What works offline

What this does: states what Helm Cues does when the venue has no internet, so you can act before load-in while you still have a signal.

Always local, never needs the cloud

Projects and media. Every project is a file on this Mac; every file plays from disk. The cloud is a copy. Live opens only when every file the project uses is on this Mac and checked.
Build, Live, Monitor. Editing, playback, timecode out and chase. None of it uses the internet.
The video windows. The Sequence Monitor and the Video Output play local files.
grandMA3 sync. Runs on the show LAN. Export show.lua covers a desk with no LAN at all.
Sessions on the LAN. Another Cues, Helm Monitor or Helm DJ joins the host over the LAN under Ask or Open, with the 6-digit passcode if the host has it on. A device allowed before rejoins without asking. See Sessions.
Session media. A Cues peer gets the project’s files from the host over the LAN.
TAKE. A standby takes the session over the LAN when the host goes down. See Sessions.
Backups and show packages. Hourly backups; show package export and import. See Backups and show packages.
Stream Deck. Talks to Cues on this Mac only.
An open show. A licence change never closes the open project. It applies at the next launch or project open.

The licence. After each check online, Cues runs with full access for 7 days with no network.
Past 7 days, the next launch or project open says: You've been offline longer than the 7-day grace period. Reconnect and re-enter your key. Settings → Licence reads Offline past the 7-day grace. Reconnect to restore access.
To carry on offline, pick continue in free mode: local projects only.
To restore, get online, then Settings → Licence → Refresh.

The 7 days start from the last check. Launch Cues online once before a tour leg with no signal.

Needs internet	Without it
Push / pull a cloud project (⇧⌘U)	Edits stay on this Mac. `Cloud sync failed: …` with Retry.
Opening a cloud project never opened on this Mac	It is not on disk. Open it online once; after that it is local.
Downloading media a project is missing	They stay missing and Live stays blocked: `Live blocked: N media files not local — download or locate them before going live`. Locate… them on a drive instead.
Media the host has not got	A peer gets files from the host first, then the cloud. Offline, those never arrive.
Uploads	They pause. See below.
Members only join policy	Needs a Helm Cloud sign-in. Switch the policy to Ask or Open.
Pairing a device	Pairing goes through app.helm.show/pair.
A pairing unused for 90 days	The cloud signs it out: `Signed out of Helm Cloud after 90 days without use —` with Pair again.
Updates, Downloads, Help, Documentation	Install the build you need before you leave.
Licence check	Covered by the 7 days

Nothing on stage changes. Playback, timecode, the desk and sessions run.
The Media Library pill reads Cloud offline or Not signed in.
Pushes fail and say so. Edits stay local until a push works. The next push takes them.
Uploads pause when the network keeps failing: Uploads paused — network (resumes 18:42). Resume in the pill tries now.
A file that keeps failing shows Upload failed and waits for Retry.
Nothing is lost. Every file stays in the library and on disk.

Uploads in full: Cloud sync.

Launch Cues online. Confirm Settings → Licence shows full access and a fresh check.
Open every project you will run. Let the pill finish downloading and verifying.
Check the Media Library: no file reads NOT LOCAL or CLOUD ONLY.
Open Live on each one. If it opens, every file is local and verified.
Push once (⇧⌘U) so the cloud copy matches.
If a second machine follows, join it to the session now and let its media arrive from the host.
Set the session join policy to Ask or Open, not Members only.
Export a show package of each project (File → Export Show Package…) to a USB stick, with the current build and the MA3 plugin zip.

“Offline past the 7-day grace. Reconnect to restore access.” — the 7 days ran out. Tether a phone, then Settings → Licence → Refresh.
A cloud project will not open offline — it was never opened on this Mac, or the grace ran out. Open it online, or carry a show package across.
“Live blocked: N media files not local…” with no internet — the cloud cannot send them. Media Library → Locate… each file on a drive, or import the show package.
“Media is still being verified” — not a network problem. Cues checks every file before Live. Wait for the pill.
A peer never gets all its media — the host does not have those files either. Copy them to the peer and Locate… them.
A device cannot join — the policy is Members only, the passcode is on and was not entered, or the host has not allowed it yet. Check the host’s Sessions panel.
LINK LOST on the standby, host gone — after 5 s it offers Host lost — TAKE?. Press TAKE, then confirm. Stop the old host if it comes back. See Sessions.
“Signed out of Helm Cloud after 90 days without use” — the show still runs; only cloud sync stops. Pair again when online.
“Uploads paused — network” — expected offline. They resume on their own, or press Resume once back online.
The desk lost sync, no internet — unrelated. The desk link runs on the LAN only. See grandMA3 setup.