Quinto – Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to Quinto - the coolest AI app for tracking your weight, calories, and macros! Quinto does not give advice, does not recommend diets, does not judge your eating habits. It's just a tracking tool for weight, calories, and macronutrients (proteins, fats, net carbs). Quinto works fast, efficiently and anonymously - without traditional profiles, without email confirmations, without passwords.

We recommend reading this document in its entirety. While everything in Quinto is intuitive, to make the most of its tools, pay close attention to 1. Getting Started, 3.2 Food Entry (Method #1), 3.3 Alternative Entry via ChatGPT (Method #2), 4. Settings, and 5. FoodDB.

1. Getting Started

1.1. What is a Database ID and how do I log in?

• Database ID: Instead of an email and password combination, access to your data is managed via a single unique key called a Database ID.
• How it works: Once you create your database on the initial screen and receive your Database ID, you enter it into the app. Quinto saves this ID in a cookie, keeping you logged in on that specific device.
• Important: Keep your Database ID in a safe place. If you are already logged in, your Database ID can be viewed and copied from the Account section.

1.2. Creating a new database

1. On your first visit, click the link "Click here to create a new database".
2. Enter a valid email address (you can use a temporary or non-existent email - it makes no difference to us).
3. Copy the generated Database ID and save it securely (e.g., in a password manager like 1Password, Bitwarden, or KeePass).

1.3. Installing as a Mobile App (PWA)

Quinto is built as a PWA (Progressive Web App). This means you won't find it in Google Play or the App Store. You can install it directly from your browser on your phone or computer. It functions as a fast, lightweight, and fully native app with its own home screen icon.

How to install it:

• Android (Google Chrome / Brave): Open Quinto in your browser, tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right, and select "Add to Home screen" or tap the install prompt banner if available.
• iOS / iPhone (Safari): Open Quinto in Safari, tap the "Share" button (the square icon with an arrow pointing up), and select "Add to Home Screen".
• Computer (Chrome / Edge): In the address bar at the top right, look for the small icon representing a computer with an arrow (or navigate to Three dots -> Cast, save, and share -> Install page). Click it to run Quinto as a standalone desktop application.

2. The Main Screen - Today - Y / 7 / 10 / 30

When you open Quinto, it automatically loads the view for the current day, displaying your current weight and daily nutritional balance.

2.1. Daily weight and consumption

• Your current weight is displayed in the bottom-right corner if it has been entered.
• Every added food item is visualized chronologically with the exact time of entry.
• The ➕ and ❌ buttons on each row allow you to quickly re-add an existing entry or delete a record.
• Each row features a breakdown of the serving size (in grams) and the four main metrics: Calories (kcal), Fats (F), Carbohydrates (C), and Proteins (P). Daily totals are summarized at the bottom of the table.
• Important: The value shown in the Carbs column represents net carbohydrates only, as they are the only ones relevant when tracking a calorie deficit or building muscle mass.

2.2. Quick Navigation

Fast-navigation buttons located above the main table allow you to scan specific timeframes and view average values for those periods:

• The Y button switches to the previous day - Yesterday. From this view, besides checking what you consumed, you can quickly re-add a food item from yesterday to today using the ➕ button.
• The 7, 10, and 30 buttons change the table view to show aggregated data for the last 7, 10, or 30 days prior to today. Instead of a single day, you see your average daily intake for that period.
• Monthly Statistics: Dropdown Menu, located below the table, lets you select a specific month up to a year back, providing a broader overview of your consistency over time :-)

2.3. Charts

Clicking the chart icon opens a graphical visualization of your data. The charts adapt dynamically to the period selected on the main screen:

• In "Today" or "Yesterday" mode: The chart generates a wide-scope view showing your trends for an entire year back. This helps you track long-term progress (e.g., how your weight correlates with calorie intake over months).
• In "7", "10", or "30" days mode: The chart scales strictly to the chosen timeframe. If you select [10], the diagram visualizes your daily data day-by-day for the last 10 days only.
• In "Month" mode: The chart displays a day-by-day breakdown of the selected month.

2.4. Dark and Light Mode

A toggle button in the top-right corner allows you to instantly switch between dark and light modes.

3. Data Entry (Food and Weight)

Data entry in Quinto is made for speed, eliminating the need to search for foods, click through endless menus or select items in nested dropdown lists. Everything is handled via a single text input field, accessed by tapping the cookie icon in the bottom-left corner.

