StreakForge Complete User Guide

Welcome

Welcome to StreakForge, your comprehensive habit-building companion! StreakForge is designed to help you develop consistent habits through daily tracking, behavioral awareness, and meaningful insights. Whether you're looking to build new positive routines or break negative patterns, StreakForge provides the tools you need for lasting change.

StreakForge App Philosophy

StreakForge is a habit tracking app, but we hope that it will be more than that for you: we hope that it will be an encouraging partner in real habit formation and behavior change!

StreakForge is designed around building and maintaining 'streaks', or consecutive days on which you successfully complete the actions that you are trying to develop into a habit. However, raw streak tracking can be dangerous. While a streak can give you a feeling of accomplishment and help you to maintain consistency, it can also be intensely discouraging when broken. For that reason, our streak tracking system is focused on developing and improving consistency and thoughtfulness in your actions.

If a streak is broken, you'll be shown instead the rate of success that you've built so far with that habit. You can enable Streak Forgiveness, which encourages you to keep going by restoring the streak if you 'get back on the horse'. You can freeze streaks while you're on vacation, ill, or experiencing other circumstances that require your attention to be elsewhere. And we encourage you to log Partial or Alternative Completions if you're unable to fully complete your intended Action - doing part of the goal is still a big step towards habit formation, and much better than skipping!

Additionally, StreakForge is designed around the idea of privacy and data ownership. Please review our Privacy Policy and know that we have done all that we can to ensure that your data remains under your control! In order to allow you to own your own data and do with it whatever you like, we have included a Data Export option in the Settings page, where you can export your StreakForge data to a CSV file, allowing you to do with it whatever you chose.

Quickstart Guide

Set Up Your First Action:
- Navigate to the "Actions" tab
- Tap the "+" button to add a new daily action
- Enter a title (e.g., "Morning Meditation") and optional description
- Assign a time group if desired (Morning/Mid-Day/Evening/End of Day)
- Tap "Save"
Track Your Progress:
- Each day, mark actions as Completed, Partially Completed, or Alternative Completed
- Swipe right on an action to mark it complete
- Swipe left for more options (Not Completed, Partially Completed, Alternative Completed)
- Watch your streaks grow as you maintain consistency!
Monitor Behaviors:
- Use the "Behaviors" tab to track occasional positive or negative behaviors
- Add behaviors by tapping the "+" button
- Log occurrences by tapping the count button beside each behavior
View Your Progress:
- Check the "Progress" tab to see your StreakForge Score and detailed analytics
- Review your habit consistency and streaks over time
- Celebrate achievements with the Milestones section!
Use Widgets:
- Add StreakForge widgets to your home screen for quick access
- Check and update your daily actions right from your home screen

Daily Actions

Understanding Daily Actions

Daily Actions are tasks or habits you aim to perform every day. Think of them as the building blocks of your routines and the foundation of lasting habit change. Examples might include:

Morning meditation
Reading for 30 minutes
Taking vitamins
Going for a walk
Practicing gratitude

The power of Daily Actions comes from consistency. By tracking and completing these actions day after day, you build momentum and make these behaviors automatic parts of your life.

Adding a Daily Action

From the Actions tab, tap the "+" button

Enter a title for your action (required)
Add an optional description
Choose a time group if you want to organize actions by time of day
If you've been tracking this habit elsewhere, you can enable "Continue Existing Streak" and enter the number of days
Tap "Save" to add your new action

Logging Actions

StreakForge offers several ways to log your actions:

Complete: Tap the checkmark icon or swipe right on the action to mark it as fully completed
Partially Complete: Swipe left and select the half-filled circle for days when you partially completed the action
Alternative Complete: Swipe left and select the checkmark with exclamation for when you did something equivalent but not exactly your defined action
Not Completed/Remove: Swipe left and select the empty circle to clear a log or mark explicitly as not completed

Every option offers flexibility to match real-life situations, keeping you honest about your progress while allowing for life's unpredictability.

