Add and import cards — Tomebound help

Add one card

Open Add Cards and choose scan, lookup, or import. In lookup, search for a card, choose the exact printing, then confirm the preview. Card-name and commander searches show a spinner and searching status while suggestions load. Card lookups use Scryfall: a card Scryfall doesn't have is reported right away, while an outage, rate limit, or a lookup that takes longer than about 10 seconds says Scryfall couldn't be reached so you can try again, instead of reporting the card as not found. Lookup opens by default on phones too; reopening the drawer keeps the tab you chose. Enter waits for matching name suggestions rather than submitting unfinished text.
Search by card name, then choose the set and collector number you want in the printing picker. In a printing picker, Up and Down move from the filter into results. Focused results support Up, Down, Home, End, and Enter or Space to select. Price refreshes preserve the filter text, caret, and keyboard focus. Lookup defaults to a released paper printing you own, including one owned in another language, or an ordinary released paper printing. Unreleased paper printings appear after released ones and can be selected explicitly; a scanned printing stays selected when it is in the results. The preview identifies its set code and collector number immediately; language artwork loads separately. Add and its keyboard shortcuts wait for the language lookup to finish so the matching localized printing is used when available. Digital-only cards, tokens, and other extras are excluded. If a very large printing list is incomplete, its caption says so; type a set code to search that set on Scryfall, including printings beyond the loaded list.
Set finish, condition, language, quantity, destination, and tags before committing the card. Focus the destination field to browse containers followed by decks, with recently used destinations first within each group when add history is available. Type to filter, use the arrow keys and Enter to select, or Escape to keep the previous destination. The destination defaults to the current scope, then the last-used destination. Choose new container… to create a named container inline, or new deck… to open the deck creation form; the created destination is selected without leaving your card draft. Changing printing or language preserves your quantity draft, condition, tags, destination choice, new-container text, and keyboard focus. A supported finish also stays selected when you filter or change printing or language. Quantity must be a whole number from 1 to 99. Quantity and the action appear beside the compact preview before the remaining details. Starting the next card resets condition to near mint, quantity to one, finish and language to the printing defaults, and tags to empty. The last destination is remembered for this open page only.
The tags field suggests existing collection tags as you type. Use arrows to highlight a suggestion, then Enter or comma to add it; without a highlighted suggestion, those keys add your typed text. Backspace in an empty field removes the last chip, and each chip also has a remove control. Ctrl+Enter (or Command+Enter) commits the card from the drawer. The action names your selected container or deck, or says add to collection when unfiled and send to computer when paired. Escape cancels a preview and returns to the cleared name field; changing the name immediately hides the previous preview. Copies that match an existing inventory row combine quantities and keep both sets of tags on the combined row.

