iPhone (Safari)

1. Open app.apiaryhq.com in Safari.
2. Tap the ··· (more options) button next to the address bar.
3. In the sheet that opens, tap View More (the down arrow) to expand it.
4. Tap Add to Home Screen, then Add in the top right.

iPhone (Chrome)

On iOS 26 and later, Chrome can install the app too -- it just takes one extra tap to get there since the option is tucked further into the menu. On older iOS versions, use Safari instead.

1. Open app.apiaryhq.com in Chrome.
2. Tap the Share icon (the up arrow) in the address bar.
3. In the sheet that opens, tap View More.
4. Tap Add to Home Screen, then confirm.

Android (Chrome)

1. Open app.apiaryhq.com in Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top right.
3. Tap Install app (some versions show this as Add to Home screen instead).
4. Confirm by tapping Install or Add.

No Android device on hand to capture this from -- written from Chrome's current documented steps rather than a real screenshot. If anything here doesn't match what you actually see, that's worth flagging.

Desktop (Chrome or Edge)

1. Open app.apiaryhq.com.
2. Look for an install icon in the address bar (a small monitor with a down arrow), or open the three-dot menu.
3. Click Install Apiary HQ.

Screenshot needed: the install icon in the address bar.

Mac Desktop (Safari)

Requires macOS Sonoma or later.

1. Open app.apiaryhq.com in Safari.
2. From the menu bar, choose File → Add to Dock (or click the Share button in the toolbar and choose Add to Dock).
3. Confirm the name and click Add.

Screenshot needed: the File menu with "Add to Dock" visible.

Creating Your First Apiary

1. On the Home tab, tap the apiary pill near the top (it reads + Add Apiary if you don't have one yet).
2. Tap + Add Apiary.
3. Enter an Apiary Name -- something like "Back Forty" or "Home Yard." This is the only required field.
4. Location and Notes are both optional.
5. Tap Create Apiary.

Adding Your First Hive

1. From Home or My Apiaries, tap the orange + button.
2. Enter a Hive Name -- most people name hives, like "Queen Beatrice."
3. Location is optional, for a note on where within the apiary this hive sits.
4. Confirm the Apiary it belongs to -- it defaults to whichever apiary is currently active.
5. Fill in Year Established and number of Boxes if you know them.
6. Set the Installation Date if this hive started from a package or nuc.
7. Pick a Species (Italian, Carniolan, Buckfast, Russian, or Other) and a starting Status (Healthy, Monitoring, Weak, or Queenless).
8. Add any Notes, and optionally a photo.
9. Tap Add Hive.

Starting an Inspection

1. Tap Inspect in the bottom navigation.
2. Tap the orange + button.
3. Choose the Hive and confirm the Date (defaults to today).
4. Pick the Weather. It defaults to Sunny unless the Home tab's weather widget has already loaded this session -- it isn't guaranteed to reflect live conditions the moment the form opens, so it's worth a glance.

Dictating Your Notes

This is the fastest way to log an inspection. Talk through what you saw, frame by frame, and the app fills in and suggests values for the structured fields below as you go.

1. Tap TAP TO DICTATE.
2. Talk through what you saw -- population, brood, queen, stores, pests, anything notable.
3. Tap the button again to stop. Your words land in the notes field, cleaned up automatically.

Screenshot needed: the dictate button, before or during a recording.

Hive Observations

These fill in from dictation, but you can also set or correct any of them by hand.

• Queen Seen? -- Yes, No, Eggs Only, or Larvae Only
• Population -- Low, Moderate, Strong, or Packed
• Temperament -- Calm, Moderate, or Defensive
• Honey Stores -- Critical, Light, Adequate, or Heavy
• Brood Pattern -- Solid, Patchy, Spotty, or No Brood
• Swarm Cells? and Brood Present (eggs, larvae, capped worker, capped drone)
• Queen/Supersedure Status -- the app suggests a value here based on what you entered above
• SHB Level, plus whether larvae/slime or unattended food and brood were seen

More Details (Optional)

Tap the "More Details" banner to expand this section. It's collapsed by default since most visits won't need all of it.

• Other Pests -- wax moths, ants, rodents, predator damage, chalkbrood
• Feeding -- what you fed, how much, and any notes
• Actions Taken -- a free-text note on anything you did during the visit
• Colony Phase -- auto-detected from the date, adjustable if needed, with a confidence level and supporting evidence
• Varroa Wash -- mites counted and sample size; the app calculates the percentage and tells you the treatment tier
• Treatments -- log any treatment applied this visit

Frame Map (Optional)

A separate, collapsed-by-default section below More Details. Track each frame individually if you want that level of detail -- most visits don't need it, but it's there when you do.

