Tuto User Guide

Tuto is a desktop app that helps parents manage a list of freelance tutors for their children. It is optimised for users who prefer typing commands over clicking through menus, while still providing a clean visual interface to view tutor information at a glance.

Who is this guide for? This guide is written for parents who are comfortable using a keyboard and want to manage tutor contacts efficiently. No prior technical experience is required — if you can open a terminal and type commands, you are ready to use Tuto.

Table of Contents

Quick Start

Follow these steps to get Tuto running on your computer in under 5 minutes.

Step 1 — Install Java

Tuto requires Java 17 or above.

  • Windows / Linux: Download Java 17 from Adoptium.
  • Mac: Follow the exact installation steps here, as the standard Mac JDK may not be compatible.

To verify your Java version, open a terminal and run:

java -version

You should see 17 or higher in the output.

Step 2 — Download Tuto

Download the latest tuto.jar file from the Tuto releases page.

Move the file into a dedicated folder (e.g. ~/tuto/). This folder will store your data going forward.

Step 3 — Launch Tuto

  1. Open a terminal (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on Mac/Linux).
  2. Navigate to the folder containing tuto.jar:
    cd ~/tuto
  3. Run the application:
    java -jar tuto.jar

A window similar to the one below should appear within a few seconds, pre-loaded with sample tutor data.

Tuto UI on first launch

Step 4 — Try Your First Commands

Type a command into the Command Box at the top and press Enter to run it. Here are a few to try:

What you want to do Command to type
View all tutors list
Add a new tutor add n/Jane Smith p/91234567 e/jane@example.com s/Mathematics r/60
Find tutors by subject find s/Mathematics
Sort tutors by name (A–Z) sort name asc
Delete the 1st tutor delete 1
Open help help
Exit the app exit

Tip: The Command Summary at the bottom of this guide is a handy reference once you are familiar with the commands.

Understanding the Interface

Tuto's interface has three main areas:

  • Command Box — where you type your commands
  • Result Display — shows feedback after each command (success messages or error details)
  • Tutor List Panel — displays all tutor profiles matching the current view

Each tutor card in the panel shows the tutor's name, phone number, email, subject, and hourly rate. Tags (if any) appear as labels on the card.

Features

Notes on Command Format

The following conventions apply to all commands in this guide:

  • Words in UPPER_CASE are values you supply.
    e.g. in add n/NAME, replace NAME with the tutor's actual name: add n/John Doe.

  • Items in [square brackets] are optional.
    e.g. [a/ADDRESS] means the address field can be left out.

  • Items followed by … can be used multiple times.
    e.g. [t/TAG]… allows zero, one, or more tags: t/home, t/experienced t/recommended.

  • Parameters can be given in any order.
    e.g. n/NAME p/PHONE and p/PHONE n/NAME are both valid.

  • Extra parameters are ignored for commands that take none (such as help, list, exit, and clear).
    e.g. help 123 runs as help.

Note for PDF users: If you copy commands from a PDF, line breaks may introduce unexpected spaces. Re-type the command manually if it does not execute as expected.

Displayed indices change after sort and delete

Commands such as edit and delete use INDEX: the number shown beside each tutor in the Tutor List Panel for the current list order.

  • After a sort command, tutors are reordered, so the same person may appear at a different index than before.
  • After a delete command, the list becomes shorter and tutors below the removed row shift up, so their indices are renumbered (what was “tutor 5” may become “tutor 4”).

Always look at the Tutor List Panel again before typing the next edit or delete command. Do not assume indices from an earlier step are still correct.

Viewing Help : help

Opens a link to this User Guide.

Format: help

Expected output: A pop-up window appears with a link to the online User Guide.

Help window

Clearing all entries: clear

Clears all entries from the address book.

clear message

Format: clear

Adding a Tutor : add

Adds a new tutor profile to Tuto.

add message

Format: add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL s/SUBJECT1 s/SUBJECT2 ... s/SUBJECTn r/RATE [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…​

Flag Field Required? Accepted values
n/ Name Yes Any non-empty text
p/ Phone number Yes Digits only, at least 3 digits
e/ Email Yes Valid email format (e.g. user@example.com)
a/ Address No Any text
s/ Subject Yes Any non-empty text (e.g. Mathematics, Biology)
r/ Hourly rate (SGD) Yes Positive number
t/ Tag No Alphanumeric, no spaces

Tip:

  1. Tags are powerful ways to organise contacts. You can use multiple tags in a tutor contact to provide more information, e.g. t/home for home tutoring services.
  2. A person can have any number of tags (including 0) and more than one subjects.
  3. The parameters of the command can be entered in any orders.

Note: Adding a tutor with the same name, phone number, or email as an existing entry is not allowed. Tuto treats each field as unique and will reject the operation if any duplicate is detected. If two tutors happen to share a name, consider using a middle initial to differentiate them.