3.1. Logging daily weight

Tracking weight is crucial for hitting your targets (losing, gaining, or maintaining). Quinto eliminates the need for a separate weight logging form:

• How to enter: Open the entry field, type only the number (e.g., 78.4 or 51.9), and hit the cookie button.
• How the system interprets it: When a query contains only digits (and a decimal point), Quinto recognizes it as your body weight for the day. The record is saved immediately, updates your progress charts, and displays in the bottom-right corner of the screen when viewing Today or Yesterday.
• kg/lb: It doesn't matter if you track your weight in kg or pounds - use whichever unit feels comfortable!

3.2. 🍞 🥑 🍅 Adding Foods (Method #1)

This is the primary method for daily tracking. It is designed for single-ingredient weighed foods (bread, meat, potatoes, etc.), which is the only accurate way to maintain a food diary! You don't enter calories and macros manually - simply tell Quinto what you ate using your phone's voice-to-text feature!

• Open the entry form: via the cookie icon in the bottom-left corner.
• Speak to Quinto: "50g pork meat and 30g bread", "3 eggs, 15g butter", or "50g potatoes, 10g olive oil".
• Optionally choose an AI Model: Below the text input, you will find 4 quick buttons to optionally route your query through different Large Language Models (LLMs) - ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Mistral. This gives you backup options if a model misinterprets a local food or is temporarily overloaded.
• What the AI does: The model parses the text, identifies the ingredients, retrieves their nutritional values from the database (prioritizing your custom foods), calculates exact weights, handles net carb mathematics, and inserts the formatted rows directly into your table.
• Logging for Yesterday: By default, entries are added to "Today", but a "Today/Yesterday" toggle is available if you forgot to log something.
• Save your entries using the large orange cookie button.

3.3. 🍕 🍔 🍨 Alternative Entry via ChatGPT Projects (Method #2)

(The instructions below are 100% applicable for ChatGPT, the Claude app and the web version of Grok.)

While Quinto's built-in fast AI models (Method #1) are ideal for tracking standard weighed ingredients, integrating with the standalone ChatGPT app (for Android / iOS / Web) grants you "superpowers" in two specific scenarios:

1. Complex, multi-ingredient meals: When eating complex recipes (e.g., 100g of moussaka, a serving of Ajiaco soup), the full-featured ChatGPT model has a vast knowledge base to break down the dish and approximate its macros more effectively than lightweight flash models.

Note: This method is not precise and can lead to significant discrepancies. Cooking 400g of lentils with 20g vs 120g of oil changes the macronutrients drastically! ChatGPT cannot know the exact recipe used and relies on standard averages. Use this as a fallback option, such as when dining out or visiting friends.

2. Snapping barcodes and labels: You can photograph a nutrition facts label on a snack wrapper, chocolate bar, or protein snack directly inside the ChatGPT app and instruct it: "Add 35g of this bar". ChatGPT reads the label, scales the math to 35 grams, and outputs a ready-to-use logging link.

How it works:

ChatGPT does not log into your database directly. Instead, based on your voice or text or image inputs, it calculates the macros and outputs a special link. Clicking this link opens Quinto and automatically logs the food or weight into your diary.

Instructions for initial ChatGPT setup:

To train ChatGPT to format data for Quinto, you must create a Project inside the ChatGPT app. This is a one-time configuration:

1. Open your ChatGPT sidebar menu and select New Project.
2. Name the project: 🍪 Quinto
3. Go to Project Settings -> Instructions.
4. In Quinto, navigate to Settings -> AI Prompt, copy the pre-made system prompt code, and paste it directly into ChatGPT's Instructions box.

How to use it step-by-step:

1. Open the ChatGPT app on your phone.
2. Enter the 🍪 Quinto project (you must be inside this project chat for the instructions to apply!), New chat:
   • Type or use voice-to-text (e.g., "I ate 120 grams of chicken breast and 80 grams of rice").
   • Click the + button, select camera: take a photo of the nutrition facts label on a product and type - "add 50g of this".
3. ChatGPT responds with a quick summary and a clickable link.
4. Tapping the link redirects you to Quinto, where your data is logged instantly.

4. Settings

One of the greatest benefits in Quinto is that you can train it to understand your personal routines, custom units, and household items. This is configured on the Settings page.

Anything you write in the settings text box is sent to the AI model as part of the query right before your food entry text. This gives the model immediate context, so you don't have to explain your shorthand terms every time.

What is this useful for?

• Defining weights for item counts: Instead of weighing standard items every time, specify their average weight.
• Custom recipes and shortcuts: Save ingredient weights for your regular homemade meals or custom preps.

