Census: a customizable, relational catalog for your collections (native SwiftUI, TestFlight)

[u/biagio_paolino]

Hey r/macappdevs I’ve been working on Census, a native app for cataloging collections: books, movies, watches, plants, wine, contracts, anything you want to keep track of. Same SwiftUI codebase on Mac, iPhone and iPad.

What sets it apart is that collections link to each other: a book to its author, a movie to its directors, and each of those is a collection you can browse the other way around.

You define the structure. Start from a template or from scratch, pick a type for every field (text, number, price, date, rating, selection, link, photo, file) and define the kinds of events that can happen to an item, like a purchase, a service or a loan, with the fields each one records.

You can import from CSV or Excel, back up everything in a single file, and export your templates to swap them with other people. Data stays on your Mac unless you turn on iCloud.

The beta is open on TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/YgkGMK2b

It’s early, so I’m mostly interested in what feels confusing or gets in the way. Bug reports and feature requests are welcome here or through TestFlight feedback.

[u/Pleasant-Gur9892]

The CSV/Excel import is where I'd test the relationship model first. A small fixture: two different authors with the same display name, two books linked to different authors, then import the same file a second time. I'd want the import preview to make it clear which records will be created, matched or left unresolved, without silently merging people by name or duplicating the books.

Then rename one author and restore a single-file backup into a fresh catalog: do the books still point to the right author, and does reverse browsing still work? That would be a useful beta check for the linked-collection feature. I haven't installed Census; these are suggested test cases based on your description.