Beta Testing Guide

Thank you for helping test Stuffolio! Your feedback shapes the app before public release.

Getting Started

Install via TestFlight

1. Install Apple's TestFlight app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
2. Tap the Stuffolio beta invite link.
3. Install Stuffolio and start testing!

First Steps

• Add a few items — Start with 3-5 items you know well (electronics, appliances, tools)
• Try the new Add Item flow — Choose Photo (uses AI), Barcode, or Manual entry
• Enable iCloud sync (optional) — Test syncing between devices if you have multiple Apple devices
• Explore AI assistance — Try Stuff Scout, AI Product Assistant, and the new Current Price lookup (runs only when you ask)

What to Test

Focus your testing on these priority areas:

AI assistance when you ask — silent when you don’t.

Stuffolio includes AI assistance that runs only when you explicitly request it. There is no background analysis, no passive monitoring, and no automatic data sharing.

New in Build 36 — Release Polish Pass

Build 36 is the final polish pass before App Store submission. No new features — 12 small UX, copy, and keyboard-behavior fixes from the release-window audit. If you've been testing earlier builds, please re-exercise the flows below and report anything that regressed.

What changed

• Stuff Scout "Almost" refine button now surfaces inline — When Scout returns a low-confidence result, the "Almost, I can add more details" CTA appears directly under the confidence gate instead of buried at the bottom of the result page
• Scout asking-price results now explain themselves honestly — Results with only asking-price data (no sold-price comps) now read: "Asking prices only. Actual sold-price data for items like this isn't publicly available." Replaces the older copy that was vague about why the range was a range
• Keyboard dismisses on scroll — Bookmark notes (Scout History) and Loan Item view no longer trap the keyboard over the field you're typing in. Swipe down to dismiss
• macOS: Escape closes the Go To search — Pressing Esc while the Go To field is focused now closes it cleanly
• Warranty status: "Expired Expired" stutter fixed — Accessibility labels for expired warranties no longer double the word
• Duplicate theme toggle removed from Scout result page — Was rendering twice in some layouts
• Claim Prep button hidden for 1.0 — Hidden until the underlying flow ships in a later update; was visible but non-functional

Documentation & copy fixes

• Privacy policy copyright updated (now © 2026)
• Quick Start guide copyright updated
• App Store description corrected to accurately reflect in-app purchases

Recently Shipped (Builds 31-33)

If you're new to the beta or skipped a few builds, here's what landed in the prior three builds — a redesigned Home tab, major Stuff Scout improvements, a new Recreation category, 38 data safety fixes, and extensive UI polish.

Added in Build 32 & 33

• Recreation category (NEW): Add boats, RVs, ATVs, and other recreational vehicles as their own category
• Price Watch baseline: Inaccurate baselines corrected; Scout valuations now flow to Price Watch reliably
• Coverage warnings: Items whose replacement cost has grown stale now surface a warning in coverage
• Legacy Wishes thumbnails: Item thumbnails now appear in the Create Wish card
• AI Assistant refresh: AI Assistant now uses the same card design as the rest of the app
• Prices in your local format: Add and Edit forms format prices the way your region does
• Maintenance setup sheet: Redesigned for clarity; category selection bug fixed
• Scout progress counter: The progress view now reflects the real number of steps, not a padded one
• Fixed: Scout maker's mark parsing, sort-order visibility, vehicle valuation
• Fixed: Tapping an item in gallery or card views now opens the detail on iPhone

From Build 31

Home Tab Redesign

• New "Three Phases" navigation on the iOS Home tab with reorganized sections
• Tappable placeholder values ("--") now prompt you to add missing data instead of showing blanks
• Activity Timeline card added to macOS Dashboard

Stuff Scout Upgrades

• Confidence Gate (NEW): After scanning, Scout asks "Is this right?" with three paths: confirm, refine with more details, or try again
• Story-First Refinement: Large "Tell us what you know" text area appears first when refining, with structured fields (maker's mark, serial number, era) collapsed below as optional extras
• Smarter Context Evaluation: The AI now evaluates your notes critically. Specific facts (artist names, serial numbers, museum attributions) are verified against visual evidence. Speculative notes ("I think it might be...") are treated as hypotheses to investigate, not facts to confirm
• Category-Aware Hints: Scout suggests what details would help based on the item type (e.g., "Look for maker's marks" for antiques vs. "Find the model number" for modern items)
• Refinement History: See how each round of added details improved the identification and valuation
• Category-Specific Valuation: Price verification now routes to the marketplaces that actually sell what the item is, instead of generic listings.
• Research Tips: Scout now suggests specific subreddits, forums, reference databases, and YouTube channels relevant to your item's category
• Fixed: Scout no longer dismisses when rotating your iPhone
• Fixed: History recall now loads complete results including all text sections