1. Tap the Frame Map banner to expand it.
2. Each box shows its frames and a running % utilized.
3. Tap a frame to set its Foundation (Plastic, Wax, Foundationless, Drawn Comb), what's in it under Brood (Eggs, Larvae, Worker Brood, Drone Brood) and Stores (Capped Honey, Nectar, Pollen), and the Comb state (Empty Drawn, Drawing, Undrawn).

Adding a Transaction

1. Tap Finance in the bottom navigation, then the orange + button.
2. Choose Income or Expense.
3. Enter the Amount, a short Description, and the Date.
4. Pick a Category -- Income options include Honey Sales, Beeswax Sales, Nucleus Sale, and Pollination Fee; Expense options include Equipment, Feed/Sugar, Medications, Hive Purchase, Protective Gear, Supplies, and Transport.
5. Add optional Notes.
6. Tap Add Transaction.

Receipt Photos

1. In the transaction form, tap Photo Library to pick an existing photo, or Camera to take one on the spot.
2. The receipt attaches to that transaction -- tap any transaction with a receipt to view it full size.

Vendor / Payee

Optional, and worth using if you buy from the same suppliers regularly.

1. Expand the Vendor / Payee section in the transaction form.
2. If the vendor is already in your Contacts as a Supplier, select them from the dropdown.
3. Otherwise, type the Vendor Name (and optionally address, phone, website) directly.
4. Typing a new vendor name that isn't already a contact automatically creates one for you in Contacts, saved as a Supplier.

Exporting Your Records

Both exports cover your transaction history, useful for taxes or your own bookkeeping.

• PDF -- a formatted summary of your income and expenses
• CSV -- raw transaction data, for opening in a spreadsheet

From a Reminder

A nice shortcut: completing a Supply Purchase or Treatment reminder that has a cost attached offers to add it straight to Finance as an expense -- vendor info comes along too, if that reminder was linked to a supplier -- so you don't have to re-enter it by hand.

Adding a Reminder Yourself

1. Tap Reminders in the bottom navigation, then the orange + button.
2. Pick a Type -- Inspection, Treatment, Supply Purchase, or General Task.
3. Optionally tie it to a specific Hive, and set the Due Date.
4. Add Notes describing what it's for.
5. For Supply Purchase or Treatment types, you can fill in an item name, quantity, estimated cost, and a supplier from your Contacts -- this is what lets it flow into Finance later.
6. Tap Add Reminder.

Automatic Reminders

These come from what you actually record on an inspection -- you don't set them, they just appear when the numbers call for it.

• Queen not seen -- a re-check in 5 days
• Low honey stores -- a feed check in 3 days
• Very low population -- a re-inspection in 7 days
• High or Critical small hive beetle levels -- a follow-up anywhere from 2 to 7 days out, depending on how many warning signs are present together (population, brood trend, exposed resources, queen status, and recent heat all factor in)
• Colony phase reassessment -- a standing reminder that quietly resets to 14 days out every time you inspect that hive, so it only actually comes due if a hive goes untouched for two full weeks
• Varroa wash follow-up -- timing depends on your mite count against a threshold that shifts with the colony's phase (roughly 1% dormant, 2.5% increasing or decreasing, 3% at peak population), and on the season if no wash was done

Completing a Reminder

1. Right on the Reminders list, tap Done next to any reminder.
2. If it's a Supply Purchase or Treatment with a cost attached, you'll be asked whether to add it to Finance as an expense.

Documents

1. On the Documents sub-tab, tap the orange + button.
2. Add it as a Photo / Camera capture or a PDF file.
3. Give it a Document Name.
4. Pick a Category -- License, Certificate, Permit, Insurance, Inspection Report, or Other.
5. Set an Expiry Date if it has one -- useful for licenses and permits that need renewing.
6. Add optional Notes, then tap Upload Document.

Brand Assets

For your own logos, label designs, and marketing graphics -- separate from regulatory paperwork, and accepts JPG, PNG, SVG, or GIF.

1. Switch to the Brand Assets sub-tab, then tap the orange + button.
2. Give it an Asset Name.
3. Pick a Category -- Logo, Label Design, Banner, Social Media, Merchandise, or Other.
4. Add optional Notes, then tap Upload Asset.

Adding a Contact

1. Tap Contacts in the bottom navigation, then the orange + button.
2. Enter their Name.
3. Pick a Role -- Supplier, Veterinarian, Inspector, Customer, Fellow Beekeeper, or Other.
4. Add whatever you have: Phone, Email, Address, Website, and any Notes -- all optional.
5. Tap Add Contact.

Filtering

Filter the list by role at the top of the Contacts tab -- handy once you've built up a mix of suppliers, vets, and customers.

Where Else Contacts Shows Up

Contacts marked as Supplier appear as selectable options in Finance's Vendor / Payee section and in Reminders' Supply Purchase details. Typing a new vendor name in Finance that isn't already a contact creates one here automatically, saved as a Supplier.