Import a spreadsheet or list

The import tab leads with how you're bringing cards in: upload a file, paste a list, or import a list link. Picking one reveals just that input; a compact What can I import? panel next to it lists the supported fields, two working examples, and a downloadable template CSV.
Switching import sources keeps the text and link you've entered in the open form. A failed provider fetch keeps the link so you can correct or retry it; a successful import clears it. While a file or provider import is running, the form prevents another submission. The upload area also opens the file picker with Enter or Space when focused.
Paste or upload spreadsheet exports from tools such as Moxfield, ManaBox, Deckbox, TCGplayer, or Tomebound's own export format. Tomebound detects common headers automatically, including comma, semicolon, and tab separated files, a leading sep= line from Excel, and UTF-16 or Windows-1252 text encodings.
If the headers aren't recognized, or a column that looks like quantity, finish, or set wasn't matched, Tomebound asks you to match each column to a field, showing a sample value from the first row and filling in the columns it did recognize. The mapping is remembered by column name once you import with it, so the same spreadsheet shape skips the question next time even if its columns move; cancelling doesn't remember it. Change column mapping in the review reopens the question. Columns that stay unmatched are listed in the review as ignored.
Before the review opens, Tomebound matches every row on Scryfall (rows it couldn't look up because Scryfall was unreachable are flagged as such, not as unmatched cards), so the preview's add, merge quantity, and needs attention buckets compare the same card identities the import will use; re-importing a file with Leave existing alone changes nothing. Choose whether cards already in your collection get their quantity added to or are left alone, and override that choice per row. Location defaults to Locations from file when the file has a location column, so a Tomebound CSV keeps its containers and decks; choose No location or a container to override every row. A pasted list or list link is reviewed the same way, and its maybeboard cards are left out. Files over 500 rows preview their first 500 rows.
CSV imports accept quoted empty cells, commas and line breaks inside quoted cells, Windows line endings, and a UTF-8 byte-order mark. Malformed quotes or a different number of columns are reported with the source row number and skipped; the other usable rows can still import. An unclosed quoted field is skipped through the end of the file because its row boundaries are uncertain.
The review lists warnings by source row and card name. Unsupported tags are dropped while keeping the card and its valid tags, including tags entered in the review. Tags must follow the same rules as the tag editor: at most 40 characters and 4 words, supported characters, and no instruction-like text. Common condition labels, including Moxfield's Good (Lightly Played), are mapped to Tomebound conditions. An unknown condition defaults to near mint with a warning; correct the source file before confirming if that is not appropriate.
Rows Scryfall can't match are flagged and still import by name only, without card details; the receipt lists them by row and card name. Card names must match exactly, including a double-faced card's face name or full A // B name. When a set code and collector number don't match, Tomebound tries the card name within that set, translates Arena and MTGO set codes, or uses the name alone for an unknown set code, and flags the printing to check. A set named without a collector number limits the lookup to that set; a selected printing is flagged to check. Quantities must be whole positive numbers (1,000 is read as 1000); rows with 0, negative, or fractional quantities are skipped with a warning. Unknown finishes and languages default to normal and English with a warning. Rows marked proxy, altered, signed, or misprint import as regular copies with a warning, since Tomebound doesn't track those attributes. Purchase prices aren't imported: Tomebound's prices are Scryfall market prices.
If the server rejects an invalid change, the import error identifies the change and field and states that none of that batch was saved. Review or correct the source data before trying again.
After the import is saved, confirmation shows a receipt: the add/merge/attention counts, any warnings, the destination, and buttons to view the imported cards or undo the whole import in one step. An import that changes nothing has no undo button. Imports over 5,000 rows are saved in parts of 5,000, each its own history entry; the receipt's undo reverses every part, and if a later part fails the earlier parts stay saved and the error says how many rows were.
When you merge a re-imported row, its latest source-format details replace the earlier imported details for that format. Preserved details from other import formats remain available.
After import, Tomebound fills in missing prices and search info when it can.

Import from other apps

Moxfield

Collection: export your Moxfield collection as a CSV and upload it. Tomebound reads the quantity, name, set, collector number, condition, language and foil columns, so each card lands on its exact printing. Purchase prices aren't imported, and proxy or altered rows come in as regular copies with a warning.
Decks: paste a Moxfield deck link or the deck's text export. Commanders, companions and sideboards keep their places.
Going back: export from Tomebound as Moxfield CSV.

ManaBox

Collection: export your ManaBox collection as a CSV and upload it. ManaBox includes each card's Scryfall ID, so printings match exactly. Tomebound also reads quantity, condition, language and foil. Purchase prices, misprint and altered aren't imported.
Going back: export as ManaBox CSV.

Deckbox

Collection: export your Deckbox inventory as a CSV and upload it. Tomebound reads count, name, edition, card number, condition, language and foil, and maps Deckbox's "Good (Lightly Played)" to lightly played. Signed, altered and misprint copies come in as regular copies with a warning.
Going back: export as Deckbox CSV.

TCGplayer

Collection: upload a TCGplayer collection CSV. Tomebound reads the product name, set, number, condition and quantity, and matches printings by set and number. Rows without a number are flagged so you can check the printing.
Going back: export as TCGplayer CSV. Decks can also send missing cards to TCGplayer Mass Entry.

