Getting started
On first launch, Hieratic asks you to create a local administrator account. Enter any user ID, a display name, and a password of at least 12 characters. That account is created on the device — there is no Hieratic account to register and no server to sign in to.
Once you are in, an administrator brings in your facility's count sheets from Admin → Bring in instrument data. Only records a human has verified appear in OR Search, so newly imported trays need reviewing before staff can find them.
Common questions
I have forgotten the administrator password
An administrator who is signed in can reset any other account's password from Admin → Manage user access, without needing that person's old password.
If you have lost the password to your only administrator account, it cannot be recovered. Passwords are never stored — only a one-way PBKDF2-SHA256 verifier is kept — and nothing is ever sent to Tessomorph Systems, so there is no reset link we could send and no copy we could look up.
Does Hieratic work without internet?
Yes, completely. Hieratic is designed for the sterile core, where there is often no signal. It makes no network requests at all in its shipped configuration, and every search, tray lookup and photograph works with the device in airplane mode.
An instrument is missing, or a record looks wrong
If a record is searchable but incorrect, tap FLAG DATA FOR ADMIN on that result. The record stays available to everyone while it waits for review, so flagging never removes an instrument mid-case.
If an instrument does not appear at all, it is most likely imported but not yet verified. An administrator can confirm it under Admin → Review and verify records.
How do photographs work?
Administrators can attach up to six photographs to an instrument from the record editor, using the camera or an existing image. Photographs then appear to everyone searching for that instrument.
Images stay on the device. They are not written to your camera roll, never uploaded, and location metadata is removed at capture. Photograph instruments, trays and their labels only — never patients, staff, wristbands, charts, whiteboards, or the surgical field.
How do I back up our data?
An administrator can export everything from Admin → Open system and audit tools → Export tray data. The default export is a compact JSON file. Tick Include photographs for a complete backup, and protect that file as carefully as the device — it carries the images.
Because all data lives on the device, an export is the only backup. Take one before replacing or wiping a phone.
How do I remove our data?
Deleting the app removes everything it holds from the device, permanently and immediately. There is nothing to request from us and nothing for us to delete, because we never receive your data.
Face ID is not offered, or has stopped working
Face ID unlocks a credential Hieratic has stored in the iOS Keychain. It is offered after you sign in with a password for the first time. If enrolment changes on the device — a face is added or reset in iOS Settings — the stored credential is discarded on purpose, and you sign in with your password once to re-enable it.
Before you email
It helps to include your iOS version, whether you are signed in as an administrator or staff, and the exact instrument description or tray name involved. Please do not include patient information of any kind — Hieratic holds none, and support does not need any.