Action Details View

Tap on any action to see its detailed view, which shows:

Current streak length
Historical streak data
Action completion calendar
Action-specific statistics
Options to log with detailed notes

This view helps you understand patterns in your habit performance and provides deeper insights into your consistency.

Editing Actions

To edit an existing action:

Tap on the action to open its detail view
Tap the pencil icon in the top right
Update the title, description, or time group
Tap "Save" to confirm your changes

If you need to delete an action:

From the Actions tab, swipe left on the action completely
Tap "Delete" to remove it

Alternatively, you can enter "Edit" mode by tapping "Edit" at the top left of the Actions screen, which allows you to reorder your actions by dragging the handles on the right side.

Logging Past Days

StreakForge allows you to log actions for previous days:

Tap on the calendar icon in the Actions tab
Select the date you want to log for
The interface will update to show that day's actions
Log your actions normally for the selected day

Alternatively, from an action's detail view:

Tap the "+" button
In the logging screen, use the date picker to select the desired date
Choose the completion status and add any notes
Tap "Save" to log for that specific date

This flexibility is perfect for when you forgot to log an action or need to correct an entry.

Time Groups

Organize your actions into time groups for better structure:

Morning Actions: Tasks to complete early in the day
Mid-Day Actions: Activities for the middle portion of your day
Evening Actions: Things to do in the later part of your day
End of Day Actions: Tasks to complete before bedtime

Benefits of time groups:

Organizes actions by when you typically perform them
Enables time-specific notifications for each group
Creates a natural flow to your day
Makes it easier to build routines around specific times

To assign a time group:

When creating or editing an action, select the desired time group
The action will appear under that group in the Actions tab when "Group by Time" is enabled

Streak System

Streaks are the core motivational tool in StreakForge:

A streak increases by 1 each consecutive day you complete an action
The app tracks your longest streak for each action
With Streak Forgiveness enabled, you can miss a day and still recover your streak by completing the action for a set number of consecutive days after
You can choose whether partial completions count toward maintaining streaks

Streaks provide visual motivation and gamify the habit-building process, making consistency more rewarding and enjoyable.

Behaviors

Understanding Behaviors

While Daily Actions focus on consistent, everyday habits, Behaviors track occasional actions or patterns you want to either encourage (positive) or discourage (negative).

Why Track Behaviors?

Increased Awareness: Simply tracking behaviors makes you more conscious of them
Pattern Recognition: See when and how often behaviors occur
Positive Reinforcement: Celebrate progress in increasing positive behaviors
Negative Reduction: Monitor and gradually decrease unwanted behaviors
Balanced Approach: Address both what you want to do more of AND less of

Examples of positive behaviors might include:

Spending time in nature
Calling a friend
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
Trying a new recipe
Acts of kindness

Examples of negative behaviors might include:

Procrastination
Excessive social media use
Emotional eating
Interrupting others
Using negative self-talk

By tracking both types, you develop a more comprehensive approach to personal growth and habit formation.

Adding a Behavior

From the Behaviors tab, tap the "+" button
Enter a title for your behavior
Add an optional description to clarify what exactly you're tracking
Select the type:
- Positive (behaviors to encourage)
- Negative (behaviors to reduce)
For positive behaviors, you can enable reminders at set intervals
Tap "Save" to add your new behavior

Logging Behaviors

There are several ways to log behaviors:

Quick Log: Tap the count button beside a behavior for a simple timestamp
Detailed Log: Tap on the behavior itself, then tap "+" in the detail view to add notes and context
Widget Log: Use the Behaviors widget to log without opening the app (if configured)
Notification Response: Respond to reminder notifications directly (for positive behaviors)

Unlike Daily Actions, Behaviors don't have to be logged every day—only when they occur. This makes them perfect for tracking occasional actions or habits you're still building toward making daily.

Editing Behaviors

To edit an existing behavior:

Tap on the behavior to open its detail view
Tap the pencil icon in the top right
Modify the title, description, type, or reminder settings
Tap "Save" to confirm changes

To delete a behavior:

From the Behaviors tab, swipe left completely on the behavior
Tap "Delete" to remove it

You can also reorder behaviors by tapping "Edit" and using the drag handles.