Examples:

add n/John Doe p/98765432 e/johnd@example.com s/Chemistry r/50

Adds John Doe as a Chemistry tutor charging $50/hr, with no address or tags.

add n/Betsy Crowe p/1234567 e/betsycrowe@example.com a/Newgate Prison s/Biology r/55 t/experienced t/recommended

Adds Betsy Crowe as a Biology tutor with an address and two tags.

Expected output:

New person added: John Doe; Phone: 98765432; Email: johnd@example.com; Address: ; Subject: Chemistry; Rate: 50; Tags:

Listing All Tutors : list

Displays all tutor profiles stored in Tuto.

list message

Format: list

Expected output: The Tutor List Panel refreshes to show all contacts. The Result Display shows the total number of tutors listed.

Tip: Use list to reset the view after a find command has filtered your results.

Sorting the Tutor List : sort

Changes the order of tutors in the Tutor List Panel. Sorting is by name or hourly rate only; it does not remove or hide tutors.

Format:

sort FIELD ORDER
Part Meaning Allowed values
FIELD What to sort by name or rate (case-insensitive)
ORDER Sort direction asc (ascending) or desc (descending) (case-insensitive)
  • Name: Alphabetical order by full name (case-insensitive).
  • Rate: Numeric order by hourly rate. If two tutors have the same rate, they are ordered by name (ascending) as a tie-break.

Examples:

sort name asc

Shows tutors from A → Z by name.

sort rate desc

Shows highest hourly rate first.

Expected output: A confirmation message in the Result Display, and the Tutor List Panel updates to the new order. The header above the list also reflects the active sort.

Indices update after sorting: Because edit and delete use the position number in the current list, running sort changes which tutor is at each index. See Displayed indices change after sort and delete before your next command.

Editing a Tutor Profile : edit

Updates one or more fields of an existing tutor profile.

Format:

edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [a/ADDRESS] [s/SUBJECT] [r/RATE] [t/TAG]…
  • INDEX refers to the number shown next to the tutor in the current list. It must be a positive integer (1, 2, 3 …).
  • After a sort or delete, indices may no longer match what you saw earlier — see Displayed indices change after sort and delete.
  • At least one field must be provided.
  • Existing values are replaced with the new values you provide.

Note: Editing tags replaces all existing tags — it does not add to them. To remove all tags, use t/ with nothing after it. To keep existing tags while adding a new one, you must retype all the tags you want to keep.

Note: Editing a tutor with the same name, phone number, or email as an existing entry is not allowed. Tuto treats each field as unique and will reject the operation if any duplicate is detected. If two tutors happen to share a name, consider using a middle initial to differentiate them.

Examples:

edit 1 p/91234567 e/johndoe@example.com

Updates the phone number and email of the 1st tutor in the list.

edit 2 n/Betsy Crower t/

Renames the 2nd tutor and removes all of their tags.

edit 1 s/Physics r/30

Changes the 1st tutor's subject to Physics and rate to $30/hr.

Expected output:

Edited Person: John Doe; Phone: 91234567; Email: johndoe@example.com; Address: ; Subject: Chemistry; Rate: 50; Tags:

Finding Tutors : find

Search for tutors by keyword, name, subject, or hourly rate — or combine them for precise filtering.

Prefixes

Prefix Filters by Behaviour
n/NAME_KEYWORDS Name Prefix match · Case-insensitive · Space-separate multiple keywords · Only one n/ allowed
s/SUBJECT Subject taught Prefix match · Case-insensitive · Multiple s/ allowed (AND logic)
r/RATE Hourly rate Exact, range, or comparison match · Only one r/ allowed

Tip: Spaces after prefixes are optional — find n/John and find n/ John both work.

Search Modes

Mode Syntax Returns
General Search find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS] (case-insensitive) Tutors where any attribute has a word starting with any keyword
Filtering find [PREFIXES] (case-insensitive) Tutors matching all prefix conditions
General + Filter find KEYWORD [MORE_KEYWORDS] [PREFIXES] (case-insensitive; keywords before prefixes) Tutors matching any keyword, narrowed by all prefix conditions

How Matching Works

Name (n/) — OR logic across keywords

  • n/Ed matches "Eddy", "Edward", "Eddie" etc.
  • n/Dar Vic matches tutors named "Dar…" or "Vic…" e.g. "Daren", "Victoria"

Subject (s/) — AND logic across prefixes

  • s/Mat matches "Math", "Mathematics"
  • s/Math s/Chemistry returns tutors teaching Math and Chemistry

Rate (r/) — supports four formats

Format Example Matches
Exact r/RATE Tutors charging exactly RATE
Range r/RATE1-RATE2 Tutors charging between RATE1 and RATE2 (inclusive)
Above r/>RATE Tutors charging more than RATE
Below r/<RATE Tutors charging less than RATE

Mixed prefixes — all conditions must be met

  • find n/Alex r/40 s/Math → named "Alex…", rate $40, teaches Math

Examples

General Search

find math

Returns all tutors containing "math" in any field.

