9 power-user tips to get the most out of Arclyst
Most people open Arclyst, snap a couple of photos, and never realize the app does five other things that would have saved them an hour. After looking through the codebase and reading every onboarding tooltip we ever wrote, here are nine practical tips that turn a casual user into someone with a complete, claim-ready inventory in under a weekend.
## TL;DR
Shoot one photo per room, not one per item — the AI extracts everything in the frame at once. Use the Scan Inbox to queue up a whole house in the background while you keep moving. The Coverage Readiness card on the dashboard tells you exactly what's missing before an adjuster does. Label QR codes turn any container into a scannable shortcut to its contents. Share QR codes let you hand a read-only inventory to an adjuster, mover, or family member without giving up your account. Pro users should leave HD Scan on for anything with a serial number. Vision Mode is the underrated feature for "what should this room actually look like" planning. Guided review mode catches AI mistakes faster than scrolling through every field. Keep your free 55-item starter inventory focused on high-value items first.
## 1. One photo per room beats one photo per item
The single biggest mistake new users make is photographing items one at a time. Arclyst's whole-room scan was built specifically to extract everything in a single frame at once — couch, lamp, TV, the books on the shelf, the cables behind it. Stand in the doorway, take a wide shot, and let the AI do the cataloging. You'll get ten or fifteen items from a single tap instead of ten or fifteen separate scans.
If a room is large, take two or three overlapping photos rather than walking around scanning individual objects. The processing time per photo is roughly the same whether the AI sees one item or twenty.
## 2. Use the Scan Inbox to queue everything at once
The Inbox icon at the top of the dashboard isn't just a notification badge — it's a background queue. Select multiple photos at once and the app will process them sequentially while you keep using the rest of the app, switch tabs, or even close the page. When you come back, the items are waiting in your inbox to be reviewed.
This is the trick to cataloging an entire house in an afternoon: walk through every room taking wide photos, dump them all into the Inbox, and review the results later with a coffee.
## 3. Watch the Coverage Readiness card
The dashboard's Coverage Readiness card is the closest thing Arclyst has to a personal insurance adjuster. It tracks which items are missing the things adjusters actually ask for: receipts, serial numbers, replacement values, photos. The percentage isn't a vanity metric — it's a checklist of the gaps that would weaken a future claim.
A good target is 80% before you stop adding items. Below 50%, your inventory probably won't survive a real claim conversation.
## 4. Stick a Label QR on every container
Containers in Arclyst aren't just folders — they're physical things you can label. Generate a Label QR for each storage bin, drawer, or closet shelf and stick the printed code on the outside. Now anyone with a phone (you, your spouse, your kid asking where their winter coat is) can scan the code and instantly see what's inside.
This pays off most for the storage you only open twice a year: holiday decorations, ski gear, the shelf of "I might need this someday" cables.
## 5. Use Share QR for adjusters and movers — not your login
Don't ever hand someone your phone or your account. Share QRs are temporary, read-only links to a specific scope of your inventory. Generate one when:
A claims adjuster asks for "documentation" — send them a link instead of a 40-page PDF Movers ask what's in a particular room A family member needs to know what you own without seeing your finances or notes You're storing items at a relative's house and want a record of what's there
Pro users get expiration controls and per-room scoping so the share window stays tight.
## 6. Turn HD Scan on if you're paying for Pro
HD Scan uses a heavier model that's noticeably better at small text — model numbers stamped on the back of appliances, serial numbers on the underside of laptops, fine print on warranty stickers. If you're already paying for Pro, the only reason to leave it off is if you're scanning a clearly visible item like a couch where the upgrade buys you nothing.
A useful rule: anything with a serial number or barcode deserves an HD Scan. Anything you'd describe as "the brown chair" doesn't.
## 7. Vision Mode is for planning, not cataloging
Vision Mode (the Inspiration Scan feature) takes a photo of a messy or in-progress room and generates a concept image of what an organized version could look like. It's not part of the inventory pipeline — it's a planning tool. Use it when:
You're staging a room before listing a house You're trying to figure out a layout before buying storage furniture You want to show a partner what "finished" looks like before committing to a project
It has a strict monthly quota even on Pro, so save it for moments where the visual would actually change a decision.
## 8. Use Guided Review mode on bulk scans
When the AI returns ten items from a single photo, scrolling through every field is exhausting. The ChipReviewModal has a Guided mode that walks you through one decision at a time — confirm the name, confirm the category, confirm the value, next item. It's faster than the Quick mode for first-time review of a batch because it keeps you focused on one chip at a time instead of scanning a wall of fields.
Switch to Quick mode once you've reviewed enough to trust the AI's defaults for your space.
## 9. Spend your free 55 items on what would hurt to lose
The free tier covers 55 items. That's enough for a focused starter inventory if you're deliberate about it. Skip the obvious low-value stuff (the toaster, the IKEA bookshelf) and prioritize:
Electronics over $200 Anything with a serial number Jewelry and watches Tools and instruments Items with receipts you've already saved Anything that would be a hassle to replace from memory
Once you've documented the painful-to-lose items, the upgrade decision becomes much easier — you'll know exactly what category of stuff you're protecting.
## The pattern behind all of these
Every tip above comes from the same idea: Arclyst was built to do the boring parts of home inventory in bulk so you can spend your time on the parts that actually require judgment. Wide shots over single items. Background queues over sequential scans. Coverage targets over item counts. Shareable links over screenshots.
Use the app the way it was designed and a complete inventory takes a weekend. Use it like a digital filing cabinet and it takes months.
If you're not sure where to start, open the dashboard, look at your Coverage Readiness percentage, and let the missing data dictate the next photo you take.