Behavior Reminders System

The Behavior Reminders system is designed specifically for positive behaviors you want to increase:

When creating or editing a positive behavior, toggle "Enable Reminders"
Set the reminder interval in days (how often you want to be reminded)
The app will track when you last logged this behavior
When your set interval has passed without logging, you'll receive a notification

The reminder system has three stages:

Warning: When you're approaching your reminder interval (90% of the way there)
Due: When you've reached your reminder interval
Overdue: When you've exceeded your reminder interval

For example, if you set a reminder every 7 days for "Call Mom":

If you haven't called in 6 days, you might get a warning notification
At 7 days, you'll get a "due today" notification
After 7 days, you'll receive "overdue" notifications

This gentle nudging system helps you maintain periodic positive behaviors without the pressure of daily tracking.

Behavior Details View

Tap on any behavior to see its detailed information:

Logging history with timestamps and notes
Activity patterns over time
Frequency charts to visualize behavior patterns
Reminders and next due date (for positive behaviors)
Options for adding detailed logs with notes

This view helps you understand your behavior patterns and the context around them, which is crucial for making meaningful changes.

External Interactions

Notifications with Action Buttons

StreakForge features interactive notifications that let you update your habits without opening the app:

Daily Reminders:

Receive a customizable daily reminder to check in with your habits
The notification shows your remaining actions for the day
Tap directly on the notification to mark actions as complete

Time Group Reminders:

Receive specific reminders for each time group (Morning, Mid-Day, Evening, End of Day)
These notifications include action buttons for your uncompleted actions
Tap an action button to mark it complete directly from the notification

Behavior Due Reminders:

For positive behaviors with reminders enabled
When a behavior is due, the notification lets you log it directly
Includes options to snooze or dismiss the reminder

This system allows you to maintain your habits with minimal disruption to your day—no need to open the app every time you complete an action.

Home Screen Widgets

StreakForge offers several widget types for your home screen that enable direct interaction:

Daily Actions Update Widget (Large):

Shows all your uncompleted actions for the day
Tap any Action to mark it complete
Progress bar shows your overall completion for the day

Habit Streaks Widget (Large):

Shows the current Streak length for your Daily Actions,

Behaviors Update Widget (Large):

Shows all your Behaviors
Tap any Behavior to log that behavior

Benefits of Widgets:

Update habits without opening the app
Constant visual reminder of your goal and behavior intentions
One-tap access to logging functionality
Real-time synchronization with the app

To add a widget:

Long press on your home screen
Tap the "+" button
Search for "StreakForge"
Choose your desired widget and size
Position it where you want it on your home screen

Progress Insights

StreakForge Score

Your overall progress is measured by the StreakForge Score (0-100), which combines several factors:

Consistency: Regular habit tracking and logging
Streaks: Consecutive days of habit maintenance
Behaviors: Positive increase, negative decrease
Progress: Improvement acceleration and growth

The score provides a simple, unified measure of your habit-building effectiveness. It updates as you complete actions and log behaviors, and ris designed to encourage progress and consistency.

Progress Charts

Several types of visualizations help you understand your habits:

Daily Completion: See completion rates over time with customizable timeframes (week, month, 3 months, year)
Behavior Frequency: Track both positive and negative behavior frequencies and compare periods
Habit Streaks: Compare streak lengths across different actions with visual representation
Consistency Calendar: View a 28-day calendar of your habit consistency with color-coding for completion rates
Success Rate by Habit: See which habits you're most consistent with, ranked by completion percentage

These visual tools make it easy to spot patterns, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate your progress.

Milestones & Achievements

The milestones section recognizes your achievements, such as:

Streak Milestones: Achievements for maintaining streaks of various lengths
Consistency Achievements: Recognition for regular tracking and logging
Behavior Tracking Accomplishments: Awards for balanced tracking of both positive and negative behaviors
Special Recognitions: Unique achievements based on the specific habits you're tracking

Milestones provide additional motivation and acknowledgment of your progress, celebrating both small wins and major accomplishments.

