Reference — storage, data sources & shortcuts

Understand where your data lives (on your computer, never anywhere else), which external sources feed weather, tides, charts and points of interest, what works without a connection, and the handy keyboard shortcuts.

Where to find it

Storage management lives under Sidebar › Conf › Offline. The universal search opens from any screen with ⌘K (Mac) / Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux). This page is a cross-cutting reference: it does not map to a single screen but summarizes behaviors shared across the whole app.

Hierarchy

Reference
├── Your data stays on your computer
│   ├── What is remembered (routes, settings, logbook, caches)
│   ├── Backup / restore
│   └── Clear caches
├── External data sources
│   ├── Weather & waves
│   ├── Tides & currents
│   ├── Charts & basemaps
│   ├── Ports & points of interest
│   └── AI assistant & web enrichment
├── Offline behavior
│   ├── Prepare offline mode
│   └── Online / Offline indicator
└── Keyboard shortcuts

Your data stays on your computer

What is remembered

What it does: VoyagePilot works with no account and no central server. Everything you create or set is saved locally, in your browser or the desktop app. The app reminds you of this at the bottom of the Conf tab: "All data stored locally in your browser". Nothing is sent to a VoyagePilot server, and none of your routes or your logbook ever leave the machine.

How to use it: there is nothing to enable. As soon as you draw a route, fill in the logbook, or change a setting, it is saved automatically and restored on the next launch.

What is kept locally:

Tips & limits: because the data lives in the browser, clearing site data / switching browser or profile wipes everything — export a backup first. On a shared computer, your routes and logbook are visible to other sessions under the same user profile.

Backup / restore

What it does: bundle all your data into a single file, for example before a long passage, a computer change, or an update.

How to use it: 1. Open Conf › Offline. 2. Click Export backup: a backup file (JSON format) is downloaded. 3. On the other machine, click Import backup and choose that file. 4. Reload the app to apply (a message prompts you: "Data imported — reload to apply").

Options & settings: - Export backup — routes, polars, logbook and settings in one file. - Import backup — re-injects a backup file. An invalid format is rejected with an error message.

Tips & limits: export before every major departure. The backup holds your personal data but not necessarily the full bulk of tile caches; those rebuild themselves once you reconnect.

Clear caches

What it does: free up disk space by removing re-downloadable data (tiles, weather, enrichments) without touching your personal data.

How to use it: 1. Open Conf › Offline. 2. Click Clear all caches. 3. A Caches cleared message confirms the operation.

Tips & limits: Clear all caches preserves your routes, polars, logbook, API keys and preferences — only re-downloadable content disappears. The Storage area shows used space, quota, tile count, weather cache, GRIB files and cached marine areas to help you decide when to tidy up.

External data sources

What it does: VoyagePilot does not produce weather or charts itself: it queries online services (most of them free) and caches the result. An Internet connection is required to fetch new data; once cached, it stays viewable offline.

Weather & waves

Tides & currents

Charts & basemaps

Ports & points of interest

AI assistant & web enrichment

Tips & limits: all keys and addresses are set in Conf › Services and Conf › Charts. Without a key, the matching feature simply stays unavailable — the app keeps working. Overpass is preconfigured; if it's overloaded, switch to a mirror. Sources that need a connection return nothing offline, but the app falls back to data already cached.

Offline behavior

Prepare offline mode

What it does: download everything ahead of time along your routes (forecasts, GRIB, tiles, marine areas) to navigate without a signal.

How to use it: 1. Select an active route with at least 2 waypoints. 2. Open Conf › Offline and check the coverage status (Ready for offline / Incomplete coverage). 3. Click Prepare offline mode: the app downloads 7-day forecasts, the GRIB grid, tiles (zoom 6 to 14) and sea marks for the whole route corridor.

Options & settings: - Coverage validation — check/cross for tiles, forecasts, GRIB and marine areas. - Prepare offline mode — launches the bulk download.

Tips & limits: prepare while you still have a signal, before getting underway. You need at least one route with 2 or more waypoints, otherwise an error message appears. Weather coverage is deemed sufficient from 80% of points covered. Tile preloading requires an installed version (the desktop app or a production build), not the development server.

Online / Offline indicator

What it does: shows whether the app has a connection. When the status switches to Offline — using cached data, the app automatically falls back to data already downloaded.

Tips & limits: nothing to set, the switch is automatic. On a passage with no signal, the app runs on its local version with no update notification; syncing resumes when Internet returns.

Keyboard shortcuts

Tips & limits: the universal search bar looks through routes, ports and destinations, and can also forward a free-form question to the AI assistant ("Ask the navigation agent…"). Results are labeled by type (Route, Dest, Weather, Agent).

See also

• Config Tab — services, API keys, charts, offline preparation
• AI Agent — uses the LLM server configured here
• Weather Layers — data preloaded by offline mode
• Shelter Route — uses the weather monitoring interval