Getting started

Bin by Bin runs on your phone and in a browser, against the same inventory. Most people capture on the phone (that is where the camera is) and browse on a laptop when they want a wider view.

Getting the app#

The app is in beta and distributed to testers rather than published on the app stores. Ask for an invite and you will get build instructions for your platform.

The web dashboard needs no install. Sign in with the same account and you get the same rooms, bins and items, plus a few things that are simply easier with a keyboard and a larger screen: a dashboard that shows the whole inventory at a glance, and a Rooms view that walks it room by room. They make for easy viewing and editing.

Want to look before you have an account? The live demo is the same dashboard against a house someone else already filled in. No sign-in, nothing to install, and it resets itself every night, so there is nothing you can break.

Choosing where your data lives#

The first real decision, and the only one that is awkward to change your mind about later.

Cloud is the default. You sign up with an email address and your inventory lives on our server. Nothing to run, nothing to maintain, and Smart Scan works out of the box.

Self-hosted points the same app at a server you run yourself, typically on a NAS. Your photos and your database stay on hardware you own. It costs you a container to run and some initial setup. The AI is the exception worth knowing: Smart Scan sends the photo out to be read, and search sends text to an embedding provider, both your query and what you type into a bin or item. Everything else stays put.

Both are the same app. The choice is not about features; it is about who is holding your data and who is responsible for backups. Your data covers moving between them.

Signing in#

Under Settings → Connection you will see either Backend or NAS Server, depending on which mode you are in, and a Connect entry beneath it. Cloud sign-in is an email and password. Self-hosted asks for the server address first, then credentials for that server.

The server address is remembered when you sign out, so returning to your own server is a password rather than a setup.

Your first bin#

Resist the urge to plan.

1. Pick one container. A real one: a box, a drawer, a shelf.
2. Add it as a bin and photograph it open. If Auto Smart Scan is on (it is, by default), the app suggests a name and description from the photo. It only fills fields you have left empty, so photograph before you type if you want the suggestion.
3. Give it a room, and write where it physically is in the location field. Overhead rack and top shelf, left of the water heater are both good locations; the field is free text because the truth usually is.
4. Add single items, or let Smart Scan read several off one photo. It identifies and crops each one for you.

That is the whole loop. Everything else in this guide is a refinement of it.

Where to start#

Approach the job room by room. Start in the garage, move to the kitchen, the attic, and anywhere else that needs documenting.

Start with the storage. Move to the bedroom. Where next?