Result for 'find math'

Filtering by name

find n/Eunwoo
find n/Dar Vic

Returns tutors named "Eunwoo…"

Result for 'find n/Eunwoo'

Returns tutors named "Dar…" or "Vic…" respectively.

Result for 'find n/Dar Vic'

Filtering by subject and rate

find s/Math s/Chemistry
find s/Physics r/>40
find s/History r/40-80

Returns tutors teaching Math and Chemistry

Result for 'find s/Math s/Chemistry'

Returns tutors teaching Physics above a rate

Result for 'find s/Physics r/>40'

Returns tutors teaching History within a rate range

Result for 'find s/History r/40-80'

Combined search

find math s/advanced math
find n/Qi r/60 s/History

Narrows a general keyword search with prefix filters, or combines multiple prefix conditions.

Result for 'find math s/advanced math'

Result for 'find n/Qi r/60 s/History'

Matching tutors appear in the right panel. If no matches are found:

Result for 'find spanish'

Tip: After a find, run list to return to the full tutor list when running on CLI.

Invalid Usage

Only one n/ and one r/ are allowed per command.

❌ Invalid Reason
find r/16 r/17 Multiple r/ not allowed
find n/Alice n/Bob Multiple n/ not allowed

Deleting a Tutor : delete

Permanently removes a tutor profile from Tuto.

delete message

Format: delete INDEX

  • INDEX must be a positive integer matching a tutor's position in the currently displayed list.
  • After you delete someone, every tutor below that row moves up and gets a new index. After a sort, positions change too. See Displayed indices change after sort and delete.

Exiting the program : exit

Caution: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Double-check the index before running this command.

Examples:

list
delete 2

Deletes the 2nd tutor in the full list.

find s/Biology
delete 1

Deletes the 1st tutor returned in the Biology search results.

Expected output:

Deleted Person: Betsy Crowe; Phone: 1234567; Email: betsycrowe@example.com; Address: Newgate Prison; Subject: Biology; Rate: 55; Tags: [experienced][recommended]

Saving Your Data

Tuto's data are saved automatically as a JSON file [JAR file location]/data/Tuto.json. Advanced users are welcome to update data directly by editing that data file.

Caution: If your changes to the data file makes its format invalid, Tuto will discard all data and start with an empty data file at the next run. Hence, it is recommended to take a backup of the file before editing it.
Furthermore, certain edits can cause the Tuto to behave in unexpected ways (e.g., if a value entered is outside the acceptable range). Therefore, edit the data file only if you are confident that you can update it correctly.

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Editing the Data File Directly

Advanced users may edit the data file manually using any text editor.

Caution: If the file is saved in an invalid format, Tuto will discard all data and start fresh on the next launch. Back up the file before making any edits. Additionally, values outside accepted ranges may cause Tuto to behave unexpectedly.

FAQ

Q: How do I move my tutor data to a new computer?

A: Install Tuto on the new computer and run it once to generate the default data folder. Then copy the addressbook.json file from your old computer into the data/ folder on the new one, replacing the empty file.

Q: Tuto opened off-screen after I disconnected an external monitor. What do I do?

A: Delete the preferences.json file in the same folder as tuto.jar, then relaunch the app. This resets the window position.

Q: I ran help again but the Help Window did not appear. Why?

A: The Help Window may be minimised. Check your taskbar and restore it manually.

Known Issues

  1. Off-screen window after disconnecting a monitor: Delete preferences.json and relaunch Tuto to reset the window position.
  2. Help Window does not reappear: If the Help Window is minimised, running help again will not open a new one. Restore the minimised window from your taskbar.

Command Summary

Action Format Example
Help help help
Add add n/NAME p/PHONE_NUMBER e/EMAIL s/SUBJECT1 s/SUBJECT2 ... s/SUBJECTn r/RATE [a/ADDRESS] [t/TAG]…​ add n/James Ho p/22224444 e/jamesho@example.com a/123, Clementi Rd, 1234665 s/Biology r/45 t/friend t/colleague
List list list
Sort sort FIELD ORDER sort name asc, sort rate desc
Edit edit INDEX [n/NAME] [p/PHONE] [e/EMAIL] [a/ADDRESS] [s/SUBJECT] [r/RATE] [t/TAG]… edit 2 n/James Lee e/james@example.com
Find find KEYWORD | find [PREFIXES] | find KEYWORD [PREFIXES] find geography, find s/Biology r/45, find korean r/>50
Delete delete INDEX delete 3
Clear clear clear
Exit exit exit