Getting Started

Navigating Trailkeep

A quick map of the dashboard layout — where things live and how to get to them.

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Screenshot coming soon

Trailkeep dashboard with three labelled areas: the left sidebar (Trip Planner / Pack Planner tabs), the main content area, and the header bar with theme toggle, settings icon, and user menu.

The header

The dashboard header runs across the top of the screen. It contains controls that are used less frequently but matter when you need them:

ElementWhat it does
Theme toggleSwitch between Light, Dark, and System theme
Preferences (⚙)Display toggles — controls what columns and fields are visible in the planners
User menu (your avatar)Access settings, import/export CSV, help, and log out

The sidebar

The left sidebar switches between the two main planning tools:

  • Pack Planner — gear lists, gear vault, weight tracking
  • Trip Planner — multi-day itineraries, waypoints, GPX routes, safety

Pack Planner comes first in the tab order, matching the natural planning sequence: build your kit, then build your itinerary.

User menu

Click your avatar (top right) to open the user menu.

The small dot on the avatar shows your connection status:

  • Green — connected and in sync
  • Amber (pulsing) — syncing offline changes to the server
  • Red — offline. Changes are queued locally and will sync when you reconnect.
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Screenshot coming soon

User dropdown open showing: Settings, Import CSV, Export CSV, Help, Send feedback, Logout. The avatar has a green connection dot in the bottom-right corner.

ItemWhat it does
SettingsOpens the account settings panel as an overlay — you stay on the dashboard
Import CSVImport a Trailkeep gear list, Trailkeep trip, or LighterPack CSV export
Export CSVExport gear lists or trips as CSV files
HelpOpens these docs in a new tab
Send feedbackSend feedback, report a bug, or ask a question
LogoutLogs you out on this device and redirects to the homepage

Logout only ends your session on this device. If you are logged in on other devices, those sessions remain active until their tokens expire.

Preferences

The settings icon (⚙) in the header opens the Preferences panel — a set of toggles that control what detail is shown in the dashboard. Changes take effect immediately without a page reload.

Preferences sync across devices for logged-in accounts. In guest mode, they are stored locally on this device only.

There are three groups:

GroupToggles
GeneralDescription, Prices
Pack PlannerWorn items, Consumable items, Checklist mode
Trip PlannerWater sources, Resupply points, GPX mode
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Screenshot coming soon

Preferences panel open showing three groups of toggles: General (Description, Prices), Pack Planner (Worn items, Consumable items, Checklist mode), Trip Planner (Water sources, Resupply points, GPX mode).

Each preference is explained near the feature it affects. Quick reference:

  • Description — adds a plain-text description field to lists and trips (line breaks preserved, 5,000 character maximum)
  • Prices — adds a cost field to gear items and waypoints
  • Worn items — shows a worn toggle on item rows; worn items are excluded from base weight (on by default)
  • Consumable items — shows a consumable toggle on item rows; consumables are excluded from base weight (on by default)
  • Checklist mode — adds a checkbox to each item row for packing verification; checks are private and never shown on shared lists
  • Water sources — shows a water source button on waypoint rows (on by default)
  • Resupply points — shows a resupply button on waypoint rows (on by default)
  • GPX mode — enables the full GPX workflow in the Trip Planner: upload button, route map, and export (on by default)

The settings window

Click your avatar → Settings to open the full account settings panel. It opens as an overlay — you do not leave the dashboard. See Account settings for what each tab contains.

Planner toolbar

The planner toolbar sits below the header and is the main navigation control for the dashboard.

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Screenshot coming soon

Planner toolbar showing, left to right: vault/notes toggle button (gear icon), vertical divider, Pack tab button (active/highlighted), Trip tab button, QR icon button, Share icon button.

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Screenshot coming soon

Planner toolbar with Trip tab active, showing the notes icon on the vault/notes toggle and the QR icon button visible between the Trip tab and Share button.

It contains four elements:

Vault / Notes toggle

The button on the far left toggles the side panel for whichever tab is active — it is a single context-aware button, not two separate ones:

  • Pack tab active — shows a gear icon. Opens and closes the Gear Vault.
  • Trip tab active — shows a notes icon. Opens and closes Trail Notes.

A chevron arrow shows the current state: pointing right means the panel will open, pointing left means it will close. On screens below 1024px, the vault and notes panels open as full-screen overlays rather than sidebars.

Pack tab

Switches to the Pack Planner — gear lists, item weights, and the Gear Vault.

Trip tab

Switches to the Trip Planner — trips, itineraries, waypoints, GPX routes, and safety features.

QR button

Opens the Safety QR panel. Only visible when the Trip tab is active. See Safety QR.

Share button

Opens the Share dialog for the active planner:

  • On the Pack tab — share your current gear list
  • On the Trip tab — share your current trip (with an option to attach a gear list to the shared view)

See Sharing a list and Sharing a trip.

The dashboard remembers which tab was open. Refreshing the page or reopening the browser returns you to the same tab automatically.