Log Your Keycap Sets Without Losing Your Mind
I spent years keeping keycap collections in my head. Then I tried a few different spreadsheets before settling on something that actually stuck. Most people treat keycap collecting like buying books you never read — you acquire the thing, put it on the desk, and forget what else you own until someone asks you a question at a meetup. That's when things get messy. I learned this the hard way after buying a second copy of a set I already owned because my notes were scattered across three different tabs in one Google Sheet. Keycaps Logbook Daily is a concept, not really a single branded product. The name has circulated in keyboard communities as a daily journaling or logging habit where collectors record what they own, what they're using on any given day, and any changes they make to their setups. Think of it like a worn-in notebook for your keycap inventory, except in practice most people build this out as a mix of a structured spreadsheet and quick daily notes. The goal is simple: stop relying on memory and start having something you can reference when you want to sell, trade, or remember why you bought that expensive PBT batch in the first place. I'll walk through the setup I ended up using. It's not fancy. It took me about two evenings to get running and maybe an hour of maintenance per month afterward.
The core structure has three sheets or sections. The first is your master inventory list. Every row is a keycap set or individual switch profile you own. Columns I use include the set name, brand, profile, material, quantity, purchase date, price paid, and current status — whether it's installed, boxed, for sale, or pending a trade. The status column is the part most people skip and then regret later. The second section is your daily log. This is where Keycaps Logbook Daily actually comes alive. Each row is a date. You note what keycaps are on your keyboard that day, any swaps you made, and a short field for notes. Something as simple as noting that you switched to a different set because the on your main set felt too scratchy after a week of heavy typing saves you from repeating the same mistake next time you consider that batch. The third section is a watchlist for sets you're interested in but haven't bought yet. You track group buys, resale listings, and waitlist positions here. This keeps you from accidentally buying something you already have queued up from a different source.
The Spreadsheet Setup I Use
I settled on a Google Sheet because it syncs across my phone and laptop without any setup friction. The columns I find most useful are: Set name and manufacturer in the first two columns. Profile like Cherry, XDA, or SA right after that. Material and keycap count as separate columns so you can filter later. Purchase source and date help when you're trying to track warranty or compare prices across different sellers. A condition column covers whether the set is new, used, or has any shine or wear issues. Current status and location tell you where the set physically is and whether it's actively in use. For the daily log, I keep it dead simple. Date, keyboard or macro pad name, set currently installed, what you swapped from, and a notes field. Most days the notes field stays empty. On the days you do write something, you'll wish you'd been more consistent on the empty days.
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Practical Details About Keeping Keycaps Logbook Daily
The habit itself is the harder part, not the spreadsheet. I found that spending more than thirty seconds on an entry made me stop doing it after a week. If logging takes longer than swapping the keycaps, you will skip it. I shortened my note format to three words max unless something unusual happened. That threshold is what kept me going for six months straight. One issue I ran into was duplicate entries piling up. I bought the same Artisan DSA set from two different resellers around the same time and logged them as separate entries because I didn't realize I had duplicates until someone asked me to show them what I owned. The fix was adding a SKU or internal reference number to each entry and checking for similar names before logging a new one. I started typing the first four characters of a set name before hitting enter, and Google Sheets auto-complete caught most of the duplicates. For the ones it missed, a quick conditional formatting rule that highlights rows where the set name already exists in the sheet saved me from further copy-paste errors. Another problem I hit was the status column drifting out of sync. I'd install a set, forget to update the status, and then a month later think I still had space for a new purchase when I was already overextended. I solved this by making the daily log the primary source of truth. The inventory status now pulls from the most recent daily entry using a simple formula. If the last seven days show a set as installed, the status stays active. If there's no entry in two weeks, it defaults to boxed. That rule isn't perfect, but it caught about ninety percent of the mismatches before they became a problem.
What This System Doesn't Do Well
I should be straight about the limitations. A spreadsheet is only as good as the data you put into it. If you buy five sets in a weekend and don't log them until the next month, you'll have gaps that make the whole system less useful. The same goes for trades and sales. When you move a set without updating the log, the next person reading it has no idea where it went. I've had to reconstruct trades from DM screenshots because I didn't log the outgoing set on time. Group buy tracking is another weak spot. These spreadsheets handle finished products fine. They fall apart when you're dealing with deposits, shipping updates, and backorder dates that shift every few weeks. I ended up maintaining a separate calendar for group buy deadlines alongside the main sheet instead of trying to force that data into the same columns. It's messier, but it kept the two systems from corrupting each other. And if you plan to sell or trade a large portion of your collection at any point, the spreadsheet alone won't handle the photography, listing, and negotiation work. This system tracks ownership. It doesn't replace the actual process of listing on a marketplace or communicating with other collectors.
A Quick Entry Walkthrough
Here's what a typical entry looks like on my sheet. Date is straightforward. Keyboard name is whatever I'm using that day. Set installed is the current set on the board. Swapped from shows what was there before. Notes captures the reason or any observation. I usually write something like "too much slope on the modifiers" or "new batch arrived, earlier one had inconsistent legend fill." The later entry becomes useful when I'm deciding whether to reorder from that manufacturer or move on to a different profile entirely. Monthly, I run a quick filter to flag any set that hasn't appeared in the daily log for more than thirty days. Those are either sets I've forgotten about or ones I stopped using and never logged as retired. Going through that list takes about ten minutes and usually surfaces two or three items I didn't realize I was holding onto. That's where the real value shows up.
Alternatives Worth Considering
If spreadsheets aren't your thing, there are other options. Some people use Notion databases for the same purpose, which handles images and tags better but introduces a learning curve. Dedicated keyboard community apps exist but tend to be either too rigid or abandonware by the time you've spent enough time configuring them. Physical notebooks work for a small collection, but once you pass roughly fifteen sets, referencing anything becomes a chore. The spreadsheet approach sits somewhere in the middle — not the most visually appealing, but reliable and searchable once you get past the initial setup friction. For people who want something simpler, a single sheet with just set name, status, and current keyboard works fine. You can always expand it later. The trap most people fall into is building a massive system on day one and then abandoning it because it feels like homework. Start minimal. Add columns when you hit a real limitation, not when you think you might need them someday.
