diff --git a/static/index.html b/static/index.html
index dcf4bf5..caa5f96 100644
--- a/static/index.html
+++ b/static/index.html
@@ -5,12 +5,14 @@
   <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no, viewport-fit=cover">
   <title>Canteen Asset Tracker</title>
   <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@zxing/library@0.20.0/umd/index.min.js"></script>
+  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/tesseract.js@5/dist/tesseract.min.js"></script>
   <!-- Leaflet Map -->
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.css" />
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/leaflet-draw@1.0.4/dist/leaflet.draw.css" />
   <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.js"></script>
   <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet-draw@1.0.4/dist/leaflet.draw.js"></script>
   <script src="https://unpkg.com/leaflet.heat@0.2.0/dist/leaflet-heat.js"></script>
+  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/exifr@7/dist/lite.umd.js"></script>
   <style>
     /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        DESIGN TOKENS
@@ -264,6 +266,30 @@
     .status-bar.error   { background: var(--red-bg);   color: var(--red); }
     .status-bar.working { color: var(--accent2); }
 
+    /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+       OFFLINE BANNER
+       ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
+    .offline-banner {
+      position: fixed; top: var(--header-height); left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%);
+      width: 100%; max-width: 480px; z-index: 199;
+      background: var(--amber-bg); color: var(--amber);
+      text-align: center; padding: 6px 12px; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 600;
+      display: none; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 6px;
+    }
+    .offline-banner.show { display: flex; }
+    .offline-banner .queue-count {
+      background: var(--amber); color: #000; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700;
+      padding: 1px 7px; border-radius: 10px; margin-left: 4px;
+    }
+    .queue-indicator {
+      display: none; align-items: center; gap: 3px;
+      background: var(--amber-bg); color: var(--amber);
+      font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700; padding: 3px 8px; border-radius: 20px;
+      cursor: pointer; white-space: nowrap;
+    }
+    .queue-indicator.show { display: inline-flex; }
+    .queue-indicator.syncing { background: var(--accent-bg); color: var(--accent2); }
+
     /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        TOAST
        ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
@@ -456,6 +482,49 @@
     .scan-result .sr-actions { display: flex; gap: 8px; margin-top: 10px; align-items: center; }
     .scan-result .sr-checkin-done { font-size: 13px; color: #22c55e; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; }
 
+    /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+       PHOTO PICKER / GALLERY PREVIEW
+       ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
+    .photo-picker-btn {
+      width: 100%; padding: 10px; border: 1px dashed var(--border2);
+      background: var(--card); color: var(--text); font-size: 14px;
+      font-weight: 600; cursor: pointer; border-radius: var(--radius-sm);
+      display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; gap: 6px;
+      margin-bottom: 10px; transition: all 0.15s;
+      -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+    }
+    .photo-picker-btn:active { background: var(--border); }
+    .photo-preview-card {
+      background: var(--card); border-radius: var(--radius);
+      box-shadow: 0 4px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); padding: 12px;
+      margin-bottom: 10px; animation: fadeIn 0.2s;
+    }
+    .photo-preview-card img {
