howcode 0.1.66

0.1.66 Hotfixes (because .67 has to be more special)

• Branch/worktree creation now normalizes messy names with spaces into Git-safe names.
• Inline branch actions can now create a child worktree under that branch.
• Child worktrees keep their recorded parent branch after dev/app restart.
• Worktrees can only be created from the active branch.
• Sidebar branch/worktree actions now show an in-place spinner while they are running.
• Sidebar changes now patch in place instead of refetching the whole shell state.
• Reasoning block headers no longer dump raw CoT when a model does not provide headers.
• Theme changes now apply instantly instead of waiting for a full shell refresh.
• Fixes to light modes
• Dictation controls now hide while composer inputs are locked.
• Tiny composer widths now keep the Terminal icon visible instead of dropping the whole control.
• Git diffs use remote HEAD as the default branch.
• Git diffs add parent-branch baseline and drop Yesterday.
• Updated bundled Pi SDK/runtime packages to 0.76.0.

Snapshot: May 28, 2026.

howcode 0.1.66

• Split desktop Pi/runtime work into a stock-Node service so native deps stop fighting Electron.
  Reason being that Pi compiles your extensions against your system Node. Things were getting messy. The app is compiled to work with Node 24, 25 and 26.
• Rebuilt the project sidebar into a proper git-oriented work surface.
• Branches: start sessions, assign/unassign sessions, remove branches.
• Worktrees: create, start sessions inside them, mark complete, merge/remove.
• Branches + worktrees: one-click merge/remove completed worktrees.
  Please note some of these actions are irreversible. Safeguards around errors, but if it succeeds, they're gone.
• De-cardified a lot of the UI: quieter chat/tool rows, composer popovers, Skills/Extensions, Settings, Inbox, artifacts, and GitOps diffs.
• Project dashboard is now it's separate thing, not connected to starting a session anymore.
• Split up app shell, composer, terminal, GitOps, inbox, settings, artifacts, and runtime-host code.
• Added cleaner app module boundaries with @howcode/* aliases and native capability folders. First step to pluginisation of the app.
• Upgraded GitOps diffs to use Pierre's streamed CodeView renderer.
• GitOps now shows image previews.
• Made GitOps diffs less likely to freeze the UI.
• Added configurable app keybindings. More coming soon™
• Added custom Pi directory settings.
• Added thread find and result highlights.
• Updated dependencies.
• Edit tool now displays diffs.
• Sidebar fold/unfold button placement moved around.
• Fixed packaged macOS terminal startup (thank you, BlockedPath).
• Fixed dev-channel updater checks getting stuck on stale archives.
• Fixed same-version update hash checks.
• Fixed new project threads vanishing during refreshes.
• Fixed code landing/project dashboard routing.
• Fixed empty dashboard threads piling up.
• Fixed Pi TUI new-thread sidebar handoff.
• Cleaned up sidebar popovers and project-work styling.
• Quieted missing-session noise and checkbox jumps.
• Fixed extension summaries locking the composer.

Snapshot: May 27, 2026.

Release channel

This is the moving stable channel used by npx howcode. Future app updates refresh these GitHub Release assets without requiring an npm package publish unless the launcher itself changes.