About PocketZot

Getting started

DCSS has no app on the App Store, but you don't need one: open pocketzot.app and install it like an app with "Add to Home Screen". Then log in to a WebTiles server and play, or tap "Play offline". iPads and other tablets work too.

Features

• Custom, ASCII-first design to maximize compactness and readability. The default DCSS map viewport is roughly square in ASCII. PocketZot fits the full standard console map dimensions onto a standard iPhone in portrait mode, with a font still large enough to read. Tiles are supported as well.
• Offline play — a full build of DCSS that runs on the device, with no server and no connection
• Chat support
• Customizable controls
• Log in with multiple WebTiles server accounts and switch between them
• Inline tap targets in many menus and descriptions
• Context-aware control sets for common situations
• Spectator mode with expanded map view
• Floating, collapsible monster list; tap for details
• Over 2.8 trillion logos
• Installs as a PWA — add to home screen for the best experience

Controls

The controls are organized into three tabs: @, >, and ?. The mental model is:

@ "micro"

Moment-to-moment actions, including during battle

> "macro"

Actions often taken outside of battle, or after clearing a floor

? "info"

Commands to get information about your character or game

Obligatory virtual keyboard also available.

Gestures

• Tap floating monster list to inspect monsters
• Tap place name in HUD (e.g. @D:1) to toggle minimap
• Long press on map cell to see what's there
• Tap or drag on map while targeting or examining (x) to move the cursor
• Drag level map (X) to pan it
• Tap level map (X) to place the cursor
• Double tap on map to toggle zoom level
• Two-finger long press on map to toggle ASCII/tiles
• Double tap Shift to lock it

Offline play

Tap the "Play offline" card on the login screen to run DCSS directly on your device: no server, no account, no connection. The first launch installs the engine and tile data as a one-time download. After that, games start and play with no network at all, including in airplane mode.

Offline characters get named save slots, a past-games list with scores and full morgues, an editable options (RC) file, and a Backup feature that exports everything to a single file you can keep or move to another device. Saves live in your browser's storage, which the OS can evict under storage pressure: if a character matters to you, export a backup now and then.

Version support

Current stable and trunk DCSS are supported. Versions back to 0.24 generally work; older versions and forks may or may not. In particular, starting a new character on versions before 0.24 doesn't work. Offline play ships its own DCSS build.

Security and privacy

PocketZot has no accounts of its own. Your browser connects directly to your chosen DCSS server over an encrypted WebSocket, just like the desktop WebTiles client. Credentials go only in the login message and are never stored. Saved logins keep the server's session cookie, not your password. The site records anonymous usage counts.

How it was built

Most of the code was written with Claude Code. The design, product decisions, testing, and review were mine.

The source is available at github.com/pocketzot/pocketzot, licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later; see ATTRIBUTION.md for its relationship to DCSS.

Feedback

Please send any comments, questions, or bug reports to pocketzot@proton.me. If you're enjoying the app, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks

My thanks to the following people, whose feedback, feature requests, and bug reports have helped improve the app. In chronological order:

• Tanach
• yfiyjf
• Tremis
• AscendedTourist
• AllRuneOrDeath
• Ralph Hayward
• MudToeberg
• evrim.zone
• invasionofsmallcubes
• aeshna-cyanea
• Caeous

And thanks to everyone else who has sent a kind word. Your messages are the best part of doing this.