Guidelines for writing instructions:

To ensure the model processes your rules flawlessly, follow these simple formatting tips:

• Write in natural language, keeping sentences short, clear, and direct.
• Use the equal sign (=) to map direct ratios.

Examples of good custom instructions:

• 1 egg = 60g.
• One Bisq cookie is 29g.
• 1 tablespoon of flour = 10g.
• One portion of my house salad contains 150g lettuce, 50g cucumber, and 5g olive oil.

Once you save these instructions, you can simply type on the main screen: "2 eggs, 3 Bisq cookies". The AI model automatically computes that as 120g of eggs and 87g of cookies, extracts their macros, and adds them to your log. Refer to the next section to see how to add the macronutrients per 100 g of Bisq cookies to the database.

5. Food Database (FoodDB)

The FOODS page is the core of Quinto's nutritional ledger. It manages two types of data, letting you customize your most frequently consumed products.

1. System Foods

These are pre-configured, baseline entries for raw ingredients and staple foods (e.g., croissant, mayonnaise, ketchup). They are globally accessible and serve as the foundation used by the AI for regular calculations.

2. User Foods (highlighted in purple)

These are your personal entries. When you buy a specific commercial item (like a particular brand of protein bar, quark, or cured meat), you can log its metrics here.

• The Advantage: Your personal AI assistant in Quinto checks this table first! If you log "Ate 50g of Bisq Cookie", the AI won't guess its contents based on web averages. It instantly fetches the exact macros per 100g you entered here and scales them precisely to 50g.
• Management: Any custom entry can be removed instantly using the red [X] button in the table rows.

How to add a custom food item:

Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the submission form. All parameters must be calculated per 100 grams of the product:

1. Enter the food's name (match the name you intend to type or speak when logging it).
2. Grams of fat per 100g.
3. Grams of net carbohydrates (total carbohydrates minus dietary fiber) per 100g.
4. Grams of protein per 100g.
5. Tap the orange save button.

Important note on carbohydrates: Because Quinto is built for dietary precision and discards non-caloric fiber, always subtract fiber from total carbohydrates when pulling values from product labels. For instance, if a label reads: Total Carbohydrates 12g, Dietary Fiber 4g – you should log 8 in the Carbs field.

6. Language and Time Zone

The Language and Time Zone configuration page can be accessed even before logging into the system via the Language/Zone button.

• Time Zone: Selecting your correct local time zone (e.g., Europe/London) ensures Quinto tracks exactly when your day resets. Incorrect settings can cause late-night dinners to be recorded as breakfast entries for the following day or vice versa.
• Language: Setting your preferred language adapts the interface for your comfort and improves the AI's ability to parse regional food names and colloquial descriptions.

7. Account Management

From the Account tab, you can track your active database properties, sessions, and AI quota balances.

• View Database ID: Displays your current active Database ID, which you can copy for backup records or use to sync into another device (phone, tablet, or PC).
• Logout: Clears the authentication cookie from your browser and logs you out of the current device. Your database remains safe in the cloud, ready to be pulled again whenever you enter your ID.
• Delete DB: Permanently deletes your entire database history and records from the server. Warning: This action is absolute and completely irreversible!

8. Trial, Subscription, Pricing, and Payments

Quinto is a paid application for a simple reason: it utilizes commercial, paid Large Language Models (LLMs) for food logging.

• Trial Period: We cover your initial operating costs while you explore the application. Every new account starts with 100 complimentary AI queries valid for 1 week, allowing you to test Quinto's full features risk-free.
• Annual Subscription: To extend operations for 12 months with a renewed pool of 10,000 AI queries, the subscription costs 24 USD (excluding VAT) - which amounts to just 2 USD per month.
• Payments are handled securely through FastSpring, a trusted international payment vendor accepting Credit/Debit Cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay. Quinto never accesses, processes, or stores your banking or card details.
• Immediately, following a successful transaction, you will receive a coupon code along with explicit instructions on how to activate your subscription instantly.

Why is there a 10,000 query limit?

Your account dashboard displays a counter (e.g., "You have 9974 remaining requests"). This annual threshold is a technical guardrail. It protects our infrastructure from malicious bot vectors attempting to execute thousands of automated API hits that could degrade service stability. If you manage to exhaust this quota through regular tracking, reach out to us and we will top up your account with an additional 10,000 requests for free :-)

9. Credits

• Illustrations · Storyset.com
• Backgrounds · Unsplash.com
• Markdown · Parsedown.org
• Charts · Chartist.dev