The gold zap: a streak you can actually keep
The gold zap counts consecutive active days — days where you logged at least one habit, any habit. It measures the thing that actually predicts long-term success: whether you keep showing up. On your worst day, one two-minute habit keeps it alive. That forgiveness is engineered, not accidental.
Rigid all-or-nothing streaks create the "what-the-hell effect": one missed day, weeks of identity gone, whole system abandoned. The zap is designed so a bad Tuesday costs you a Tuesday — never a month.
Fire streaks: precision where it helps
Alongside the zap, every habit keeps a classic fire streak — consecutive completions on that habit’s own schedule. Fire streaks show you which habits have become automatic and which still need scaffolding. They inform; the zap motivates. Two streaks, two jobs.
A progress strip you read in one glance
The home screen’s progress strip shows today’s X-of-Y habits done, this week’s active days, and your zap — the state of your practice in under a second. No dashboard spelunking before breakfast.
Celebrations that mark real milestones
Streak milestones, completed challenges, and earned badges get proper celebrations — confetti included. Small rituals of acknowledgment are not fluff; marking progress is part of how identity change sticks.
FAQ
Streaks: your questions, answered
What is the difference between the gold zap and fire streaks?
The gold zap is a forgiving, account-wide streak counting consecutive days with at least one habit logged. Fire streaks are per-habit chains of consecutive scheduled completions. The zap measures showing up; fire measures consistency at a specific habit.
What happens when I miss a day?
If you log nothing at all, the gold zap resets — but your history, insights, and every fire streak on habits you had completed on schedule remain intact. Log anything the next day and the zap restarts. Nothing you built is erased.
Why does ProtoHabit use a forgiving streak?
Because all-or-nothing streaks are why people quit habit apps. Research on the "what-the-hell effect" shows a broken chain often triggers total abandonment. A streak that survives imperfect days keeps you in the game, which is the only thing that matters over months.
Do weekly habits break my streaks on off days?
No. Fire streaks respect each habit’s own schedule — a Monday/Thursday habit only counts Mondays and Thursdays. And the gold zap only needs one logged habit per day, from any habit.
Learn it hands-on
Guides for streaks
Try it in the app
ProtoHabit is free to start — three habits, real streaks, no credit card.
