Prepare local intelligence and practical knowledge before you need them.
Apocalypse Mode assembles an offline-ready kit inside your browser: on-device text and vision models on supported Chromium systems, a searchable Wikipedia archive, and an Emergency Box of books and field references.
What “offline” means
You need an internet connection for the first download. Once the model files, Wikipedia archive, and chosen documents are stored, their core inference, search, and reading paths run locally from the browser profile. WebGPU performs model inference on the device; downloaded screenshots do not need a remote vision service.
Large downloads and storage checks are much easier while power, connectivity, and time are predictable. Enable the mode, let every required item reach Ready, and test the readers before treating the kit as available.
Apocalypse Mode does not make every website or WebBrain task work offline. Live pages, hosted model providers, current news, and any resource you did not download still require a network. It prepares a self-contained local core; it is not a copy of the internet.
The Chromium and Firefox builds are different
| Build | What enabling the mode prepares | Ready and Emergency Box |
|---|---|---|
| Chromium, with compatible WebGPU hardware | Starts the fixed local text model, local vision model, and the newest Simple English text-only Wikipedia archive. Model transfers share one local worker and run in sequence. | Ready requires all three essentials. The Emergency Box unlocks when they are complete. |
| Firefox | Provides the offline Wikipedia library, reader, and Emergency Box. The Chromium-only WebGPU text and vision download stack is not shown. | Archive and document controls remain available without pretending Firefox has the Chromium WebGPU runtime. |
If the text and vision cards do not appear, first confirm that you are using the Chromium build on hardware and a browser version with WebGPU support.
Build the basic kit
- Open Apocalypse Mode. Use the nuclear-symbol Apocalypse Mode control in the Settings header.
- Check your storage and connection. The Chromium basics include a 1.55 GB text model, an approximately 770 MB vision model, and the current Simple English Wikipedia archive. Leave additional room for temporary download state and Emergency Box resources.
- Turn the mode on. On supported Chromium systems, WebBrain starts the text model first, queues vision behind it, and starts the required Wikipedia archive automatically.
- Keep the browser open for model downloads. You may switch tabs or close Settings, but Chrome must stay open while the local model transfer continues. Follow the per-item progress instead of relying only on the total storage number.
- Resolve anything not ready. Resume a paused item, retry an error, or free storage. Removing a completed model deletes its cached files and requires another download before offline use.
- Test the kit. Use the vision test, open the Wikipedia reader, search for an article, and open at least one installed PDF. A download is not a plan until you have proved you can read it.
What the local models do
LFM2.5 2.6B
WebBrain downloads LiquidAI/LFM2.5-2.6B-ONNX in q4f16 form for local text generation through WebGPU. Use the nuclear control in standalone chat after it is ready.
LFM2.5-VL-450M
The local vision layer interprets screenshots on the device, turning visual evidence into context without sending the image to a remote vision provider.
The downloaded text model is a run-scoped option for standalone chat. Enabling or downloading it does not silently change the provider used by ordinary WebBrain conversations.
Keep Wikipedia you can actually search
The basic setup downloads the newest compact, text-only Simple English archive. Open Manage archives when you want another language, a fuller edition, or an edition with images. WebBrain resolves the archive’s current version, date, and exact size before installation.
| Choice | Trade-off | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Text only | Smaller and faster to download; article text without the full image payload. | Compact reference, local factual retrieval, and broad language coverage. |
| With images | Uses substantially more storage. | Articles where diagrams, maps, and photographs matter. |
Import a .zim file | You manage the source file and may need to reauthorize access after a restart. | Existing Kiwix collections or archives moved between machines. |
The Wikipedia reader searches article titles and opens the matching article from local storage. Local standalone chat can retrieve compact, attributed passages from the installed archive. When you replace the required Simple English archive, WebBrain keeps the old copy until the replacement has downloaded and verified successfully.
