The emergence of an automatic prompt to a visitor to add your progressive web app to their homescreen is exciting. In the past, Chrome would eventually display a prompt to install a progressive web app, but that has changed recently. The rules determining when the prompt triggers are still valid, but now only trigger the beforeinstallprompt event.
How the user prompt triggers is where each browser can choose a different path. Some of the requirements are defined in the web manifest specification, but the experience is left open ended for browsers to implement as they see fit.
Right now, Chrome has the most mature process. They established the following criteria to automatically trigger the add to homescreen experience:
- Has a web app manifest file with:
- A short_name (used on the homescreen)
- A name (used in the banner)
- A 144 x 144 .png icon (the...