Getting Started with Ranch.Bot

Verified: August 24, 2026

The current product path is SMS first: create the account and farm in the web app, enable Text-in, text notes from the registered phone, and review proposed records in the web dashboard.

1. Create the account

  1. Open ranch.bot/login.
  2. Enter your mobile phone number.
  3. Enter the six-digit sign-in code Ranch.Bot sends by SMS.
  4. Add your name if this is a new account.

Ranch.Bot uses passwordless phone sign-in. The sign-in text and the Text-in record channel are separate parts of the product.

2. Start the plan and create a farm

New accounts continue to onboarding:

  1. Choose Solo or Team. Current amounts and billing intervals are on the pricing page.
  2. Add a payment card in Stripe Checkout.
  3. Return to Ranch.Bot and create the farm with a name and species.

The free trial lasts 30 days. A card is required, and nothing is charged until day 31. Crew is handled directly for operations with more than eight people.

3. Enable Text-in

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Choose Account.
  3. Find Text-in (SMS) and turn on Text-in.
  4. Copy the shared number shown on the page.

Text the shared number from the same phone registered on the Ranch.Bot account. Text-in requires cellular SMS service. It is not offline capture.

4. Text a field note

Send a short note in the language you already use. For example:

Messages to Ranch.Bot · SMS

  • Ewe 327 lambed twins this morning.

  • Moved the yearlings to the west pasture.

  • Tag 4012 needs a weight added from today.

Ranch.Bot replies by text and puts the note in the farm conversation with its via SMS source. If the note calls for a write, Ranch.Bot prepares a proposal instead of saving silently.

Photos by text

Texted photos are stored for the account, but are not currently shown in the conversation or extracted into structured records.

5. Review before saving

Open the web dashboard and review the proposal. Check the animal or group, date, record type, and details. Confirm it when it is right, correct the note when it is not, or reject it.

Saved records appear in the animal, group, and Records views. Recent changes remain visible in Change History.

6. Export when needed

Open Tools → Export:

  • JSON downloads the complete farm, animal, record, and group data returned by the dashboard.
  • CSV downloads a simplified animals-and-records file for a spreadsheet.

The Data Export guide owns the current export details.

Bring existing records

Open Tools → Import to send spreadsheets, PDFs, documents, or photos of paper records. Ranch.Bot extracts a proposed import, then a person reviews the source, sensitive-data anomalies, counts, samples, and ambiguities before any writes are approved. See Data Import.

External assistants

You do not need Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, an MCP client, or an API key to use Ranch.Bot. Public external-assistant installation is not available today. The current status and developer-only boundary live in MCP Integration Status.

Common questions

Does Text-in work without service?

No. Your phone must be able to send an SMS. Account setup and dashboard review need a data connection.

Can another phone text records into my farm?

Not until that person has their own account access and completes the supported setup. Unknown numbers cannot write to a farm.

Can Ranch.Bot load the files I already have?

Yes, through the supervised process in Data Import. Uploading a file does not write records by itself.

Where do current prices live?

Only on the pricing page, which reads the configured plans.

Get help

The primary next step is to schedule a walkthrough. You can also start the 30-day trial.

For account or product help, email support@ranch.bot.