trainUs/website/content/docs/guides-pratiques.en.md

title	description	slug	weight	date
How-to Guides	Short step-by-step guides for concrete needs: sharing, backup, sync, and tips.	how-to-guides	2	2026-06-16

Install TrainUs as an App on Android

TrainUs is a Progressive Web App (PWA): it installs as a real app on your phone, with its own home screen icon, and runs without the browser's navigation bar.

Important: if TrainUs is already open in a browser tab, the installed app may not launch correctly — the browser and the installed app conflict with each other. Close the browser tab first before launching the installed app.

With Firefox

1. Open TrainUs in Firefox.
2. Tap the ⋮ menu (top right).
3. Tap Install or Add to Home Screen. If you don't see this option, tap More first to reveal all available actions.
4. Confirm by tapping Add.
5. The TrainUs icon appears on your home screen.

With Chrome

1. Open TrainUs in Chrome.
2. Tap the ⋮ menu (top right).
3. Tap Add to Home Screen or Install App.
4. Confirm by tapping Install or Add.
5. The TrainUs icon appears on your home screen.

If the icon is wrong or the app won't launch

In some cases the icon displayed is incorrect, or the app refuses to open. To start fresh:

1. Uninstall the app (long-press the icon → Uninstall).
2. Open Android Settings → Apps and find your browser (Firefox or Chrome).
3. Tap Clear Cache (or Clear Data if the problem persists).
4. If the problem still persists, restart Android.
5. Reopen TrainUs in the browser and reinstall the app.

Send One or More Sessions to a Friend

1. Open the Sessions list.
2. Click the download icon in the action bar to export every session, or open a single session and click the same icon to export just that one.
3. A dialog suggests a file name (e.g. trainus-sessions-2026-06-16); confirm or rename it, then the .json file downloads.

It's a perfectly normal text file: you can email it, drop it on a shared drive, or send it through WhatsApp like any other attachment.

Import a JSON File From a Friend

1. On the matching list (or from Settings → Import Data), click the import icon and pick the .json file.
2. Since the file comes from another user, TrainUs asks you for a short suffix (e.g. "JD"): every imported title will display with that suffix ("Push-ups [JD]"), so it never mixes with your own exercises.
3. A summary screen shows what will be imported before anything changes. Confirm to finish.

See the [Reference]({{< relref "user-guide.en.md" >}}) for the details of each screen and how suffixes are managed.

Share the Home Page as HTML

Once you have a bit of history, a </> HTML button appears in the home page's action bar. It generates a single self-contained HTML file (images included) with your statistics and recent history — handy to email or print, with no active links or buttons.

This is useful for sharing your activity with a friend, but it's mainly designed for your coach: they can follow your training history without installing TrainUs or accessing your data — you just send them this one file.

Back Up Your Data

Two levels of backup, depending on the need:

• Full backup (recommended regularly): Settings → Download Database. This produces a .sqlite3 file containing absolutely everything. TrainUs reminds you to do this if your last backup gets too old.
• Selective backup: a JSON export (see above) of a single data type — useful before a risky change, or to back up only your sessions for example.

To restore a full backup: Settings → Restore Database — see the [Reference]({{< relref "user-guide.en.md" >}}). Keep in mind that restoring replaces all your current data.

Sync Two Devices

TrainUs doesn't automatically sync anything between your devices (no server — see [Understanding TrainUs]({{< relref "comprendre.en.md" >}})). Two manual methods, depending on your need:

Mirror method — one device takes over the other

1. On the most up-to-date device: Settings → Download Database.
2. Transfer the .sqlite3 file to the other device (email, drive, USB key...).
3. On the other device: Settings → Restore Database, select the file.

Careful: restoring replaces all of device B's data with device A's — this is not a merge, it's one-way. Repeat the operation whenever you want to bring both devices back in sync, always from the one you used most recently.

Merge method — keep what exists on both devices

If both devices have their own data you want to keep, use JSON export/import per entity type instead of the full database. On import, use the "Import as Mine" button to avoid adding a suffix. TrainUs then detects items that already exist (same ID) and lets you choose, one by one or in bulk, to replace or keep your version.

Note: the user ID does not sync automatically between devices — only a prior full database transfer (mirror method) guarantees that both devices share the same user record.

Tip: Yoga

For a yoga session, it's often simpler not to split each posture into a separate exercise: create a single "Yoga session" exercise (or one per sequence), with the description or images for the whole flow. Easier to manage, and closer to how you actually practice it.

Tip: Running

TrainUs isn't built for run tracking, but you can run for a set time with the existing tools: create a "Run" exercise with 1 repetition, put it alone in an AMRAP-type combo, and set the AMRAP duration to the time you want to run. The timer will count down for you.