Item Detail Pane Redesign

• Dense key-value layout replaces the old card-heavy design for reference data (serial numbers, model numbers, dates)
• Status cards (warranty, recalls) remain prominent; static facts use clean rows
• Warranty progress bar with coverage phase hints
• Support section redesigned

Data Safety (38 Fixes)

• Vanishing fields fixed: 38 fields that could be edited in forms but never displayed in item detail are now visible
• Confirmation dialogs added when dismissing sheets with unsaved changes (notes, beneficiary forms, notification settings)
• Backup restore crash fixed, conflict resolution data loss prevented
• Safe deletion paths for donation records with external storage
• IRS threshold-gated donation confirmation for required tax documentation
• CSV import now runs asynchronously with cancel and progress indicator

Visual Polish

• Category colors: all 25 product categories now have distinct colorblind-safe card colors
• Insights card pattern applied consistently across 16 files (solid color backgrounds, white text, translucent icon circles)
• New app icon
• Adaptive font scaling for macOS desktop readability
• Multi-photo library picker: select multiple photos at once for Scout or item attachments

Reliability

• Device-only crash on item detail view fixed
• Widget deep-links now route correctly to app sections
• CloudKit sync improvements: 6 missing relationships now sync, edit propagation between devices fixed
• PDF export runs asynchronously (no longer blocks the UI)

Still Worth Testing from Prior Builds

• Acquisition Types: Record how you got each item (Purchased, Inherited, Gifted, Found) with forms that adapt dynamically
• Scan Depth Options: Try Quick ID, With Pricing, and Full Appraisal in Stuff Scout
• Encrypted Backups: Settings → Backup → toggle "Encrypt with password"
• Send to Apps: Tap Notes, Calendar, or Reminders chips on any item
• Keep, Repair, Replace Advisor: Try with damaged items, look for confidence levels and data-driven recommendations
• Data Tools: Data Cleanup, Batch Categorize, Bulk Price Update
• App Attest: AI requests are cryptographically attested to originate from a genuine Stuffolio installation

Testing Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure comprehensive coverage:

Build 36 Regression Tests

Focused tests for the 12 fixes in Build 36. Please run these first.

• Scout: scan a low-confidence item, verify "Almost, I can add more details" button appears inline directly under the confidence gate (not buried at the bottom)
• Scout: open a result that returns asking-prices only (e.g., a niche or handmade item) — verify the new copy reads "Asking prices only. Actual sold-price data for items like this isn't publicly available."
• Scout History → Bookmarks tab → tap a bookmark → tap into the notes field → swipe down on the scroll area → verify the keyboard dismisses
• Loan Item view: tap any text field → swipe down → verify keyboard dismisses (no longer obscures the input)
• macOS: open Go To (⌘K), type something, press Esc → verify the search field closes cleanly
• Open any expired-warranty item with VoiceOver enabled → verify the status reads "Expired" once, not "Expired Expired"
• Stuff Scout result page: verify only one theme toggle (light/dark) appears, not two
• Item detail: verify the "Claim Prep" floating action button is no longer visible
• Settings → About / Documentation: verify all copyright dates read © 2026
• App Store listing (when live): verify description accurately reflects subscription presence

Core Functionality

• Add items using all 3 methods (Photo, Barcode, Manual)
• Test Photo mode — verify form appears immediately while AI loads
• Verify AI fields fill in automatically after photo analysis
• Edit item details and verify changes save
• Delete an item and confirm it's removed
• Delete an item with photos attached — verify no crash
• Search for items by name, category, location
• Filter items using the filter menu
• Export inventory to CSV, PDF, or Excel

Backup & Security

• Create a plain (unencrypted) backup and verify restore
• Create an encrypted backup with password
• Verify encrypted file has .stuffolio extension
• Restore encrypted backup — verify password prompt appears
• Try wrong password — verify error message
• Restore with correct password — verify data integrity

Family Sharing

• Create a shared household
• Invite a family member as Editor
• As Editor, try to delete an item you didn't create
• Verify deletion is blocked with clear message
• As Admin, verify you can delete any shared item
• Verify item creator can always delete their own items

Price Watch

• Enable Price Watch on an item
• Add a price manually
• Set a price alert with target price
• View price history chart
• Use AI "Current Price" to fetch prices
• Apply Stuff Scout value to Price Watch

