Noctara How-tos

How-tos

Quick, task-based instructions. Short steps.

Web app requirement: In the web app, Cloud Sync must be linked to use Watchlist, Portfolios, Pinboard, exporting, and saving. Without Cloud Sync you can still research tickers, read news, and set notifications (stored locally in your browser).

Basics

Notifications

News

  1. Log into your Noctara account on the web app.
  2. Open Account.
  3. Click Cloud Sync.
  4. Find Enable Cloud Sync.
  5. Enter your Noctara password and click Create Cloud Sync (first time).
  6. Check your email for the confirmation message and click Confirm your email.

After confirmation, you’ll be sent back to Noctara and Cloud Sync will be active. This unlocks Watchlist, Portfolios, Pinboard, exporting, journaling, and reliable saving.

Note: The confirmation email is sent by Supabase. Sometimes it lands in spam or promotions.

Add tickers to Watchlist (Binoculars on Details)

  1. Open a ticker’s Details (search or open it from anywhere).
  2. Click the Binoculars icon to add it to Watchlist.
  3. Click again later to remove it.

Tip: starting with 5 to 20 tickers keeps things easier to manage.

Create a Portfolio folder

  1. Open Portfolios.
  2. Create a folder (name it by theme or strategy).
  3. Add tickers to that folder.

Portfolios are useful when you want buckets like Dividends, Long-term, AI, Biotech, or Speculative.

Star favorites (left panel)

The Star is the Favorites control, and it appears in both Watchlist and Portfolios when viewing tickers there. Starred tickers get pinned for quick access in the left panel.

  • Watchlist Favorites and Portfolio Favorites are kept separate in the left panel.
  1. In Watchlist or Portfolios, find the ticker you want to keep close.
  2. Click the Star to favorite/unfavorite it.

Tip: Favorites work best when they stay small. 3 to 8 is a good range.

Replace a main chart (drag & drop)

  1. On the main page, choose the chart slot you want to replace (one of the four).
  2. From the left panel, click and drag a ticker onto that chart.
  3. Release to drop it. The chart updates to the new ticker.

You can drag from Watchlist Favorites, Portfolio Favorites, or Trending tickers.

Save to Pinboard

  1. On a ticker, click the Pin / Bookmark icon.
  2. On an article in News, click Pin / Bookmark.
  3. Open Pinboard to review and clear saved items.
Web app requirement: Pinboard requires linked Cloud Sync in the web app. If you try to pin while unlinked, Noctara will prompt you to link Cloud Sync.

Fix common issues

If something looks wrong (charts not updating, lists not showing, UI acting stuck), these fix most cases.

Fix #1: Sign out / sign back in

  1. Close the web app tab.
  2. Go to Noctara.org and sign out.
  3. Sign back in.
  4. Open the web app again.

Fix #2: Clear cache (and optionally cookies)

  • Clear cache first: forces a clean reload of the latest app files.
  • Clear cookies only if needed: signs you out and resets site sessions.

In most browsers: Settings → Privacy/Security → Clear browsing data → select Cached images and files. If you clear cookies too, you’ll need to sign back in.

Enable notifications (master switch)

  1. Open Settings → Notifications.
  2. Turn on Enable Notifications.

This controls market notifications (price/news/volume banners, sounds, and Dock badges). System alerts (Cloud Sync health) still show.

Turn notifications on for a ticker

  1. Open a ticker’s details panel (or from Watchlist or Portfolios).
  2. Click the Bell icon to add or remove it.

Tip: only enable notifications for tickers you actually want alerts for.

Tune thresholds

Thresholds decide what counts as “enough movement” to notify. Default settings are a good starting point:

  • Price move threshold: 1%
  • Large move threshold: 3%
  • Breaking headline max age: 120 minutes
  • Curated news max age: 360 minutes

If notifications feel too frequent, raise thresholds first.

Use cooldowns

Cooldowns limit how often certain categories can notify. Defaults are conservative:

  • Unusual volume: 20 minutes
  • Gaps: 6 hours
  • Filings: 6 hours
  • Earnings: 6 hours
  • Dividends: 24 hours

Use Easy Read

  1. Open News.
  2. Toggle Easy read (glasses icon).

Easy Read reduces density when you’re scanning for a while.

Save an article for later

  1. Open News.
  2. Find something worth revisiting.
  3. Click the Pin / Bookmark icon to save it to Pinboard.

Pinboard is easiest to use like a queue: save items while browsing, then review them later.

Want deeper explanations (notifications, charts, pinboard, theme settings)? See Guides. For updates, see Release Notes.