Your First Ten Minutes

A ten-minute onboarding checklist

This checklist expands the in-app welcome guide into concrete steps. Work through it once on macOS or iPadOS; repeat any step when you onboard a new device.

Minutes 0–2: Orient yourself

• [ ] Launch Cardmaniacs and complete iCloud setup if prompted
• [ ] Press ⌘0 to open Home and note recommendations and reading stats entry points
• [ ] Press ⌘⌥2 for Triage layout—list on one side, reader on the other (macOS)
• [ ] Press ⌘K to open the Command palette and type “Go to” to see sidebar destinations

You now know the two layouts and the palette—the app's universal search for actions.

Minutes 2–4: Add content

Choose at least one path:

• [ ] Add a feed — ⌘⌥N, paste a site URL or RSS link, confirm discovery
• [ ] Quick add a link — ⌘N, paste any article URL into Read Later or Bookmarks
• [ ] Import OPML — ⌘⇧O if you have feeds exported from another reader

Then press ⌘R to refresh feeds and wait for new articles to appear under Feeds → Unread.

Minutes 4–6: Triage like a desk

• [ ] Go to Feeds with ⌘1
• [ ] Select an unread article and press ⌘↩ (Accept) to open it in the reader
• [ ] Press ⌘E to mark as read when finished, or ⌘⇧S to star it for later
• [ ] Try Archive from the command palette (⌘K, type “Archive”) to clear it without deleting

Minutes 6–8: Read Later queue

• [ ] Press ⌘2 for Read Later
• [ ] Save an article from Feeds using the actions palette (⌘⇧A) → Save to Read Later
• [ ] Open In Progress from the command palette to see partially read items
• [ ] Press ⌘⌥L to return to Read Later sidebar mode anytime

Skim Read Later when you are ready to build queue habits.

Minutes 8–10: Reader and extensions

• [ ] With an article open, press ⌘= / ⌘- to adjust font size
• [ ] Press ⌘⌥T for the next reader theme
• [ ] Press ⌘⇧F to toggle focus mode (hide chrome)
• [ ] Enable the Share extension in Settings → Share (and verify it is on in Safari or Settings.app on iOS)

Optional power moves:

• ⌃L — Focus cards (keyboard focus to the list)
• ⌘⇧T — Manage Tags… on the current item
• ⌘⇧A — Actions palette for highlights, move, and archive

What to learn next

Common first-day questions

Where did my Safari bookmark go?
Bookmarks (⌘3) are separate from Read Later (⌘2). Check both, or search the command palette for the title.

Why is Archive not on a shortcut?
Archive is palette-driven by design. Use ⌘K → “Archive” or the actions palette. Delete (⌘⌫) is the destructive action with a shortcut.

Can I use Cardmaniacs without feeds?
Yes. Quick Add, Share extension, and document import work without any RSS subscriptions.

Next steps

• Layouts and Navigation
• Core Concepts
• Download and Setup