Offline capture
How field capture is planned to work without signal. What can be captured offline, how records queue and sync, and how conflicts are handled. Planned.
This is on the roadmap and not built yet.
On this page
Basements, mechanical rooms, steel structures, rural sites: jobsites have dead zones. A field app that only works with signal gets used in the trailer at the end of the day, from memory. This page describes how offline capture is planned to work. It is not built yet.
The goal
A super should be able to do the common field tasks with no signal, and trust that nothing is lost:
- Write a daily log entry: manpower, work performed, weather, delays, deliveries.
- Take photos with notes and location.
- Draft an RFI or flag a change event from what they see.
- Create and close punch items.
- Record safety items like toolbox talks and inspections.
How it’s planned to work
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Capture without signal
Records are saved on the device first. The super sees them immediately, marked as waiting to sync.
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Queue
The device holds an offline queue in the order things were captured. Photos are kept at full quality until uploaded.
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Sync when connected
When signal returns, the queue uploads in the background. Each record keeps the time it was captured, not the time it synced, so the log reflects when things happened.
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Land in the job record
Once synced, the record is part of the job like any other, linked to RFIs, change events and cost. See Field tools on phones.
What needs a connection
Some things depend on the latest data and will need signal:
| Works offline (planned) | Needs a connection |
|---|---|
| Creating logs, photos, punch items, draft RFIs | Sending an RFI to the design team |
| Viewing job info downloaded before going offline | Seeing changes others made since your last sync |
| Flagging a condition as a possible change | Approving records |
| Editing your own unsynced records | Anything that changes cost or billing |
Approvals stay online on purpose. An approval should be made against current data, and the approver should see what everyone else has changed.
Conflicts
Two people can edit the same record while one of them is offline: a punch item closed on site while the PM reassigns it in the office. The planned approach:
- New records never conflict. A daily log or photo captured offline is simply added.
- Edits to the same field are shown to the person syncing, with both versions, so a person decides. Nothing is overwritten silently.
- Every version is kept in the record’s history. See Audit log and history.
Downloads before you go
Viewing job information offline (drawings, specs, open RFIs, punch lists) requires it to be on the device first. We’re exploring how much to download automatically, since drawing sets can be large and phones have limited storage. Choosing which jobs and sets to keep offline is likely to be a per-user setting.
Security on the device
Data stored on the phone for offline use is planned to be encrypted on the device and cleared when a user signs out or loses access to a job. Company administrators will be able to revoke access. Details will be confirmed as the design is finalized; see Security for our current approach.
Keep exploring
Related across os.construction
- DocsProjects and the record modelHow a job is structured in os.construction, what a record is, which record types the app has, and how links between RFIs, change events, change orders and pay apps keep the story connected.
- Blogos.construction is open for trialsThe app is live at app.os.construction. Start a 14-day free trial: project management and project financials today, with separate company accounting workflows and planned AI agents. Here's exactly what's live and what isn't.
- DocsRoles and permissionsHow os.construction controls who sees and does what on each project, with one permission level per tool, permission templates, company admins and approval workflows.
- PlatformCourse: run your first projectSeven 10-minute lessons on the sample project: RFIs, daily log, meetings, punch, changes and pay apps.
- ExplainerChoosing what to put in the data core firstA migration plan for os.construction: which records go in first, what the import tool brings over today, and what is a file, a manual step or planned.
- ExplainerUsing os.construction on your phone in the fieldHow os.construction works in a phone browser on site: the bottom dock, the app launcher, field tools, and the observation-to-RFI path.
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