Help

Capture a card

How do I add one?

Tap “Add something” at the bottom and write one line. Dates, times, #tags and !! for important become details on the card, shown above the field as you type. After you add it, Firsthand tells you where it landed in the deck and why. If you paste several lines at once, it asks before splitting them into cards.

What can I write?

Today, tomorrow, a weekday or a date, a time like 3pm; every day, weekdays, every Monday, every 2 hours, monthly, yearly; #tags; ! to !!! for importance. Chinese phrasing works too, including lunar dates. For now it understands English and Simplified Chinese.

What are legal workdays?

A card that repeats on legal workdays skips public holidays and still shows up on make-up workdays. The holidays follow the country or region in your iPhone settings. For mainland China, Firsthand follows the State Council's yearly holiday notice; for years not yet announced, only the statutory holidays count.

Ranking and the deck

How is the order decided?

Due time first, then the importance you set and the estimated time. Each card shows the main reason it sits where it does, such as “Marked important”.

What's the matrix?

It places every card in four boxes by importance and urgency, so you can see what to do now and what's a quick win.

Play, delay, drop

What do I do when a card is done?

Swipe right, or tap “Play this card”. A repeating card deals its next one by the rule.

What's the difference between delay and drop?

Delay means doing it later: the card comes back on its own, at no cost. Drop means you won't do it, and the card goes to your history. Played and dropped cards can both be found there.

What happens to overdue cards?

They are counted at the top, never painted red. You can turn on a badge on the app icon in Settings.

Reminders and alarms

My reminders don't go off.

Open Reminder check in Settings. It checks notification permission and the settings that tend to swallow reminders. Several reminders in the same minute are merged into one.

How do alarm reminders work?

A Pro feature that needs iOS 26. Set a card's reminder to alarm in its details, and it rings even in silent mode.

Focus

How do I start?

Tap “Start focus” on a card. The countdown shows in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen, where you can play the card or look at it again tomorrow.

Work widget

How do I set it up?

Settings › Workday: choose monthly or daily pay, then enter the amount, payday, hours, lunch break and the days you work. A live preview of the Dynamic Island and widgets sits at the top.

How are public holidays handled?

Pick a country or region under Public holidays, search for one, or choose Off. The data covers national holidays only, not those of states or provinces. For mainland China it follows the State Council notice, make-up workdays included. Working an extra day or taking one off? Flip the “Working today” switch for that day.

Can other people see the amount?

It's hidden on the Lock Screen by default, and you can hide it everywhere. Live Activities and the watch show only the countdown, never the amount.

Widgets, Control Center and Siri

How do I add a widget?

Touch and hold an empty spot on the Home Screen, tap Edit › Add Widget, and search for Firsthand. The Lock Screen and Control Center work the same way. Widgets of different sizes on one screen page through cards on their own.

What can Siri do?

Say “Add a card in Firsthand”, “What's next in Firsthand”, “Start focus in Firsthand” or “Workday countdown in Firsthand”. They're in the Shortcuts app too.

Apple Watch

What can I do on the watch?

See the top card of your deck, then play it or delay it. The work countdown shows there too. Install Firsthand from the Watch app on your iPhone, and the watch gets your latest cards on its own. You can add a Firsthand widget to the Smart Stack.

Backups, import and export

Where are the backups?

A backup is made every day in the Files app › On My iPhone › Firsthand. Settings shows the time of the latest one.

Will restoring overwrite my cards?

No. Restoring only brings back missing cards. It never overwrites or deletes, and played cards stay played.

How do I move from Reminders?

Settings › Move in from Reminders or pasted text. Firsthand only reads your reminders and never changes them. You can also paste text, one card per line.

How do I export?

Settings › Export everything creates a JSON file that people and programs can both read. Share it or save it anywhere.

Contact

How do I report a problem?

Write to manekineko.slc@gmail.com. Include your iPhone model, iOS version and the steps that led to the problem, and we can find the cause faster.