User Guide

Section 1

Key Concepts — What Everything Means

Treepisode uses a forest metaphor for personal growth. Here's what each term means:

Section 2

Getting Started — Your First 5 Minutes

Treepisode uses a simple, passwordless login. Here's how to set up your account:

1. 1

   Open the app

   Download Treepisode from the App Store or Google Play, or visit the web portal.

2. 2

   Enter your email

   On the login screen, type your email address and tap 'Continue with Email.' You'll receive a one-time verification code.

3. 3

   Enter the verification code

   Check your inbox for the code (it may take a minute). Enter the 6-8 digit code on the verification screen and tap 'Verify.'

4. 4

   Create your profile

   Choose a spirit avatar from 12 emoji options (tree, leaf, butterfly, moon, etc.). Enter a display name (at least 2 characters) and an optional bio (up to 150 characters).

5. 5

   Name your forest

   This is your Vana naming ceremony. Choose a meaningful name for your personal garden — something like 'Enchanted Grove' or 'Morning Light Forest.' This becomes the title of your garden.

6. 6

   You're in!

   You'll land on your empty garden. Tap the 'Plant' button to create your first tree.

Section 3

Planting Your First Tree

Trees are the heart of Treepisode. Each one represents something you want to nurture.

1. 1

   Tap the green 'Plant' button

   On your garden screen, tap the floating action button (green circle with 'Plant' label) at the bottom right.

2. 2

   Enter a title

   Give your tree a name. Examples: 'Daily Gratitude,' 'Learn Spanish,' '100 Push-ups Challenge,' 'Mom's Recipes.' Keep it short and meaningful.

3. 3

   Choose a category

   Select one of 6 categories. Each has its own color and emoji: • Gratitude — things you're thankful for • Habit — daily or regular practices • Learning — skills and knowledge • Health — physical and mental wellness • Creativity — art, writing, music, ideas • Custom — anything else

4. 4

   Tap 'Plant Tree'

   Your tree appears in your garden as a Seed. It will grow as you add echoes to it.

Section 4

Watering Trees — Adding Echoes

Watering is how you grow your trees. Each watering creates an Echo — a permanent episode in your tree's story.

Water with Text

1. 1

   Tap a tree in your garden

   This opens the tree detail screen showing all its echoes.

2. 2

   Tap the 'Water' button

   The green floating action button at the bottom right.

3. 3

   Select the 'Text' tab

   This is the first tab in the watering sheet.

4. 4

   Write your reflection

   Type up to 500 characters. It could be a gratitude note, a lesson learned, a daily check-in, or anything else.

5. 5

   Tap 'Water with Text'

   Your echo is saved. The tree's episode count increases and growth stage may advance.

Water with Photo

1. 1

   Open the watering sheet on any tree

   Tap the tree, then tap the 'Water' button.

2. 2

   Select the 'Photo' tab

   The second tab in the watering sheet.

3. 3

   Choose a source

   Tap 'Camera' to take a new photo, or 'Gallery' to pick an existing one. The photo is automatically compressed for fast upload.

4. 4

   Preview and confirm

   You'll see a preview. Tap the X to remove and try again, or tap 'Water with Photo' to save.

Water with Voice

1. 1

   Open the watering sheet on any tree

   Tap the tree, then tap the 'Water' button.

2. 2

   Select the 'Voice' tab

   The third tab in the watering sheet.

3. 3

   Tap the microphone to start recording

   A timer will show how long you've been recording. Maximum duration is 5 minutes — recording auto-stops when time is up.

4. 4

   Tap the stop button when done

   You'll see a preview with play/pause and the recording duration.

5. 5

   Review or discard

   Play back your recording to check it. Tap the discard button to re-record, or tap 'Water with this voice note' to save.

Section 5

Recording Voice Echoes

Voice is the most personal way to water your trees. Here are some tips:

Section 6

Creating Time Capsules

Time capsules are echoes that stay locked until a specific date. They're perfect for surprises, future letters, and milestone celebrations.

1. 1

   Start watering any tree

   Open the watering sheet (text, photo, or voice — any type works).

2. 2

   Toggle 'Time Capsule' on

   You'll see a toggle switch at the bottom of the watering sheet. Turn it on.

