User Guide

This guide explains the complete published RailKeeper workflow for collectors, clubs, and small workshops. It covers first setup, navigation, vehicles, accessories, decoder data, maintenance, documents, reports, exhibitions, and controlled import and export.

Content in this section describes stable RailKeeper v0.1.20.3. The layout workspace is still under development and is therefore not presented as a stable user feature.

Start here

First setup and sign-in explains how to create the first administrator, sign in and out, complete a two-factor sign-in, and recover a forgotten password.

Continue with Overview, metrics, and data quality to understand the dashboard, follow inventory gaps into filtered vehicle lists, and arrange its widgets.

Use Vehicle inventory and core records to search and filter vehicles, create or edit their core data, produce reports and QR labels, and understand safe deletion.

Vehicle images and attachments covers local images, main and alternative image handling, general attachments, preview and download, and safe removal.

Vehicle maintenance and condition explains maintenance entries, due dates, completion, costs, linked media, and safe deletion.

Decoder, functions, and CV data covers F0-F31 mappings, the read-only speed curve, CV values and exchange, decoder-file previews, and safe persistence.

Article search, web documents, and spare parts explains how to verify external suggestions, save selected article data and images, import documents, and maintain spare parts without overlooking partial writes.

Accessories covers the separate accessory article inventory, technical product data, counted and individual stock, purchases, documents, reservations, installations, and usage history.

Exhibition workspace explains how to prepare lists, maintain operating entries, use locks, resolve DCC and SX address conflicts, and print the event report.

Import and export covers reviewed CSV, TSV, XML, and JSON vehicle imports, the three inventory outputs, their round-trip limits, and the separate Admin-only ECoS locomotive workflow.

Settings explains personal preferences, their browser and profile persistence, sidebar arrangement, the current limits of date and printer choices, and the independent light and dark appearance variants.

Updating Windows Standalone

Open Settings > General > Updates and check for a newer version. When RailKeeper recognizes the matching trusted Windows ZIP, the download button includes its version. The button only starts the browser download. RailKeeper does not install or replace files.

Create an application backup, close RailKeeper, and extract the downloaded ZIP into a new program folder. Start that copy and verify the active data path and inventory before removing the previous program folder. The safe default %LOCALAPPDATA%\RailKeeper\data remains separate and unchanged. Use the linked GitHub release page if no matching download button is available. Docker installations continue to update with docker compose pull followed by docker compose up -d.