+      width: 100%; border-radius: var(--radius-sm); margin-bottom: 10px;
+    }
+    .photo-preview-toolbar {
+      display: flex; gap: 8px; margin-bottom: 10px; flex-wrap: wrap;
+    }
+    .photo-preview-toolbar button {
+      flex: 1; min-width: 80px; padding: 8px 12px; border: 1px solid var(--border2);
+      background: var(--card2); color: var(--text); font-size: 12px;
+      font-weight: 600; border-radius: var(--radius-xs); cursor: pointer;
+      transition: all 0.15s; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent;
+    }
+    .photo-preview-toolbar button:active { background: var(--accent-bg); border-color: var(--accent); }
+    .exif-data {
+      background: var(--card2); border: 1px solid var(--border);
+      border-radius: var(--radius-xs); padding: 10px; font-size: 12px;
+      color: var(--text2);
+    }
+    .exif-data .exif-row {
+      display: flex; justify-content: space-between; padding: 3px 0;
+      border-bottom: 1px solid var(--border);
+    }
+    .exif-data .exif-row:last-child { border-bottom: none; }
+    .exif-data .exif-label { color: var(--text3); }
+    .exif-data .exif-value { color: var(--text); font-weight: 500; }
+
     /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        MODE TOGGLES (Add Asset tab)
        ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ */
@@ -542,6 +611,24 @@
     .ocr-result .or-meta { font-size: 12px; color: var(--text2); margin-top: 4px; }
     .ocr-result .or-raw { font-size: 11px; color: var(--text3); margin-top: 8px; padding: 8px; background: #0a0b0f; border-radius: 4px; max-height: 80px; overflow-y: auto; word-break: break-all; white-space: pre-wrap; }
 
+    /* OCR progress bar */
+    .ocr-progress-wrap {
+      margin-top: 6px; height: 4px; background: var(--border);
+      border-radius: 2px; overflow: hidden; display: none;
+    }
+    .ocr-progress-wrap.active { display: block; }
+    .ocr-progress-bar {
+      height: 100%; width: 0%; background: var(--accent);
+      border-radius: 2px; transition: width 0.3s;
+    }
+    /* Offline OCR badge */
+    .offline-badge {
+      display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 4px;
+      font-size: 10px; font-weight: 700; padding: 2px 8px;
+      border-radius: 10px; background: var(--amber-bg); color: var(--amber);
+      margin-left: 8px; vertical-align: middle;
+    }
+
 
     /* ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        DETAIL VIEW (shared)
@@ -1117,11 +1204,14 @@
        TAB: ADD ASSET (Barcode / OCR / Manual)
        ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->
   <div id="tabAddAsset" class="tab-panel active">
+    <!-- Hidden photo picker input -->
+    <input type="file" id="photoPicker" accept="image/*" capture="environment" style="display:none;" onchange="handlePickedPhoto(event)">
     <!-- Mode Toggles -->
     <div class="mode-toggles">
       <button class="mode-toggle active" data-mode="barcode" onclick="setAddAssetMode('barcode')">📷 Barcode</button>
       <button class="mode-toggle" data-mode="ocr" onclick="setAddAssetMode('ocr')">🔍 OCR</button>
       <button class="mode-toggle" data-mode="manual" onclick="setAddAssetMode('manual')">✏️ Manual</button>
+      <button class="photo-picker-btn" onclick="document.getElementById('photoPicker').click()">📱 Pick from Gallery</button>
     </div>
 
     <!-- ── BARCODE MODE ──────────────────────────────────────────────── -->
@@ -1183,6 +1273,9 @@
           </div>
         </div>
         <div id="ocrStatus" class="status-bar">Point camera at the machine sticker and tap capture</div>
+        <div id="ocrProgressWrap" class="ocr-progress-wrap">
+          <div id="ocrProgressBar" class="ocr-progress-bar"></div>
+        </div>
       </div>
       <!-- OCR result -->
       <div id="ocrResult" class="ocr-result" style="display:none;"></div>
@@ -1313,6 +1406,18 @@
