v0.4.0

Install

Windows: run pixelpets.Setup.*.exe. SmartScreen will show a blue
"Windows protected your PC" screen because the build is not code-signed
(a certificate costs real money for a free app). Click More info,
then Run anyway.

macOS: open the .dmg, then right-click the app and choose Open
and confirm. A double-click will be refused by Gatekeeper, for the same
reason.

Prefer not to? Play it in your browser
or run it from source: npm install && npm start.

The keyboard hook forwards a single "a key was pressed" boolean and never
what you typed. See SECURITY.md.

What's Changed

• Group the settings window into sections, and stop calling every pet a cat by @JOhnsonKC201 in #24
• Ship a portable silent launcher instead of a local-only one by @JOhnsonKC201 in #25
• Finish the pixelcat rebrand everywhere it was still visible by @JOhnsonKC201 in #26
• Tighten the README into something that reads at a glance by @JOhnsonKC201 in #27

Full Changelog: v0.3.0...v0.4.0

v0.3.0

What's Changed

• feat(pets): add the dog as a first-class pet and rename to pixelpets by @JOhnsonKC201 in #21
• Dog self-play fetch, and the delivery loop that never ended by @JOhnsonKC201 in #22
• Let painted frames override a composed pose by @JOhnsonKC201 in #23

Full Changelog: v0.2.0...v0.3.0

What's Changed

• feat(pets): add the dog as a first-class pet and rename to pixelpets by @JOhnsonKC201 in #21
• Dog self-play fetch, and the delivery loop that never ended by @JOhnsonKC201 in #22
• Let painted frames override a composed pose by @JOhnsonKC201 in #23

Full Changelog: v0.2.0...v0.3.0

v0.2.0

The cat learned a lot since v0.1.0. This release picks up seven weeks of work: new companion features, a big butterfly upgrade, live-synthesized study music, two new coats, and a round of security hardening.

Highlights

• Lobby Jam - flip it on and the cat picks up a little guitar and improvises lo-fi study music, live, in six moods. No audio files; it is all Web Audio.
• Stay on track - Pomodoro focus loops with a floating pixel timer, pinned notes, IMAP unread-mail alerts (app-password encrypted at rest), and calendar nudges from a secret .ics URL.
• Butterfly overhaul - it visits on its own when you step away, plays near the cat, and the cat winds up, leaps, and bats it out of the air.
• Little joys - give it a treat from the tray, pick its home corner, get a welcome-back greeting, and watch it wind down late at night.
• 14 coats - new Chocolate and Russian Blue patterns, plus custom coats with import/export.
• Sound - a more lifelike two-formant meow with per-species voices, a warmer purr, and a master limiter so the mix can never clip.
• Security hardening - IPC sender validation on every main-process handler, a DNS-rebinding guard on the calendar fetcher, and STARTTLS hardening on mail.

Full details in the CHANGELOG.

Install

Platform	Grab this
Windows	pixelcat.Setup.0.2.0.exe
macOS, Apple Silicon (beta)	pixelcat-0.2.0-arm64.dmg
macOS, Intel (beta)	pixelcat-0.2.0.dmg

macOS builds are unsigned and untested on real hardware: right-click the app and choose Open on first launch, then grant Accessibility permission so the cat can react to typing. If you try it on a Mac, please open an issue with how it went, good or bad.

Or try the cat in your browser first, no install: https://pixelcat-jet.vercel.app

What's Changed

• feat(demo): looping GIF showing what the cat does by @JOhnsonKC201 in #1
• fix(butterfly): stop top-edge stick + gate play on cursor idle by @JOhnsonKC201 in #2
• docs(readme): add one-click Windows download for non-developers by @JOhnsonKC201 in #4
• fix(icons): high-contrast app-icon tile so the cat stays visible by @JOhnsonKC201 in #5
• fix(icons): visible tray glyph (light sticker outline) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #6
• fix(icons): visible tray glyph on the warm tile by @JOhnsonKC201 in #7
• feat(icons): 3D glossy icon (domed gradient, sheen, drop shadow) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #8
• feat(icons): stronger 3D depth (bevel, deeper dome, bigger shadow) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #9
• feat(jam): in-app Lobby Jam — lo-fi study music + guitar-playing cat by @JOhnsonKC201 in #10
• feat(liveliness): livelier idle cat + more active butterfly play by @JOhnsonKC201 in #11
• feat(butterfly): cat leaps and bats the butterfly with its paws by @JOhnsonKC201 in #12
• Static landing page so the Vercel URL serves the demo (fixes 404) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #3
• pixelcat: new Chocolate coat, rest corner, richer sounds, idle play + more by @JOhnsonKC201 in #13
• audio: use a real meow recording (optional) + more lifelike synth meow by @JOhnsonKC201 in #14
• docs: premium README (animated demo hero, unified badges, highlights) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #15
• docs: premium README v2 — hero banner, interaction gallery, coat carousel by @JOhnsonKC201 in #16
• fix(demo): app-accurate typing & mochi gallery clips by @JOhnsonKC201 in #17
• feat(butterfly): play near the cat + faster idle + livelier catching by @JOhnsonKC201 in #18

New Contributors

• @JOhnsonKC201 made their first contribution in #1

Full Changelog: v0.1.0...v0.2.0

What's Changed

• feat(demo): looping GIF showing what the cat does by @JOhnsonKC201 in #1
• fix(butterfly): stop top-edge stick + gate play on cursor idle by @JOhnsonKC201 in #2
• docs(readme): add one-click Windows download for non-developers by @JOhnsonKC201 in #4
• fix(icons): high-contrast app-icon tile so the cat stays visible by @JOhnsonKC201 in #5
• fix(icons): visible tray glyph (light sticker outline) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #6
• fix(icons): visible tray glyph on the warm tile by @JOhnsonKC201 in #7
• feat(icons): 3D glossy icon (domed gradient, sheen, drop shadow) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #8
• feat(icons): stronger 3D depth (bevel, deeper dome, bigger shadow) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #9
• feat(jam): in-app Lobby Jam — lo-fi study music + guitar-playing cat by @JOhnsonKC201 in #10
• feat(liveliness): livelier idle cat + more active butterfly play by @JOhnsonKC201 in #11
• feat(butterfly): cat leaps and bats the butterfly with its paws by @JOhnsonKC201 in #12
• Static landing page so the Vercel URL serves the demo (fixes 404) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #3
• pixelcat: new Chocolate coat, rest corner, richer sounds, idle play + more by @JOhnsonKC201 in #13
• audio: use a real meow recording (optional) + more lifelike synth meow by @JOhnsonKC201 in #14
• docs: premium README (animated demo hero, unified badges, highlights) by @JOhnsonKC201 in #15
• docs: premium README v2 — hero banner, interaction gallery, coat carousel by @JOhnsonKC201 in #16
• fix(demo): app-accurate typing & mochi gallery clips by @JOhnsonKC201 in #17
• feat(butterfly): play near the cat + faster idle + livelier catching by @JOhnsonKC201 in #18

New Contributors

• @JOhnsonKC201 made their first contribution in #1

Full Changelog: v0.1.0...v0.2.0

v0.1.0

Full Changelog: https://github.com/JOhnsonKC201/pixelcat/commits/v0.1.0