# How to use Model Explorer offline, and install it as an app

Source: https://0xr.space/m/how/use-model-explorer-offline-and-install-it-as-an-app  
Published 2026-10-10, updated 2026-10-20, by ZeroXR, the maker of Model Explorer (https://0xr.space/).

Open 0xr.space once with a connection. The site keeps its main files, and the parts of it you have used, on the device, so later, without a connection, the page can still load and the models already stored there open from their cards. For an icon, use the browser's own Install or Add to Home screen option, and Model Explorer opens in its own window without the browser bar.

Offline is a fallback, not a mode. The page always tries the network first, and after the site updates, only the parts loaded since then are kept, so a visit online after an update is what makes the next offline one work. The Gallery, its search, Nearby, share links and Photo to 3D need a connection. There is no install button in the app itself; on Meta Quest the free Model Explorer app on the Meta Horizon Store is the installed option.

## Steps

1. Open 0xr.space with a connection and open a model or two, so they are stored on the device.
2. In the browser's menu, choose Install or Add to Home screen when it is offered.
3. Open Model Explorer from its icon.
4. Without a connection, press a model's card on Home to open it.

## Questions

### Do I need to install anything to use it?

No. It runs in the browser. Installing only gives it an icon and a window of its own.

### Which features need the internet?

The Gallery and its search, Nearby, making a share link, opening someone else's link, and Photo to 3D. Viewing a model already on the device does not.

### Can I open a new file offline?

Only if the reader for that format was loaded since the site last updated. Otherwise it needs a connection to fetch it first.

### Is there an app for Meta Quest?

Yes. Model Explorer is free on the Meta Horizon Store, and the Quest browser opens 0xr.space as well.

## Related guides

- [Why downloading your 3D model needs a free account, and how to sign in](https://0xr.space/m/how/download-your-3d-model-needs-a-free-account)
- [How to sign in on Meta Quest by scanning a code from your phone](https://0xr.space/m/how/sign-in-on-quest-by-scanning-a-code-with-your-phone)
- [How to see and delete the 3D model links you have shared](https://0xr.space/m/how/see-and-delete-your-shared-links)
- [How to share a 3D model with a link and a QR code](https://0xr.space/m/how/share-a-3d-model-with-a-link-and-qr-code)
- [How to open a 3D model someone shared with you](https://0xr.space/m/how/open-a-shared-3d-model-link)
- [How to scan a QR code to open a 3D model](https://0xr.space/m/how/scan-a-qr-code-to-open-a-3d-model)