Just installed Book Tracker and not sure where to start? This 5-minute walkthrough gets you up and running with the essentials. By the end, you’ll have your first 5 books in the library, your first Reading Status set, your first reading session recorded, and a clear picture of how the app fits into a daily reading habit.

You’ll need:

• An iPhone, iPad, or Mac with Book Tracker installed (the free version is enough to get through this whole tutorial. The 5-book limit kicks in only after these 5).
• 5 minutes.

If you’ve never set up iCloud sync for the app, do it now in Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → Show All → Book Tracker (or System Settings on Mac). Your library will sync automatically to your other devices as you go.

Step 1 — Add your first 5 books

The fastest path to 5 books uses three different methods so you know all of them.

Pick a book you have nearby and scan its barcode

1. Tap + → Scan barcode.
2. Hold the back cover of the book in the camera frame.
3. The book is added automatically with title, author, cover, page count, and publisher.

This is the fastest way once you’ve tried it, no typing required. You can keep scanning to add several books in a row.

Search by title for a book you don’t have at hand

1. Tap + → Search online.
2. Type a few words of the title (or an ISBN if you have it).
3. Pick the right edition from the results.

The book lands in your library with full metadata.

Add a book manually

For a book that isn’t in online databases (a self-published title, a vintage edition, a thesis, anything personal):

1. Tap + → Manually insert.
2. Fill in Title and Author (the only required fields).
3. Add page count if you want to track progress. Recommended.
4. Save.

See Can I add a book that isn’t found online? for the full picture.

Step 2 — Mark what you’re reading right now

Of the books you’ve just added, pick one that you’re currently reading.

1. Open that book.
2. Tap Start Reading under the title.

Done, that book is now in Reading status, and it’ll show up in the Currently Reading section on the Home (iPhone) or Sidebar (iPad / Mac).

Step 3 — Pick the right tracking type

When you start reading, Book Tracker asks how you want to track progress:

• Pages — for printed books and eBooks.
• Percentage — for eBooks without consistent page numbers (e.g., comics, manga).
• Time (HH:mm) — for audiobooks.

Pick the one that matches your current book and tap Save.

The app auto-suggests the right type based on the book’s format, so most of the time you can just confirm.

Step 4 — Record your first reading session

Now you’ll record some reading.

1. Open the same book → tap the active Reading Status.
2. Tap Start Timer.

Read a few pages, then come back:

3. Tap Stop & save.
4. Enter how far you got (last page reached, percentage, or listening time depending on the tracking type).
5. Tap Save.

You’ve just logged your first reading session: pages read, time spent, average pace. That data flows into your statistics, Reading Challenge, and Year in Review.

If you want to log without timing, you can also tap + Add progress at any time. See How to track detailed reading progress.

Step 5 — Capture a quote or a note

Reading is rarely just about progress. If you came across a sentence you want to remember:

From a printed book

1. Open the book → scroll to the Quotes section → + Add quote.
2. Tap the camera icon and snap a photo of the page.
3. Book Tracker uses OCR to read the text — review and edit.
4. Save.

From any source

1. Open the book → + Add quote (or + Add note for a thought rather than an excerpt).
2. Type or paste the text.
3. Save.

Quotes can show up on a Lock Screen widget for daily inspiration. See How to customize your app with Widgets.

Step 6 — Set a Reading Challenge

A small commitment goes a long way for habit-building.

1. Statistics → + Add Reading Challenge.
2. Pick a realistic number of books for the year (if you don’t know, start with 12).
3. Save.

Every Read book you mark with a finish date in the current year automatically counts toward this challenge. You can see progress at any time.

What to explore next

You now know enough to use Book Tracker every day. When you’re ready to go deeper, here are the next things worth exploring, in roughly the order most users find them useful:

Organization

• Tags — labels you create for any criteria you invent (Comfort read, Gift, Signed, …).
• Smart Lists — dynamic groupings based on filters.
• Series — for sagas, trilogies, manga.
• Positions — track where your physical books are.

Integrations

• Widgets — 14 widgets for the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Mac desktop.
• Control Center widgets— 17 one-tap shortcuts into the app.
• Apple Watch app — track from the wrist.
• Shortcuts and Siri — 95+ automation actions and 9 ready-made Siri phrases.

Safety

• Backup your library — turn on automatic backups so you’re always protected.

Migrate from another app

If you have an existing reading log elsewhere, you can bring it in:

• Import your library — Goodreads, StoryGraph, Bookpedia, Delicious Library 3, BookBuddy, Bookmory, and any CSV.

Free vs Pro

You’ve just used some of the features that are limited to 5 books in the free version. To go beyond 5 books, plus unlock Import, Export, Restore, custom app icons, and a few advanced features, see What’s included in the free version vs Pro?.

Pro is a one-time purchase per platform: no subscription, all future updates included since 2019. If you’ve been able to follow this tutorial all the way through, you already know if Book Tracker fits how you read.

Related

• Which platforms is Book Tracker available on?
• What are Tags, Categories, Series, Smart Lists, and Positions?
• How does Book Tracker handle my privacy?
• The Book Tracker Manifesto