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HYBRID OFFLINE ↔ CLOUD

How a trusted school PC can keep core work moving when internet is unreliable.

Hybrid mode is not a second independent school database. It is an enrolled local workspace that can perform supported core operations and later exchange changes with the school's cloud workspace.

Enrollment comes first

An Admin or Super Admin generates a short-lived one-time enrollment code in the cloud workspace. The trusted school PC uses that code with the School Code and device name. After successful enrollment, the PC receives a device token and downloads the initial authorized school snapshot.

Local work uses SQLite

When School Master runs in Local mode, supported core ERP data is stored in a local SQLite database on that PC. This lets the school continue selected work without a live connection to the cloud database.

Security authority stays in cloud

Local mode deliberately blocks normal local changes to user accounts, user permissions and class/division scopes. Subscription edition also remains cloud-authoritative. An offline PC cannot promote itself from FREE to PREMIUM or create broader access.

Changes are queued, not immediately assumed synced

Local create, update and delete operations are recorded in a sync queue. Multiple unsynced edits to the same record can be compacted into the effective change before push, reducing unnecessary requests and avoiding self-conflict.

Push first, then pull

During Sync Now, School Master first sends eligible local changes in dependency order. If a push failure or conflict remains, pull does not continue blindly. After successful push progress, the device pulls cloud journal changes from its last acknowledged cursor.

Conflicts are explicit

If the same existing record changed in cloud after the local device's base cursor, the overwrite is stopped. The operator can choose Keep Local or Use Cloud. This avoids silent last-write-wins behavior in a disconnected environment.

Local IDs and retry safety

Locally created records use a reserved high ID range and are mapped to cloud IDs after successful creation. Client change keys make retries idempotent so retrying the same queued create does not intentionally create another cloud record.

Local backup is separate from cloud restore

The enrolled PC can download a consistent SQLite backup using the database's online backup mechanism. Browser-based local restore is intentionally not offered while the database is open; local restore is a stopped-application maintenance task so unsynced work is not overwritten casually.

Which features are offline?

The supported offline core includes major EF-backed school operations such as students, admissions, staff, fees, attendance, progress, marks/results, payroll, transport, inventory, library, timetable, accounts-related records, certificates and audit data. Provider-heavy or media-heavy features that depend on cloud-only storage or external services stay cloud-only.

Operational rule: If a school knows connectivity will be unstable, sync before the offline period when possible, confirm the device has no unresolved conflicts, and sync again after reconnection before switching work between multiple devices.