Settings & Preferences

Appearance

Use System Appearance: Automatically match your device's light/dark mode
Manual Dark Mode: Override system settings for a permanent dark mode

Notifications

Daily Reminder: General reminder to check in with your habits at your chosen time
Time Group Reminders: Specific reminders for morning, mid-day, evening, and end-of-day actions
App Badge: Shows count of uncompleted actions on the app icon

Streak Settings

Streak Forgiveness: Enable to recover broken streaks after missing days
Days to Regain Streak: Set how many consecutive days needed to restore a broken streak (1-5)
Maximum Forgiveness Gap: Set the maximum number of days a streak can be broken before it can't be recovered (1-7)
Count Partial Completions: Choose whether partially completed actions maintain streaks

Data Management

Export Data: Create CSV backups of your data for safekeeping or analysis
Import Data: Restore from previous exports or edited CSV files
iCloud Sync: Synchronize data across all your devices (toggle on/off)
Advanced Options: Tools for database management and troubleshooting

Tips & Tricks

For Beginners

Start Small: Begin with just 1-3 actions to avoid feeling overwhelmed
Be Specific: Define clear, concrete actions (e.g., "Read for 20 minutes" is better than "Read more")
Stack Habits: Connect new habits to existing ones (e.g., "Meditate after brushing teeth")
Use Reminders: Set up time-based notifications to help remember your actions
Celebrate Small Wins: Pay attention to your streaks, even short ones are worth celebrating!
Balance Your Tracking: Include both actions and behaviors for a more complete picture

For Consistent Users

Review Progress Weekly: Check your Progress tab weekly to identify patterns
Adjust as Needed: Don't hesitate to modify or remove actions that aren't serving you
Use Partial Completion: On challenging days, partially completing is better than skipping
Try Alternative Completion: If you can't do your exact action, record an alternative that serves the same purpose
Group Similar Actions: Organize related actions in the same time group for better focus
Log Behavior Notes: Add context to behavior logs to identify triggers and patterns

For Advanced Users

Export Regular Backups: Create monthly backups of your data for safekeeping
Analyze Long-term Trends: Use the different timeframe options in Progress to spot patterns
Balance Behavior Tracking: Track both positive and negative behaviors for a complete picture
Customize Widgets: Arrange widgets strategically on your home screen for maximum visibility
Use the "Freeze" Option: When on vacation or during exceptional circumstances, freeze actions instead of breaking streaks
Try Different Streak Settings: Experiment with forgiveness settings to find what motivates you best

Widget Tips

Daily Actions Widget: Place on your main home screen for quick access to uncompleted actions
Streaks Widget: Great for motivation - seeing your longest streaks keeps you accountable
Score Widget: Perfect for tracking your overall progress at a glance
Quick Actions: Tap directly on action items in widgets to mark them complete
Widget Combinations: Use multiple widgets in a stack for comprehensive tracking

Troubleshooting

Sync Issues

Ensure you're signed into iCloud on your device
Toggle iCloud Sync off and back on in Settings
Use "Sync Now" button to force a manual sync

Missing Data

Check if you're viewing the correct date in the Actions tab
Verify that iCloud Sync is enabled if using multiple devices
Try importing from a recent backup if available.
- We recommend disabling iCloud Synce before doing so.

Widget Not Updating

Try reloading the widget by touching and holding, then selecting "Edit Widget"
Check that Background App Refresh is enabled for StreakForge
Force close and reopen the app

General Performance

Keep your app updated to the latest version
Periodically export your data as a backup
If experiencing persistent issues, try the "Reset Database" option in advanced settings (after backing up your data)

We hope this guide helps you make the most of StreakForge! Remember, building lasting habits is a journey - consistency matters more than perfection. If you miss a day, use our Streak Forgiveness feature and get back on track.

Here's to your success in building great habits with StreakForge! 🎯✨