Reference

Six sections, each opening into expandable cards: Pests & Diseases, Varroa Mite Treatments, Non-Chemical Controls, Feeding Guide, Feeding Supplements, and Syrup Mixing Guide.

1. Use the Search box to filter by keyword, or the Jump to dropdown to skip straight to a section.
2. Tap any card to expand it.
3. A pest or disease card shows what it is, signs and symptoms, and recommended treatments -- notifiable diseases are flagged in red with a reminder to contact your state apiary inspector before acting.
4. A treatment card shows active ingredient, application steps, Varroa thresholds color-coded low to urgent, and any safety warnings.

My Notes

Your own saved reference material -- a recipe you use, a tip from a book, anything worth keeping alongside the built-in library.

1. Switch to the My Notes sub-tab, then tap the orange + button.
2. Give it a Title and pick a Category.
3. Optionally note the Source -- a book, website, or person it came from.
4. Write the actual Notes / Recipe / Formula in the body field.
5. Tap Add Note.

Apiary Profile & Location

Tap the logo area to upload or change your apiary's photo, and tap Edit Apiary Name to rename it. Your ZIP Code drives weather, pollen forecasts, and zone-aware seasonal guidance throughout the app -- enter it and tap Save.

Preferences

• Dark Mode -- a simple toggle
• Harvest Units -- your preferred unit for honey harvest weights
• Currency Symbol -- used throughout Finance

SwitchBot Sensors

Your token and secret key go here. Full walkthrough in the next section.

Outside Weather Source

By default, "outside" readings come from the nearest weather station for your ZIP code -- close, but not the actual conditions at your apiary. If you have a spare SwitchBot sensor, place it outside near your hives and set it here instead for real on-site readings. Turning this on stops the ZIP-based lookup entirely, so you're not storing both at once.

Notifications

Turn on push notifications here to be alerted if a sensor stops reporting fresh data -- usually means a SwitchBot hub went offline or a device dropped connection.

Account

Your email, the Privacy and Copyright statements, and Sign Out all live at the bottom.

Setting Up the Hardware

This part happens entirely in the SwitchBot app, before Apiary HQ is involved at all. You need a Hub Mini (or Hub 2) plus at least one Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer sensor -- the sensor alone can't reach Apiary HQ without a hub relaying it to the cloud.

1. Download the SwitchBot app and create an account (or sign in).
2. Plug in the Hub Mini. In the app, tap + → Hub Mini, press and hold the button on top until it flashes, tap Next, then enter your Wi-Fi name and password -- 2.4GHz only, 5GHz isn't supported.
3. Remove the battery tab on the back of the sensor. In the app, tap + → find Indoor/Outdoor Meter under Sensors, press and hold its button for about 2 seconds, tap Next, and follow the pairing steps.
4. On the sensor's own settings screen in the SwitchBot app, turn on Cloud Service. This is the step that's easy to miss -- without it, the sensor works fine inside the SwitchBot app itself, but Apiary HQ will never see any data from it, since it polls through SwitchBot's cloud, not local Bluetooth.

Give it about 30 minutes after first setup -- the sensor self-calibrates and early readings can be unstable.

Screenshot needed: adding the sensor in the SwitchBot app, and its Cloud Service toggle.

Connecting Your Account

1. In the SwitchBot app, go to Profile → Preference → App Version, then tap the version number 10 times to reveal Developer Options.
2. Tap Get Token to reveal your Token and Secret Key.
3. In Apiary HQ, go to Settings → SwitchBot Sensors, paste both in, and tap Save.

Once saved, both fields show as masked -- you only need to re-enter a field if you're actually changing it.

Assigning a Sensor to a Hive

Your account can hold several SwitchBot devices, but each one has to be told which hive it belongs to -- that happens from inside the hive itself, not from Settings.

1. Open the hive (tap it, then Edit) and find the sensor section.
2. Pick the device from Sensor Device (Primary) -- every SwitchBot device on your account shows up here by name.
3. Optionally give it a Sensor Label, like "Bottom Box."
4. Turn on Sensor Polling to start collecting data.

Screenshot needed: the Sensor Device dropdown and Sensor Polling toggle from inside a hive's edit form.

Running Two Sensors on One Hive

Optional. Useful for tracking a gradient inside the hive -- one sensor lower in the brood nest, one higher up.

1. In the same hive edit form, turn on Second Sensor.
2. Pick the device and optionally label it, same as the primary.

Both feed into the same climate chart, kept distinct as primary and secondary.

Outside Reference Sensor

Covered in Settings (Section 9) -- if you have a spare sensor, placing it outside near your hives gives you real on-site outside readings instead of the default ZIP-code-based weather lookup.