Archidekt

Decks: paste an Archidekt deck link. Its Commander, Sideboard and Maybeboard categories map to the matching deck sections. Adding the deck's cards to your collection leaves the maybeboard out.
Collection files: there's no dedicated Archidekt importer yet. Upload the CSV and match its columns once, and Tomebound remembers the mapping for next time.

MTGGoldfish

Paste a deck link.

Arena, MTGO and plain lists

Paste the list. Arena and MTGO set codes are translated to Scryfall's.

Dragon Shield and other apps

Any spreadsheet with a card name and quantity works. Match the columns once, and Tomebound remembers them.

Tomebound CSV and JSON

Tomebound CSV keeps each card's container or deck. For a complete copy including deck lists, use the Tomebound JSON export.

Scan cards

Holding a scanned card in place keeps it locked while the camera refocuses or the lighting changes. Keep your phone fixed above a stack and place each next card on top. Automatic scanning resumes after a substantially different image settles for several frames, or after a plain, evenly lit empty background settles. Another copy of the same printing can also scan after a placement briefly covers or substantially changes the image and a clear image settles in a different position. A hand left over the card does not count as a settled replacement. You do not need to clear the frame between cards. Small changes in distance, nudges, rotations, refocus, exposure and moving foil reflections keep the current card locked. If a replacement is too similar for the camera to detect, use scan next card. While a single-card proposal awaits confirmation, the camera keeps its review instruction visible and scan next card stays disabled. Cancelling a single-card proposal keeps the current card locked until the scene changes and settles, or you choose scan next card. Repeat reads of the same physical card stay in one queue entry. A clearer, verified collector-line read can improve that entry's printing while it is still unedited and awaiting review. If the close-up cannot be read, usable set and collector-number hints from the full card image are retained. The queue's expand control sits beside its heading, with selection and bulk actions together below. Select individual cards using the checkbox over the top-left corner of their image.
On desktop, the scan tab shows a QR code to pair your phone, then a review queue as scans arrive. The paired phone opens a camera page without requiring sign-in. If camera permission is denied, the page explains how to allow it in Safari or Chrome and offers Open Tomebound to return to card lookup. On a phone or tablet, you can also scan directly with that device's camera. If you lock your phone or switch apps, the camera restarts when you return, keeping the current card from being scanned twice.
Point at one card. A clear, steady frame is captured automatically. The camera guide turns green after capture; identification and delivery have separate status text. The scanner reads the title and close-ups from opposite corners of that same frame, so the collector line is included for upright and upside-down cards, then looks up the best matching printing in Scryfall. Language and the printed finish marker are used when readable. A visible date stamp or promo-pack emblem is checked against the corresponding prerelease or promo-pack printing. Printing choices and card details label stamps explicitly, even when the database artwork does not depict them. Unclear finish markers default to nonfoil for review, unless the printing exists only in another finish. Each account can identify up to 500 cards a day, including scans from a paired phone; the count resets at 00:00 UTC.
On a paired phone, a usable match goes straight to the desktop queue. Weak matches pause for a retake. Uncertain printings are labelled for individual review. There is no second confirming read or phone editor. The scanner watches for a settled replacement card or empty background even while earlier photos are being identified or sent. It can keep three more photos waiting to process; if those slots fill, keep the current card in view until capture resumes. Copies of the same printing scan normally when placement is observed and the new clear image differs enough in position or physical detail. If a change is missed, use scan next card without clearing the frame. The button stays available during processing, with a brief guard against double taps, and pauses when the waiting-photo slots are full or a local review is open. Without a paired computer, choose scan one card to review and add each card in this device's editor, or scan a stack to keep scanning while each card waits in a review list on the phone; approve or reject the list at the end.
