — once installed — re-engaging with badges and notifications.

These entries cover what makes a PWA installable, how the install prompt works across platforms, and the UX decisions around when and how to ask.

In this section

The install promptbeforeinstallprompt, deferring and triggering install from a gesture, appinstalled, and the iOS difference.

Badging API: app icon badges for installed PWAsHow to set and clear numeric or presence badges on a PWA's app icon using the Badging API, with per-platform support notes for Android, iOS, and desktop.

Desktop PWA installation: Chrome, Edge, and beyondHow PWA installation works on Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS — install UI, window management, OS integration, and per-platform differences.

getInstalledRelatedApps(): detecting an installed native or PWA counterpartHow navigator.getInstalledRelatedApps() lets a web app check whether a related Android, UWP, or PWA counterpart declared in related_applications is already installed, and the verification each platform requires.

Install prompt UX: when and how to surface your install buttonBest-practice patterns for timing, placement, and copy of a custom PWA install prompt using the beforeinstallprompt API, including iOS and desktop fallbacks.

App shortcuts after installManifest shortcuts are only displayed by right-clicking or long-pressing the app icon, meaning they only become available once the PWA is installed — not from a browser tab.

Installability criteria: what makes a PWA installableThe exact criteria a PWA must meet before browsers show an install prompt or let a user add the app to their home screen, broken down by platform.

iOS Add to Home Screen: PWA installation on iOSHow PWA installation works on iOS and iPadOS — the manual Add to Home Screen gesture, what the Home Screen entry can do, and the iOS 26 change to web app mode.

The N+1 install problem: one PWA, multiple independent installsHow installing a PWA is tied to the browser used to install it, so the same PWA can end up installed as separate, data-isolated instances from different browsers on one device — and why the browser that installed it is the only one aware of the installed state.

Richer install UI: enriching the install prompt with description and screenshotsHow providing values for the manifest description and screenshots members adds those values to the install prompt on Android only, versus the browser's default prompt which shows just the app's name and icon.

Trusted Web Activity (TWA): PWAs in the Play StoreWhat a Trusted Web Activity is, how it differs from a WebAPK, how Digital Asset Links verification works, and when to use TWA vs other install paths.

Uninstalling an installed PWAHow users uninstall an installed PWA on desktop and iOS, and where each platform surfaces the management UI, per MDN and Microsoft Edge's own documentation.

WebAPK: how Chrome installs PWAs on AndroidWhat a WebAPK is, how Chrome mints and updates it, what capabilities it unlocks compared to a web shortcut, and its limitations.

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