SmartCompanion
Open-source PWA audioguide for museums and cultural institutions that runs in any browser.
Open source alternative to:
SmartCompanion is a free and open-source Progressive Web App for delivering interactive audioguide experiences in museums, tourism projects, and other cultural institutions. Visitors open it in any modern mobile browser — no app installation required — and navigate station-based audio tours with playback, images, and a light and dark interface that follows the system preference.
Every aspect of an app is customizable. Institutions fork the repository or use the bundled engraft templating tool to set a title, logo, colors, and icon, which generates a complete PWA icon set at build time. Colors are derived automatically from a background and primary color, and content is supplied as a JSON file that can be hosted externally or bundled into the build. Built-in i18n supports multiple languages.
The built static site can be deployed anywhere static hosting works — GitHub Pages, Netlify, or the paid SmartCompanion hosting service — and the fully open-source version costs nothing except hosting. Compared with commercial audio guide platforms like izi.TRAVEL or Hearonymus, it trades a managed catalogue and authoring CMS for full ownership of the app: no vendor lock-in, no per-visitor fees, and complete control over branding and data, at the cost of managing your own content files and hosting. A service worker with offline support covers rooms and rural areas without connection.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which platforms does SmartCompanion Audioguide App run on?
It is a Progressive Web App that runs in the visitor browser with no app store installation. Supported browsers are Chrome/Edge 110+, Safari 16.4+ (iOS 16.4+), and Firefox 110+; the floor comes from the swiper library used for the station list and image slideshow.
How is an app customized for my institution?
Customization is done with the bundled engraft templating tool. You fill in a values file with a title, description, language, background and primary colors, logo, and icon source image, then run npx engraft apply to build your variant. A ready-to-use example lives in the customization/leon directory of the repository, and the full PWA icon set is generated at build time from the single icon image.
How do I add my tour content?
Tour stations, audio, and images are supplied as a JSON data file. You can host the data file at an external URL or point it at a path inside the repository to bundle the content into the build. With offline support enabled, the bundled data and images go into the service worker precache and audio is fetched by an offline load service that reports download progress.
Where can I host my audioguide?
The built static site runs on any static host, including GitHub Pages and Netlify free tiers, with example apps published on GitHub Pages. Alternatively, SmartCompanion offers a paid hosting service that includes a content management system, continuous updates, security fixes, custom domains, and support.
Is the content multilingual?
Yes. The app ships built-in internationalization support for multiple languages, and the manifest language is set through the engraft values file. Tour content is delivered as JSON, so a station can carry translations for several languages.
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Project Details
Repository details
Updated 10/11/2026, 11:00:17 AM
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