Ark

Noé's Ark for the offline age.

Ark is an offline-first survival computer for iOS and Android. It combines downloadable maps, emergency knowledge packs, secure notes/documents, local search, on-device AI/RAG, cached feeds/weather, and practical sensor tools in one mobile app that remains useful after the internet disappears.

This repository is the beta/open-source development home for Ark. The app is not a substitute for emergency services, medical professionals, official local instructions, or verified field training.

Why Ark

Most preparedness apps solve one narrow problem: maps, notes, PDFs, weather, or a chatbot. Ark's bet is that the useful version is integrated and local-first: one place to download what matters before a crisis, search it offline, annotate it privately, and use phone sensors when the network is gone.

Good references in the same orbit are offline navigation apps like OsmAnd/Organic Maps/CoMaps, offline knowledge readers like Kiwix, and survival/off-grid toolkits. Ark is different because it tries to connect those pieces into one private mobile command center instead of another single-purpose app.

Features

• Offline maps, saved places, route drafts, region downloads, and navigation-data status.
• Downloadable knowledge library with guides, PDFs, ZIM archives, HTML snapshots, RSS feeds, imports, and full-text search.
• Private notes, document storage, vault protection, encrypted backups, soft delete, labels, favorites, and export paths.
• Ask Arky chat and source search over local documents, notes, and curated packs.
• Field tools: compass, barometer, level, pedometer, light meter, coordinates, weather cache, chronometer, diagnostics, and readiness checklists.
• Tracks for field recordings with route history, stats, markers, GPX export, and map overlays.
• Battery-aware settings, offline diagnostics, resumable downloads, and a command-search surface for quick navigation.

Screenshots

Stack

• App: Expo SDK 57, React Native 0.86, Expo Router, TypeScript.
• UI: Uniwind/Tailwind CSS v4, RN primitives, lucide-react-native.
• State/data: Zustand, expo-sqlite, FTS, repository/service boundaries.
• Offline maps: MapLibre React Native plus app-managed offline map/routing packs.
• Knowledge: PDFs, Markdown/authored guides, Defuddle HTML snapshots, Kiwix ZIM archives.
• AI: llama.rn/GGUF adapter path, local RAG, deterministic fallback source matcher.
• Native modules: ark-routing, ark-ocr, ark-zim.
• Package manager: Bun.

Getting started

git clone https://github.com/rodrgds/ark.git
cd ark
bun install
bun run dev

For a development build instead of Expo Go (required for maps, local AI, and native modules):

bun run android:build:dev
bun run android:install

Documentation

• Documentation website
• User guide
• Maps and navigation
• Vault, notes, and backups
• Developer setup
• Architecture
• Native builds
• Release checklist
• F-Droid preparation

Project status

Ark publishes installable Android APKs through GitHub Releases. Core app flows exist, but this is not a polished store release yet. The most important remaining work is native-device verification, security hardening, checksum coverage, and real-world usability testing.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome, especially around Android device testing, offline maps/routing, ZIM reading, download integrity, UI polish, docs, and small reliability fixes. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md.

Security issues should not be reported in public issues. See SECURITY.md.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Third-party content packs, maps, models, datasets, guides, and documentation sources keep their own licenses and terms. Ark's license covers this repository's code and project-owned assets only.