Aura's home screen widget shows your habits checklist, vitality bar and quick stats at a glance, with one-tap shortcuts. Install as a PWA on iOS and Android. Free.
Home Screen Widget — your habits, one glance away
Aura installs from the browser as a Progressive Web App, which means it lands on your home screen with an icon like any other app — no App Store, no Play Store, no review queue, and no separate build per platform. Once installed, the widget view gives you the glanceable version of the app: today's habits as a checklist you can tick without going anywhere else, a live vitality bar, your current streak, and three quick stats. Alongside it, the PWA manifest registers shortcuts, so a long press on the icon jumps straight into habits, journal, mood or the widget rather than dropping you on the dashboard to navigate from there. The practical value is friction: a habit you can check off in two seconds from the home screen gets checked off, and one that costs four taps through a dashboard often does not. It works identically on iOS, Android and desktop.
Why use Home Screen Widget
Today's habit checklist, the vitality bar and your streak are visible and tickable without navigating into the full app.
The PWA manifest registers direct entries for habits, journal, mood and the widget, so a long press lands you where you meant to go.
Installing is Add to Home Screen from the browser. There is no store listing, no regional availability and no update you have to approve.
One PWA rather than three builds, so the widget behaves the same everywhere and does not lag behind on one platform.
How to add the Aura widget to your home screen
- 1
Install Aura
Open Aura in your browser and choose Add to Home Screen (Share menu on iOS, the install prompt or browser menu on Android and desktop).
- 2
Open the widget view
Launch the widget from the app for the glanceable dashboard: habit checklist, vitality bar, streak and quick stats.
- 3
Use the shortcuts
Long-press the home-screen icon to jump straight to habits, journal, mood or the widget without passing through the dashboard.
- 4
Check in from there
Tick habits directly in the widget. The two-second version is the one that survives a busy day.
Frequently asked questions
Is the widget free?
Yes, it is included for every user once Aura is installed as a PWA. There is nothing to buy or unlock.
Does it work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes, and on desktop. It is a Progressive Web App, so the same install works across all three.
What does the widget show?
A daily habits checklist you can tick, a live vitality bar, your current streak, and three quick stats, plus one-tap shortcuts for logging habits, mood and journal entries.
Do I need the App Store or Google Play?
No. Aura installs directly from the browser, which is also why there is no regional availability to check and no store review delay on updates.
Is this a native iOS home screen widget?
It is a PWA installed as an app icon with a glanceable widget view and manifest shortcuts, not a native iOS WidgetKit widget. In practice it opens instantly and shows the same information.
Does it work offline?
Aura is a PWA with offline support, so previously loaded content stays available and check-ins made offline sync once you are back online.