3. 3

   Pick an unlock date

   A date picker appears. Choose any date in the future (minimum 1 day from now). Examples: next birthday, anniversary, New Year's Day.

4. 4

   Create the echo as usual

   Write your text, take a photo, or record your voice. Then tap the water button.

5. 5

   It's locked!

   The echo now shows a lock icon, the unlock date, and a countdown timer. The content is hidden until the date arrives.

When does it unlock?

Time capsules unlock automatically. When you open the tree after the unlock date has passed, the app checks and unlocks any due capsules. The content becomes visible immediately. There's also a daily server-side check that batch-unlocks all expired capsules.

Section 7

Viewing Your Growth

Your garden is more than a list — it's a visual representation of your progress.

Growth stages explained

Tree detail screen

Tap any tree card to see:

• The tree's growth stage and visual
• Title, category, streak count, and dates
• Voice echo stats (count and total duration)
• All echoes listed as episodes (newest first)
• Locked time capsules showing countdown timers

Deleting an echo

1. 1

   Tap any echo to open it full-screen

   The echo detail screen shows the full content.

2. 2

   Tap the delete button

   A red delete button is at the bottom of the screen.

3. 3

   Confirm deletion

   A dialog asks you to confirm. Once deleted, the echo is gone and the tree's growth stage recalculates.

Section 8

The Constellation View

The Constellation is a visual map of your entire forest. It's the second tab in the bottom navigation.

1. 1

   Tap the Constellation tab

   The sparkle icon in the bottom navigation bar (second from left).

2. 2

   See your stats

   A stats bar at the top shows: total trees, total echoes, and your best streak across all trees.

3. 3

   Explore the constellation

   Your trees are arranged in a circle. Each node's size reflects how many echoes it has. Colors represent categories.

4. 4

   Read the legend

   Below the constellation, a color-coded legend shows which colors map to which categories. Only categories with active trees are shown.

5. 5

   Tap any node

   Tapping a tree node takes you directly to that tree's detail screen.

Section 9

Family Forests

Family Vanas are shared forests where each family member plants their own trees in a common space.

Creating a Family Forest

1. 1

   Go to the Family tab

   The third tab (family icon) in the bottom navigation.

2. 2

   Tap 'Create Family Garden'

   If you have no family vanas yet, you'll see this button. Otherwise, scroll to the bottom for 'Create Another Garden.'

3. 3

   Enter a name

   Give your family forest a meaningful name. Examples: 'The Sharma Grove,' 'Ranchi Family Forest,' 'Our Shared Garden.'

4. 4

   Add invite emails (optional)

   Type email addresses of family members you want to invite. Type each email and tap 'Add.' You can add multiple.

5. 5

   Tap 'Create Family Garden'

   The family vana is created and you're taken to the shared garden view.

Inviting members later

1. 1

   Open the family forest

   Tap on the family vana card in the Family tab.

2. 2

   Tap the invite icon in the top right

   An invite dialog appears.

3. 3

   Enter the person's email

   They must already have a Treepisode account with that email.

4. 4

   Tap 'Add Member'

   They'll see the family forest in their Family tab on their next visit.

How the Family Forest looks

Trees are grouped by member. Each section has a header showing the member's avatar, name ("[Name]'s Grove"), and their tree count. You can see everyone's growth side by side. To plant in the family forest, tap the 'Plant' button — the tree goes into the shared space under your name.

Section 10

Your Profile

The Profile tab (rightmost in the bottom navigation) shows your account information.

• Spirit Avatar — the emoji you chose during onboarding
• Display Name — how you appear to family members in shared forests
• Email — your login email
• Bio — your optional short description
• Forest Name — the name of your personal Vana
• Subscription Status — currently Free for all users
• Sign Out — logs you out and returns to the login screen

Section 11

Using the Web Portal

Treepisode has a web companion at your Vercel-hosted URL. Here's what you can do:

• Sign in — Same email OTP login as the mobile app. Your account works on both.
• Browse features — Learn about everything Treepisode offers on the Features page.
• Read this guide — The guide you're reading now is available on the web.
• Share promo pages — Share the Promo page link on social media to spread the word.

Section 12

Frequently Asked Questions