How do I open an HTML file on iPad?

Short answer

To open an HTML file on iPad as a working page, send it from the Files app to an app that renders it with a real web engine, such as HTML Keep. Tap Share on the file and choose the app, or drag the file over in Split View or Stage Manager. The page runs its CSS and JavaScript and stays in a local library for next time.

Why tapping the file in Files is not always enough

When you tap an .html file in the Files app, iPadOS shows a Quick Look preview. That preview is meant for a quick glance, so scripts typically don't run and linked local stylesheets or images often don't load.

On a big iPad screen this is easy to notice: a dashboard shows empty charts, a slide deck won't advance, or a prototype's buttons do nothing. Safari also has no simple way to browse to a file in Files by typing a path, the way you might on a desktop computer.

Ways people handle HTML on iPad

• Quick Look in Files: fine for reading simple static text, limited for anything interactive.
• Hosting the file (for example Netlify Drop, GitHub Pages or Vercel) and opening the link in Safari: works, but the file leaves your device and you need a connection.
• Online HTML viewers: convenient, but your file is uploaded to someone else's server.
• A local viewer app: renders the file on the device with Apple's WebKit engine, without uploading it. HTML Keep is built for exactly this.

If you only need to read a plain page once, Quick Look may be all you need. If the page is interactive or you will come back to it, a viewer saves you trouble.

Open the file step by step

1. Install the app from the App Store (download page).
2. Open the Files app and find your .html or .htm file, whether it is on the iPad, in iCloud Drive or on a connected drive.
3. Touch and hold the file, tap Share, and choose HTML Keep. Alternatively, open the app and tap Open File to pick it from there.
4. The page opens in the viewer with JavaScript, alerts, in-page navigation and printing working as they would in a browser.
5. Close the viewer and the page is waiting in your library, where you can rename it, give it an icon or find it later with search.

Drag and drop with Split View or Stage Manager

The iPad's multitasking makes importing faster. Put Files and the viewer side by side in Split View, or as two windows in Stage Manager.

Drag one or more .html, .zip or .md files from Files and drop them on the app's home screen. Each one becomes a project in your library, so you can bring in a batch of reports or lesson files in one move.

If your page loads separate CSS, JavaScript or image files, drag the folder as a ZIP instead of the single .html file. The guide on opening a ZIP web project on iPad explains why.

Making the most of the larger screen

The iPad is where local HTML pages really earn their place. Teachers open interactive demos for a class, analysts review HTML reports exported from data tools, and designers walk clients through clickable prototypes.

In the viewer's operation preferences you can turn on full screen in portrait or landscape, keep the screen awake while presenting, and turn off swipe-to-exit so a stray gesture doesn't close the page mid-demo.

You can also export a page as PDF or print it for handouts. If a page offers a download, such as a CSV from a report, the file goes to the share sheet so you can save it to Files.

If the page still looks wrong

• Missing styles or images usually mean the page's other files were left behind. See why HTML loses CSS and JavaScript on iPad.
• Scripts or fonts loaded from a CDN need an internet connection when the page asks for them.
• Pages that rely on a server (PHP, Node or Python code) can't run from a local file on any device.
• A file named page.html.txt is treated as text. Rename it so it ends in .html or .htm.