Paired scans wait in the desktop queue until you approve them. Choose expand queue for a full-width review grid, and compact queue to return to the sidebar without losing edits or selections. Focus a card and use arrow keys to move through the queue; Space selects it. Each row shows a large card image beside quantity, set and collector number, finish, condition, and non-English language, with approve, edit, and reject on one line. Approve all and approve selected skip uncertain matches and possible re-reads. Check those rows individually: edit an uncertain printing, approve that row explicitly, or reject it. Possible re-read means the capture followed an override without a detected, settled scene change, or the same card identity has a near-identical image to the previous capture. The queue checks this image evidence independently, even when the camera detected a scene change. It needs individual approval. Older scanner tabs without capture evidence also flag repeated matches for individual review. Matching the same printing again does not itself trigger this warning: additional copies with distinct capture images after detected placements remain eligible for bulk approval when their matches are confident and collector-line verified. Copies that look indistinguishable in the camera need individual review; the image cannot prove that a different physical card was placed. Select cards to reject together; rejecting more than one card asks first. Rejected scans disappear from the queue and its totals, including after refresh. Rejecting an unapproved scan leaves your collection unchanged and is not treated as evidence that recognition was wrong. Approvals wait for the cloud save before showing approved.
Choose edit to select another printing of the same card, including a different set or collector number, and change finish, condition, language, and quantity. If a scan lookup failed or was interrupted by refresh, edit selects the recorded set and collector number in the recorded language when available, then in another available language. If no printing matches that set and number, choose one explicitly before save changes becomes available. Finish and language choices are limited to the selected printing. Use the minus and plus buttons to adjust quantity, then save changes at the bottom right. For a different card name, reject the scan and add the correct card through lookup. Save changes updates the queued draft; approve adds it to your collection. Editing an already approved scan replaces only that scan's quantity. Undo add or rejecting an approved scan removes only its contribution, preserving other copies, then clears it from the queue after the cloud save succeeds. If it was edited elsewhere, use the collection editor instead.
Scans inherit the desktop session's destination, condition, and tags when they arrive. Condition defaults to near mint and is never inferred from a photo; change it manually when needed. The queue survives closing and reopening the add panel and refreshing the same browser tab. Unapproved drafts belong to that tab and account. The browser warns before leaving while scans are processing, awaiting review, or need checking; keep the tab open until you have handled them. If a save times out or a refresh interrupts it, the scan shows check collection and cannot be approved again. Check the card in your collection before making any further change.
After capture, you can move the card away while Tomebound identifies it and sends it for review. A brief green frame confirms capture, then the frame returns to neutral and you can place the next card. Captured photos below the camera show waiting, identifying, sending, and sent status separately from the live camera guidance. A sent count and recent recognized cards help track progress; place the next card on the stack, replace the card in view, or use scan next card if automatic scanning misses the change. An unreadable photo asks you to adjust the angle or lighting and retake it. Retaking a photo that never produced a match does not itself create a possible re-read warning. A retake of an already identified card keeps the usual duplicate checks. A service error or 45-second timeout lets you retry the saved photo without holding the card in place; retake photo starts a new capture. Delivery retries use the same capture identifier. Closing the add panel or switching its tab stops the camera while already captured photos continue processing. Reopen the scanner to see progress or retry a failed photo. Keep the browser tab open until processing finishes.
If a scan is wrong or unreadable, choose report this scan on the capturing device. Review the captured photo, optionally enter the correct card, set code, collector number, finish, or notes, then explicitly consent and send the report. The photo and details go privately to Tomebound for scanner improvement. Reporting does not add or change a card; correct your queued card separately. A failed upload keeps the form available to retry. Reports are tied to the collection owner and removed when that account is deleted.
When the phone stops responding, the desktop returns to waiting and shows the scanner link again. Reconnect phone reveals the full-width QR code and complete copyable link at any time while connected. Pairing details collapse after connection. Reconnecting keeps queued cards. If the paired account is deleted, the phone shows that the scanner session ended; any other account signed in on the phone stays signed in with its collection intact. The desktop resumes its pairing and delivery position after a refresh in the same tab and account, and continues receiving with the add panel closed. Pairing links and their queued cards expire after 30 minutes without desktop polls, phone heartbeats, or deliveries. Each activity renews that window. The phone says connected only when the desktop has polled within the last 15 seconds. Otherwise it shows desktop not listening and holds the recognized photo until the desktop returns; it does not count that photo as sent. Locking the phone pauses its camera; returning reacquires the camera and keeps any captured photo available for retry.