       </div>
     </div>  </div>
 
+    <!-- ── Photo Preview Card (shown when a photo is picked from gallery) ── -->
+    <div id="photoPreviewCard" class="photo-preview-card" style="display:none;">
+      <img id="pickedPhotoPreview" src="" alt="Picked photo">
+      <div class="photo-preview-toolbar">
+        <button onclick="ocrPickedPhoto()">🔍 OCR this photo</button>
+        <button onclick="extractGpsFromPicked()">📍 Extract GPS</button>
+        <button onclick="createAssetFromPicked()">➕ Create Asset</button>
+      </div>
+      <div class="exif-data" id="pickedExifData" style="display:none;"></div>
+      <button class="btn btn-outline btn-sm" style="margin-top:8px;width:100%;" onclick="clearPickedPhoto()">✕ Clear</button>
+    </div>
+
   <!-- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
        TAB: ASSETS LIST
        ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ -->
@@ -2494,6 +2599,109 @@
       }
     }
 
+    // ── Photo Picker / Gallery ────────────────────────────────────────────────
+    let pickedPhotoFile = null;
+
+    // Wire the hidden file input
+    (function() {
+      const pp = document.getElementById('photoPicker');
+      if (pp) {
+        pp.addEventListener('change', function(e) {
+          if (e.target.files && e.target.files[0]) {
+            handlePickedPhoto(e.target.files[0]);
+          }
+        });
+      }
+    })();
+
+    function handlePickedPhoto(file) {
+      pickedPhotoFile = file;
+      const reader = new FileReader();
+      reader.onload = function(e) {
+        document.getElementById('pickedPhotoPreview').src = e.target.result;
+        document.getElementById('photoPreviewCard').style.display = 'block';
+
+        // Extract EXIF / file metadata
+        extractExifData(file);
+
+        // Scroll to preview
+        document.getElementById('photoPreviewCard').scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth' });
+      };
+      reader.readAsDataURL(file);
+    }
+
+    function extractExifData(file) {
+      const exifDiv = document.getElementById('pickedExifData');
+      const rows = [];
+      rows.push({ label: 'File name', value: file.name });
+      rows.push({ label: 'File size', value: formatFileSize(file.size) });
+      rows.push({ label: 'Type', value: file.type || 'unknown' });
+      rows.push({ label: 'Last modified', value: formatDate(new Date(file.lastModified).toISOString()) });
+
+      exifDiv.innerHTML = rows.map(r =>
+        `<div class="exif-row"><span class="exif-label">${esc(r.label)}</span><span class="exif-value">${esc(r.value)}</span></div>`
+      ).join('');
+      exifDiv.style.display = 'block';
+    }
+
+    function formatFileSize(bytes) {
+      if (bytes < 1024) return bytes + ' B';
+      if (bytes < 1048576) return (bytes / 1024).toFixed(1) + ' KB';
+      return (bytes / 1048576).toFixed(1) + ' MB';
+    }
+
+    function clearPickedPhoto() {
+      pickedPhotoFile = null;
+      document.getElementById('photoPreviewCard').style.display = 'none';
+      document.getElementById('pickedPhotoPreview').src = '';
+      document.getElementById('pickedExifData').style.display = 'none';
+      document.getElementById('pickedExifData').innerHTML = '';
+      // Reset the file input so the same file can be picked again
+      const pp = document.getElementById('photoPicker');
+      if (pp) pp.value = '';
+    }
+
+    function ocrPickedPhoto() {
+      if (!pickedPhotoFile) return;
+      // Switch to OCR mode with the picked photo available
+      setAddAssetMode('ocr');
+      showToast('Photo loaded in preview — OCR processing ready');
+    }
+
+    function extractGpsFromPicked() {
+      if (!pickedPhotoFile) return;
+      // Browser FileReader doesn't expose EXIF GPS without a library.
+      // For now, show what we have and note server-side parsing is available.
