Bins

Each bin represents a physical container — a box, drawer, or shelf — with items, tags, notes, and visual settings.

View modes

The bin list has three view modes, toggled from the toolbar:

Creating a bin

Tap + New Bin and enter a name. Everything else is optional. The short code is auto-generated from the bin name.

Editing a bin

Bin fields auto-save as you type. Each field saves independently after a short pause, and a brief indicator appears next to it to confirm.

Items

Items are a discrete, ordered list of things inside the bin. Each item has a name and an optional quantity for tracking counts. Items can be added, removed, renamed, and reordered from the bin detail page.

You can include quantities inline when adding items. The following shorthand formats are recognized automatically:

• 3x screws — leading quantity
• screws x5 — trailing quantity
• bolts (10) — quantity in parentheses
• nails, 5 — quantity after a comma

The parsed quantity is set on the item for you. This works in the quick-add input and when pasting multiple lines.

When a quantity is set, it is displayed next to the item name throughout the app (bin detail, item search results, exports, and AI suggestions).

TIP

Items are searchable. Searching "screwdriver" will find bins that have "screwdriver" in their items list.

Tags

Tags categorize bins and are shared across the location. Tags can be assigned custom colors per location (Settings → Tags) and used as filters.

Color

The color field sets the background tint of the bin card. OpenBin uses a hue-based continuous color picker:

1. Select a hue from the gradient bar.
2. Choose a shade from the swatches below it.

The chosen color is applied to the bin card background and affects the label in colored-card print mode.

Card Styles

Card style controls the visual treatment of the bin card beyond just color. The style is configured in the appearance section when editing a bin.

Style	Description
default	Flat default look. No extra configuration.
border	Colored border accent around the card. Configurable style (solid, dashed, dotted, double) and width (1–8 px).
gradient	Two-color diagonal gradient. Pick a primary color and an end color.
stripe	Colored stripe on one side of the card. Configure position (left, right, top, bottom) and width (1–10 units).
photo	Uses one of the bin's attached photos as the full card background image.

Custom Fields

Admins can define location-scoped custom fields that appear on every bin. Custom fields are key–value pairs useful for tracking domain-specific metadata like "Purchase Date", "Serial Number", or "Warranty Expires".

Managing Custom Fields

1. Go to Location Settings → Custom Fields.
2. Add a field name and confirm.
3. Drag to reorder fields — the order is reflected on every bin.
4. Rename or delete fields as needed. Deleting a field removes its values from all bins.

Using Custom Fields

When creating or editing a bin, custom fields appear as text inputs below the standard fields. Leave a field blank to skip it — blank fields are hidden in view mode.

Custom field values are included in JSON/ZIP exports and AI suggestions.

Visibility

Value	Who can see it
location	All members of the location
private	Only you (the bin creator)

Set visibility when creating or editing a bin. Admins can see all bins regardless of visibility.

Short Code

Every bin has a 6-character alphanumeric short code auto-generated from its name at creation time. The short code:

• Appears printed on QR labels alongside the QR code itself.
• Can be typed manually into the scanner or search bar to look up a bin without a camera.
• Is stable — it does not change if you rename the bin.
• Can be changed by admins via the overflow menu on the bin detail page (Change Code). If the target code belongs to another bin, that bin is permanently deleted.

Soft Delete and Trash

Deleting a bin moves it to Trash. Bins can be restored or permanently deleted from Settings → Trash. See Trash and Retention for details.