Stuff Scout & AI Assistant

• Use Stuff Scout to identify an item from photo
• Test Scan Depth: Quick ID (~15s), With Pricing (~35s), Full Appraisal (~55s)
• Test the confidence gate: confirm, refine, or retry after a scan
• Refine with story-first context: type a narrative about the item, then optionally add structured details
• Test with specific facts (e.g., "Made by Homer Laughlin, pattern K45N5") and verify the AI uses them
• Test with speculative context (e.g., "I think it might be from the 1940s") and verify the AI treats it as a hypothesis
• Check refinement history: does each round show how the identification improved?
• Check research tips: do they include relevant subreddits, forums, and databases for your item type?
• Select multiple photos from library for a single Scout scan
• Use AI Product Assistant for manual/parts lookup
• Try Current Price search
• Verify AI response caching works offline

Data Tools

• Run Data Cleanup analysis on your inventory
• Check quality scores for different categories
• Use Batch Categorize on uncategorized items
• Verify keyword matching suggestions
• Use Bulk Price Update with percentage adjustment
• Use Bulk Price Update with AI lookup
• Test Photo Optimizer on large photos
• Verify optimized photos maintain quality

Accessibility

• Go to Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text and drag to maximum
• Navigate the item list and detail views — verify text is readable and nothing is clipped
• Enable Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion
• Navigate between screens — verify transitions feel calm (no large spring animations)
• Enable VoiceOver (Settings → Accessibility → VoiceOver)
• Swipe through buttons and labels on the Dashboard — verify each announces its purpose
• Disable VoiceOver when done (triple-click side button if shortcut is set up)

Legacy Wishes

• Enable Legacy Wishes in Settings
• Add at least 2 beneficiaries
• Delete one beneficiary — verify they disappear from the list
• Assign items to remaining beneficiaries
• Set contingency recipients
• Test sharing via CloudKit (if family available)
• Export Legacy Wishes as PDF

Keep, Repair, Replace Advisor & AppleCare+

• Open Keep, Repair, Replace Advisor from Dashboard — check recommendations use your real item data
• If you have one damaged item, verify it skips the picker and opens directly
• Look for confidence levels (High, Medium, Exploratory) on recommendations
• Open AppleCare+ Tracking from Dashboard
• If you have one Apple product, verify it opens the editor directly
• Edit AppleCare+ incidents, fees, and dates from the direct editor

Go To (⌘K)

• Open Go To and search for "Value Calculator" — verify it opens directly
• Search for "Settings" — verify it opens Settings directly
• Search for "Depreciation" — verify it opens the tracker directly
• Search for "Cloud Sync" — verify it opens sync settings directly
• Navigate to a section (like My Products or Dashboard) via Go To

Sync & Multi-Device

• Enable iCloud sync
• Add item on one device, verify it appears on another
• Verify photos sync correctly between devices
• Check for duplicates after syncing
• Edit same item on two devices, test conflict resolution
• Test with airplane mode / offline usage
• When inventory is empty, check that an "Enable iCloud Sync" option appears

How to Report Feedback

What to Include in Bug Reports

• What you were doing — Steps to reproduce the issue
• What you expected — The behavior you expected
• What actually happened — The actual result (crash, error, wrong data, etc.)
• Device info — iPhone/iPad/Mac model, iOS/macOS version
• Screenshots/screen recordings — Visual evidence is extremely helpful

Feature Requests

Have an idea for Stuffolio? Tell us:

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• How do you currently work around it?
• How would the ideal solution work?

Known Issues

These issues are already identified and being worked on:

• Price Watch charts — Charts may flicker briefly when first loading on older devices
• Offline AI caching — Cached responses occasionally show stale provider info
• Go To on macOS — Some features already had direct access on macOS; Go To improvements primarily affect iOS

You don't need to report these — we're already on it!

Beta Tester Expectations

What We Ask of You

• Use the app regularly — Daily or weekly usage helps find real-world issues
• Report issues promptly — The sooner we know, the sooner we can fix
• Keep the app updated — Install new beta builds when available
• Be patient — Beta software has bugs; that's why we're testing
• Keep it confidential — Don't share screenshots or details publicly until launch

What You Can Expect from Us

• Regular updates — New builds every 1-2 weeks during active development
• Responsiveness — We read every piece of feedback
• Credit — Beta testers who contribute significantly will be acknowledged
• Transparency — We'll share what we're working on and why

Resources

• Quick Start Guide — Get up and running fast
• Features Overview — See everything Stuffolio can do
• What's New — Changelog for each build
• Support & FAQ — Common questions answered
• Full User Manual — Complete reference

Thank You!

Your testing helps make Stuffolio better for everyone. We genuinely appreciate your time and feedback.

— The Stuffolio Team