+      showToast('GPS data will be extracted server-side — check EXIF info below for file details');
+    }
+
+    function createAssetFromPicked() {
+      if (!pickedPhotoFile) return;
+      // Switch to Manual mode and pre-load the photo
+      setAddAssetMode('manual');
+      const reader = new FileReader();
+      reader.onload = function(e) {
+        // Convert data URL to blob for manualPhotoBlob
+        const arr = e.target.result.split(',');
+        const mime = arr[0].match(/:(.*?);/)[1];
+        const bstr = atob(arr[1]);
+        let n = bstr.length;
+        const u8arr = new Uint8Array(n);
+        while (n--) { u8arr[n] = bstr.charCodeAt(n); }
+        manualPhotoBlob = new Blob([u8arr], { type: mime });
+        // Show the photo in the manual preview
+        const img = document.getElementById('manPhotoPreview');
+        img.src = e.target.result;
+        img.style.display = 'block';
+        const ph = document.getElementById('manPhotoPlaceholder');
+        if (ph) ph.style.display = 'none';
+        const retake = document.getElementById('manPhotoRetake');
+        if (retake) retake.style.display = 'block';
+      };
+      reader.readAsDataURL(pickedPhotoFile);
+      showToast('Photo loaded into Manual mode');
+    }
+
     // ── Shared: Load settings dropdowns ─────────────────────────────────────
     async function loadSettingsCache() {
       if (settingsCache._loaded) return; // already loaded successfully
@@ -2956,6 +3164,69 @@
       if (el) { el.textContent = msg; el.className = 'status-bar ' + cls; }
     }
 
+    function updateOcrProgress(m) {
+      const wrap = document.getElementById('ocrProgressWrap');
+      const bar = document.getElementById('ocrProgressBar');
+      if (!wrap || !bar) return;
+      if (m.status === 'recognizing text') {
+        wrap.classList.add('active');
+        const pct = Math.round((m.progress || 0) * 100);
+        bar.style.width = pct + '%';
+      }
+      if (m.status === 'done' || m.status === 'error') {
+        wrap.classList.remove('active');
+        bar.style.width = '0%';
+      }
+    }
+
+    function parseMachineId(text) {
+      // Same logic as server-side: XXXXX-XXXXXX pattern → last 5 digits
+      const match = text.match(/(\d{5})[-\s]*(\d{6,})/);
+      if (match) {
+        const digits = match[0].replace(/\D/g, '');
+        return { machine_id: digits.slice(-5), confidence: 'high' };
+      }
+      // Looser: any 5+ digit number → last 5 digits
+      const loose = text.match(/(\d{5,})/);
+      if (loose) {
+        const digits = loose[1];
+        const mid = digits.length > 5 ? digits.slice(-5) : digits;
+        return { machine_id: mid, confidence: 'low' };
+      }
+      return { machine_id: null, confidence: 'none' };
+    }
+
+    async function ocrImageClient(imageBlob) {
+      // Timeout race — 30s max for client-side Tesseract.js
+      const ocrPromise = Tesseract.recognize(imageBlob, 'eng', {
+        logger: m => updateOcrProgress(m),
+      });
+      const timeoutPromise = new Promise((_, reject) =>
+        setTimeout(() => reject(new Error('Client OCR timed out after 30s')), 30000)
+      );
+
+      let result;
+      try {
+        result = await Promise.race([ocrPromise, timeoutPromise]);
+      } catch (e) {
+        updateOcrProgress({ status: 'error' });
+        throw new Error('Client OCR failed: ' + (e.message || 'unknown error'));
+      }
+
+      updateOcrProgress({ status: 'done' });
+
+      const text = (result.data && result.data.text) || '';
+      const parsed = parseMachineId(text.trim());
+
+      return {
+        machine_id: parsed.machine_id,
+        raw_text: text.trim().slice(0, 500),
+        confidence: parsed.confidence,
+        method: 'client',
+        tesseractConfidence: result.data ? result.data.confidence : null,
+      };
+    }
+
     async function captureOcr() {
       const video = document.getElementById('ocrVideo');
       if (!video || !ocrStream) return;
@@ -2970,39 +3241,81 @@
       document.getElementById('ocrResult').style.display = 'none';
       document.getElementById('ocrCreateCard').style.display = 'none';
 
+      let data = null;
+      let method = 'server';
+
+      // Try server-side OCR first with 8s timeout
       try {
+        const controller = new AbortController();
+        const serverTimeout = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 8000);
         const formData = new FormData();
         formData.append('file', blob, 'sticker.jpg');
-        const data = await api('/api/ocr', { method: 'POST', body: formData });
-
-        const el = document.getElementById('ocrResult');
-        el.style.display = 'block';
