Getting Started with Ember
Ember is a journal that remembers your people. You write the day as it happened, and every person you mention gathers the moments you shared. Years later, open their page and it's all there, in your own words. This guide takes you from the first launch to your first mention in about five minutes.
Your first launch
The first time you open Ember, you see the welcome screen. Pick how you want to begin:
- Start your Ember: a fresh journal. Ember asks who you never want to forget and a moment with them, then opens on that entry. A few starter notes that explain the basics are there for reference. Delete them whenever you like.
- Bring your Ember from iCloud: you already use Ember on another device with sync on. Ember downloads your library before it opens. Sync is part of Ember Plus, so restore your purchase first. A big library can take a few minutes.
- Import: bring in a Day One export, an Apple Journal export or a Diarium backup. You see what's coming in before anything is added. Have an Ember backup? Use the Restore a backup link at the bottom.
- Restore purchase, Restore a backup and Skip are links at the bottom. Skip opens Ember without starter notes.
The starter notes
If you chose Start your Ember, you land in the Journal on the entry you just wrote. Beside it are three short starter notes, a starter story and a pinned #welcome tag. Read them once, then delete them (right-click an entry, then Move to Bin).
Finding your way around
On the Mac and iPad, everything lives in the sidebar on the left:
- Search (⌘K) and the + button sit at the top. + creates anything: a person, an interaction, an entry, a story, a world or a tag.
- Life: Journal and Stories.
- People: All People, the Graph and Nudge, for the people drifting out of reach.
- Look back: the Feed, the Calendar and the Map.
- Worlds and Tags: your worlds and your pinned tags. The ↗ next to each heading opens the full Worlds or Tags page.
- At the bottom, the backup and sync status. Click it to open Settings.
On iPhone the sidebar becomes a tab bar. See iPhone & iPad.
Writing your first entry
- Click New entry in the top right, or press ⌘⇧J.
- Give it a title if you like, press Return, and write what happened. Plain words are enough: most days fit in a sentence or two.
- Type
@and the start of a name to mention someone. Pick them from the list, or choose Create person to add them on the spot. - That's it. Ember saves as you type.
Adding people
The easiest way to add someone is to mention them while you write. You can also press ⌘⇧N, or choose Add person on the People page. A name is enough to begin. Photos, nicknames, a birthday and the story of how you met can all come later, or never.
Already have a journal full of names? Find People in Journal finds the names you've written and links them to the right people in one go.
Creating anything with ⌘N
Press ⌘N (or the + at the top of the sidebar) to open the New palette. Choose with the arrow keys and Return, or press the letter shown next to each one.
Every shortcut is listed in Keyboard Shortcuts, and in the app under Help ▸ Keyboard Shortcuts (⌘/).
Where to go next
- How Ember Thinks: the ideas behind the app, in two minutes.
- What is a life archive? The idea Ember is built on, at length.
- The Journal: the editor, the date line, filters and the Bin.
- Relationship Intentions: Tending, Rooted, Seen and Quiet, and how fading works.
- Stories and Worlds: give your life a shape.
- The Calendar and the Map: your life by day and by place.
- Sync & Backup: keep your journal on every device.