HabitatLens on a Chromebook

The web edition is the same HabitatLens desktop app, inside the browser. It works on Chromebooks and on any computer with Chrome or Edge. You don't install R or anything else.

1. Open it and install it

1. In Chrome, open app.gethabitatlens.app.
2. In the address bar, click the install icon (a screen with an arrow) and choose Install. HabitatLens appears in the Launcher like any other app.
3. Installed, it opens offline and keeps your data. Used only as a web page, Chrome may clear its data when space runs low, so it is better to install it and click Ask the browser to keep it in Settings → Get ready for the field.

Your data stays in this browser on this computer; nothing is uploaded. To take it to another computer, save a data file (Save data file…) to Google Drive or a USB stick.

2. Get ready for the field (online, once)

Before going where there is no signal:

1. Open Settings → Get ready for the field.
2. Click Download everything (160 MB). It keeps R (webR), the analysis packages, the model runner and scanned-sheet reading: about 160 MB. Over Wi-Fi it takes a few minutes.
3. When it says Ready for the field, every analysis works offline.

To use the animal or bird detectors on camera-trap photos and recordings, also install the models in Detection models (in FaunaLens) while you are online.

3. Open your data

• Phone backup. Save the phone's backup to Google Drive (on a Chromebook it is in the Files app) and open it with Open file…. You can also double-click the file in Files.
• FaunaLens and SongLens sessions. Save them to Google Drive or copy them with a USB cable, then use Open session files… in FaunaLens or Open SongLens sessions… in SongLens.
• Phones in the field. Over mobile data the phone sends its data through the relay; on the computer, open Phones in the field.
• Share from Android. On a Chromebook with Android apps, Share → HabitatLens opens the file directly.

4. R analyses

Analyses (R) works as in the desktop app: choose the analysis, the data and Run. The first analysis of each session takes a few seconds longer while R starts. The results are the same as in the desktop app.

An analysis that runs longer than 5 minutes stops and R restarts by itself (the browser cannot interrupt it any other way).

5. Reports and PDFs

Reports open in the print window. Choose Destination → Save as PDF, then Save.

6. Field (subscription)

• Your own subscription. In the phone app: Link Desktop → Use in a browser. It shows a link, a QR code and a 6-character code. Open the link or scan the QR code on the Chromebook, or type the code in Settings → Field license (the code lasts 10 minutes).
• School or organization. The institution gives a code starting with HL-. Type it in Settings → Field license or in the box on the first screen.

7. What only the desktop app does

Feature	Why
Receiving over Wi-Fi and Nearby phones	A browser cannot run a server on the local network. Use files, Google Drive, a cable or Phones in the field.
Saving a PDF directly	The browser does it through the print window (Save as PDF).
Satellite imagery	Not part of the web edition for now, while its provider (Mapbox) confirms the terms for browser use. Topographic maps work.
Models sped up by the graphics card	The web edition uses the WebAssembly build of the model runner (the graphics-card file is over the host's size limit). It works, but is slower with many photos.
Stopping a long analysis without restarting R	Needs a server setting (cross-origin isolation) that would currently break iNaturalist sign-in.
Signing in to iNaturalist	Coming soon to the web edition. Until then, the iNaturalist page saves a CSV for iNaturalist's import page.

Common problems

• "Out of space". Check the space in Settings → Get ready for the field; you can remove the downloads there and download them again.
• It doesn't open offline. Open it once online after installing it, and check that Get ready for the field says Ready for the field.
• The iNaturalist window doesn't appear. Allow pop-ups for app.gethabitatlens.app.