Author your People's calendar

Metztli is the calendar app on the device. Out of the box, it runs on the built-in Anāhuac calendar, but your People can replace it with their own. Any calendar built from repeating day counts fits. A 20-day sign cycle, a 13-day number count, thirteen moons, a tzolk'in: if it repeats, Metztli can carry it. Stewards can author everything on the Calendar configuration panel, under the Cultural calendar heading.

Build a calendar project

1. On your People's project, click the user icon in the top right, then Culture Library → Calendar, and choose Calendar configuration.
2. Fill in displayName. This is the name people will see, like Salish Moons. You can also give the tradition a name in calendarName (optional).
3. Set epoch (correlation date) with the date picker. This is the anchor day, the real-world date your count is measured from. Every day before and after is figured from this one date, forever.
4. If elders shared guidance about the calendar, add it under notes (one per line). This will be presented under the Wisdom tab in Metztli.

Build your cycles

A cycle is one repeating count of days. Your calendar can have just one, or several running at the same time. The Anahuac tonalpohualli, for example, pairs a 13-day number count with a 20-day sign count.

1. Under Cycles, press Cycle to add one.
2. Give it a name, like Day signs or Numbers.
3. In the labels field, type each day name and press Enter after each one. Each name becomes a small chip; tap the × on a chip to remove it. Any number of names works: 13, 20, 28, whatever your calendar uses.
4. Leave period (blank = label count) empty in almost every case. The cycle simply repeats as many days as it has names.
5. Leave epochOffset at 0 unless your anchor date should not be the first day of the cycle. If the anchor date falls on the third name in your list, enter 2 (count from zero).
6. Add more cycles the same way. Use the Move up and Move down arrows to reorder them, or Remove to delete one.

Choose the primary and glyph cycles

Once you have at least one cycle, two rows of pills appear.

1. Under Primary cycle, tap the cycle that gives each day its number. The device shows that day's position as a numeral badge.
2. Under Glyph cycle, tap the cycle whose day names have pictures, the day signs. Tap the same pill again to turn it off if your calendar has no sign art.

Add day-sign art

When a glyph cycle is chosen, a Day-sign glyphs grid appears with one tile per day name, and a running count like 7/20 showing how many have art.

1. Tap a sign's tile. A file chooser opens asking for that sign's SVG file.
2. Pick the file. The art appears in the tile right away. The tile itself is the button, so tap it again anytime to replace the art.
3. Work through the grid at your own pace. Signs without art are safe to leave: on the device they simply show their name as text.

Check the preview, then save

1. Look at Next 14 days (device-identical arithmetic) at the bottom. It lists the coming two weeks with every cycle's day name and position, computed exactly the way the device computes it, so what you see here is what families will see.
2. When the dates read true, press Save + Compile.

Return to the built-in calendar

If ever you want to set your custom calendar aside, press Use built-in Anahuac at the top of the panel. The device goes back to its built-in Anāhuac calendar; your card simply stops carrying a custom one.

What the device shows

Each day, Metztli counts the date on the device itself. No internet will ever be required to find the current day count. The primary cycle's position appears as the day's number, the glyph cycle's name appears as the day sign with your artwork tinted to match, and any sign still missing art shows its name in text.