-
-        if (data.machine_id) {
-          const confLabel = data.confidence === 'high' ? '✅ High confidence' :
-            data.confidence === 'low' ? '⚠️ Low confidence' : '';
-          el.innerHTML = `
-            <div class="or-id">${esc(data.machine_id)}</div>
-            <div class="or-meta">${confLabel}</div>
-            ${data.raw_text ? `<div class="or-raw">OCR text: ${esc(data.raw_text)}</div>` : ''}`;
-          setOcrStatus('Machine ID found!', 'success');
-
-          // Show quick create form
-          document.getElementById('ocrMachineId').value = data.machine_id;
-          document.getElementById('ocrName').value = '';
-          populateCategorySelect('ocrCatSelect');
-          document.getElementById('ocrStatus').value = 'active';
-          document.getElementById('ocrCreateCard').style.display = 'block';
-          document.getElementById('ocrName').focus();
+        const res = await fetch('/api/ocr', {
+          method: 'POST',
+          body: formData,
+          signal: controller.signal,
+          headers: AppState.authToken
+            ? { 'Authorization': 'Bearer ' + AppState.authToken }
+            : {},
+        });
+        clearTimeout(serverTimeout);
+        if (res.ok) {
+          data = await res.json();
+          data.method = 'server';
         } else {
-          el.innerHTML = `
-            <div style="font-size:16px;font-weight:600;color:var(--red);">No machine ID detected</div>
-            <div class="or-meta">Try again with better lighting and focus on the sticker.</div>
-            ${data.raw_text ? `<div class="or-raw">OCR text: ${esc(data.raw_text)}</div>` : ''}`;
-          setOcrStatus('No machine ID found — try again', 'error');
+          throw new Error('Server returned ' + res.status);
         }
-      } catch (e) {
-        setOcrStatus('OCR failed: ' + e.message, 'error');
+      } catch (serverErr) {
+        // Server failed or timed out — fall back to client-side Tesseract.js
+        setOcrStatus('Server unavailable — using offline OCR...', 'working');
+        // Show offline badge in status
+        const statusEl = document.getElementById('ocrStatus');
+        if (statusEl) {
+          statusEl.innerHTML = 'Server unavailable — <span class="offline-badge">📡 Offline OCR</span>';
+          statusEl.className = 'status-bar working';
+        }
+        try {
+          data = await ocrImageClient(blob);
+          method = 'client';
+        } catch (clientErr) {
+          setOcrStatus('OCR failed: ' + clientErr.message, 'error');
+          return;
+        }
+      }
+
+      // Reset status bar innerHTML from offline badge if server succeeded
+      if (method === 'server') {
+        setOcrStatus('Processing OCR...', 'working');
+      }
+
+      const el = document.getElementById('ocrResult');
+      el.style.display = 'block';
+
+      if (data.machine_id) {
+        const methodBadge = data.method === 'client'
+          ? '<span class="offline-badge">📡 Offline OCR</span>'
+          : '';
+        const confLabel = data.confidence === 'high' ? '✅ High confidence' :
+          data.confidence === 'low' ? '⚠️ Low confidence' : '';
+        el.innerHTML = `
+          <div class="or-id">${esc(data.machine_id)}${methodBadge}</div>
+          <div class="or-meta">${confLabel}</div>
+          ${data.raw_text ? `<div class="or-raw">OCR text: ${esc(data.raw_text)}</div>` : ''}`;
+        setOcrStatus('Machine ID found!', 'success');
+
+        // Show quick create form
+        document.getElementById('ocrMachineId').value = data.machine_id;
+        document.getElementById('ocrName').value = '';
+        populateCategorySelect('ocrCatSelect');
+        document.getElementById('ocrStatus').value = 'active';
+        document.getElementById('ocrCreateCard').style.display = 'block';
+        document.getElementById('ocrName').focus();
+      } else {
+        el.innerHTML = `
+          <div style="font-size:16px;font-weight:600;color:var(--red);">No machine ID detected</div>
+          <div class="or-meta">Try again with better lighting and focus on the sticker.</div>
+          ${data.raw_text ? `<div class="or-raw">OCR text: ${esc(data.raw_text)}</div>` : ''}`;
+        setOcrStatus('No machine ID found — try again', 'error');
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/static/sw.js b/static/sw.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e1862b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/static/sw.js
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+// Canteen Asset Tracker — Service Worker
+// Caches app shell + CDN deps. Network-first for API, cache fallback for static.
+// ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
+
+const CACHE_NAME = 'canteen-v1';
+
+// App shell — core resources needed to boot the PWA
+const APP_SHELL = [
+  '/',
+  '/index.html',
+];
+
+// CDN resources we want cached for offline resilience
+const CDN_URLS = [
+  'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@zxing/library@0.20.0/umd/index.min.js',
+  'https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.css',
+  'https://unpkg.com/leaflet-draw@1.0.4/dist/leaflet.draw.css',
+  'https://unpkg.com/leaflet@1.9.4/dist/leaflet.js',
+  'https://unpkg.com/leaflet-draw@1.0.4/dist/leaflet.draw.js',
+  'https://unpkg.com/leaflet.heat@0.2.0/dist/leaflet-heat.js',
+];
+
+// ── Install: pre-cache app shell + CDN resources ──────────────────────────
+
+self.addEventListener('install', (event) => {
+  console.log('[SW] Install — caching app shell + CDN assets');
+  event.waitUntil(
+    caches.open(CACHE_NAME).then((cache) => {
+      return cache.addAll([...APP_SHELL, ...CDN_URLS]).catch((err) => {
+        console.warn('[SW] Some resources failed to cache (non-fatal):', err.message);
+      });
+    })
+  );
+  // Activate immediately — don't wait for old SW to release
+  self.skipWaiting();
+});
+
+// ── Activate: purge old caches ────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+self.addEventListener('activate', (event) => {
+  console.log('[SW] Activate — purging old caches');
+  event.waitUntil(
+    caches.keys().then((keys) => {
+      return Promise.all(
+        keys.filter((k) => k !== CACHE_NAME).map((k) => caches.delete(k))
+      );
+    })
+  );
+  // Take control of all clients immediately
+  self.clients.claim();
+});
+
+// ── Fetch: network-first for everything, cache fallback ───────────────────
+
+self.addEventListener('fetch', (event) => {
+  const url = new URL(event.request.url);
+
+  // Navigation requests: network-first, fallback to cached index.html
+  if (event.request.mode === 'navigate') {
+    event.respondWith(
+      fetch(event.request)
+        .then((response) => {
+          // Cache the latest version
+          const clone = response.clone();
+          caches.open(CACHE_NAME).then((cache) => cache.put(event.request, clone));
+          return response;
+        })
+        .catch(() => {
+          return caches.match(event.request).then((cached) => cached || caches.match('/'));
+        })
+    );
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // API calls: pass through — main thread handles offline queuing
+  if (url.pathname.startsWith('/api/')) {
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Static assets (local + CDN): network-first, cache fallback
+  event.respondWith(
+    fetch(event.request)
+      .then((response) => {
+        if (response.ok) {
+          const clone = response.clone();
+          caches.open(CACHE_NAME).then((cache) => cache.put(event.request, clone));
+        }
+        return response;
+      })
+      .catch(() => {
+        return caches.match(event.request);
+      })
+  );
+});
+
+// ── Message handler: allow main thread to trigger queue sync ──────────────
+
+self.addEventListener('message', (event) => {
+  if (event.data && event.data.type === 'SYNC_QUEUE') {
+    // Forward sync request to all controlled clients
+    self.clients.matchAll().then((clients) => {
+      clients.forEach((client) => {
+        client.postMessage({ type: 'PROCESS_OFFLINE_QUEUE' });
+      });
+    });
+  }
+});