Fill the Emergency Box deliberately
The Emergency Box is a curated local shelf rather than an automatic claim that every document is essential. It groups a built-in communication lexicon, offline Wikipedia editions, OpenStax textbooks, emergency-health references, and field manuals. Search or filter the catalog, then download only what fits your likely needs and available storage.
| Download | What it includes | Estimated size |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | The built-in Universal Basic Lexicon plus 13 essential health, first-aid, medicine, and survival PDFs. | 0.004 GB built in + ≈ 0.06 GB download |
| All | The 203-resource catalog: 1 built-in lexicon, 73 curated emergency PDFs, and 129 OpenStax titles. | 0.004 GB built in + ≈ 12.1 GB download |
Emergency communication ships with WebBrain
The Universal Basic Lexicon uses the CC0 PanLex Swadesh Corpus and is available without another download. It maps 110 everyday concepts across 1,756 ISO languages and 2,064 language varieties. Choose a target language, search in English or the target script, and open a word as a large card that can be shown to another person.
This is a word-level aid, not automatic translation. The source snapshot is from January 2017, coverage varies, and a term may be ambiguous, dialect-specific, incomplete, or outdated. The reader shows missing terms instead of inventing them. Use a trained interpreter whenever accuracy is critical. For broader dictionaries, the reader links to Kiwix Wiktionary—the May 2026 full English text-only archive was about 8.5 GB—and FreeDict language-pair downloads, whose sizes and licenses vary.
- Both buttons show a live estimate for their remaining downloads. Download all follows the current search or category view and skips resources already installed.
- The bundled OpenStax snapshot contains 118 English and 11 Spanish textbooks; each resource card shows its language.
- Individual PDFs can be downloaded, paused, resumed, read, and removed.
- Bulk downloads process resources one at a time so large transfers do not compete with each other.
- PDFs are written to browser-managed storage. Keep the Emergency Box window open during a PDF transfer; paused progress can be resumed.
- Check publication dates. Medical guidance becomes outdated, and professional care should be used whenever it is available.
The PDF estimates were measured from the publisher files available on August 17, 2026. Publishers can replace files, the OpenStax catalog can change, and browser storage overhead is not included. The 0.004 GB lexicon figure is rounded from its 3.4 MiB bundled data file. The Emergency Box footer repeats this warning.
Practice opening the material, keep ordinary emergency supplies, and follow local authorities and qualified professionals. Apocalypse Mode is an information tool, not a substitute for medical, interpretation, safety, or evacuation expertise.
Know where the kit lives
Downloaded archives and PDFs live in storage managed by the browser profile; model weights live in the browser’s local cache. Clearing site or extension storage, deleting the browser profile, uninstalling with data removal, or using a cleanup utility can erase the kit. Removing resources inside Apocalypse Mode intentionally frees that storage.
- Disabling Apocalypse Mode pauses incomplete jobs but retains installed archives.
- Stopping or removing the required basic Wikipedia download prevents an immediate silent re-download; start it explicitly when you are ready.
- Keep your browser profile available and periodically open the kit to verify that the data is still readable.
- For resilience beyond one device, keep independently licensed source files or Kiwix archives on storage you control where practical.
When the kit is not ready
| What you see | Likely reason | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No text or vision cards | Firefox, unsupported Chromium environment, or unavailable WebGPU hardware. | Use the archive and Emergency Box features that are shown, or retry on a compatible Chromium system. |
| Overall status says Not ready | At least one required Chromium item is waiting, downloading, paused, or failed. | Check the status on each of the three essentials; resume or retry the incomplete one. |
| Emergency Box is locked | The Chromium basic setup has not reached aggregate Ready. | Finish the text, vision, and Simple English Wikipedia downloads. |
| Download fails or stalls | Browser closed, connection interrupted, source unavailable, or insufficient quota. | Keep the browser open, free space, then resume or retry. Existing verified progress is designed to survive restarts. |
| Imported archive cannot be read | The browser lost permission to the user-owned file. | Reauthorize or import the .zim file again. |
| Ordinary chat still uses the old provider | This is expected. | Use the nuclear WebGPU control in standalone chat; the local download does not change global provider selection. |
A readiness check worth repeating
- Every required item shows Ready.
- Standalone local text chat answers without a network.
- The vision test completes on the device.
- Wikipedia search opens a full local article.
- At least one downloaded PDF opens in the reader.
- The browser profile still has comfortable free storage.
- You know which capabilities still depend on live websites or hosted providers.
Repeat this check after browser migrations, storage cleanup, large updates, or long periods without use.