First Launch & Setup

Get SquirrelCache up and running — from installation through your first successful backup.

System Requirements

SquirrelCache requires:

iOS 17.0 or later
Any iPhone supported by iOS 17 (iPhone XS or newer)
Photo Library access permission (granted on first launch)

The Onboarding Screen

The first time you open SquirrelCache, you'll see the onboarding screen. This screen has one job: explain clearly what the app needs access to and why, before asking for it.

You'll see:

A welcome message describing what SquirrelCache does
A privacy statement confirming all operations are local and no data leaves your device
A Grant Access button to request photo library permission

Privacy first: SquirrelCache only requests photo library access. It does not request contacts, location, microphone, camera, or any other system resource.

Granting Photo Library Access

Tapping Grant Access presents iOS's standard permission dialog. You have three options:

Option	What it means
Allow Full Access	SquirrelCache can read your entire photo library. Required for date-range filtering to work across all photos.
Allow Limited Access	SquirrelCache can only access photos you explicitly select. Date-range backups will only cover those photos.
Don't Allow	SquirrelCache cannot access your photos. The app cannot perform any backups without this permission.

Recommended: Choose Allow Full Access for the best experience — especially if you plan to use date-range filtering. You can revoke access at any time from iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos → SquirrelCache.

Navigating the Main Screen

After granting access, you'll land on the main backup screen. Here's what you'll see:

Filter Mode card — Switch between Date Range and Photo Picker modes
Backup Stats card — Live count of photos and videos matching your current filter, with an estimated export size
File Name card — Configure the prefix and delimiter for exported filenames
Export Location card — Set the destination folder for your backup
Start Backup button — Starts the export (enabled once you've set a destination and have matching photos)
Share button — Export directly via the iOS Share Sheet instead of saving to a folder
Settings icon (top right) — Opens the full settings panel

Your First Backup in 3 Steps

Set your date range

The Filter Mode card defaults to Date Range. Tap the start or end date to adjust the range. The Backup Stats card updates in real time to show how many photos and videos match, and an estimated total size.

Choose an export destination

Tap the Export Location card and use the folder picker to select where you want your photos saved. SquirrelCache remembers this location for future backups — you won't need to pick it again unless you want to change it.

Tap Start Backup

The backup progress sheet appears showing live status, item count, and estimated time remaining. You can cancel at any time. When it finishes, you'll see a summary with total items, size, and duration — and a button to open the exported folder.

Next: Read Running a Backup to learn about all the filter options, the Photo Picker mode, and the Share Sheet.