v0.21.5

Highlights

• Bots take back tabs automatically. With automatic takeover on, a bot can reclaim a tab you were using after a short grace period. Handbacks, CAPTCHAs, recordings and the Take back cooldown still keep it out, and a refused action never moves your focus or scroll (#140, #141).
• Purchases and submits need your approval, enforced in the app too. Buying, booking, sending, posting or submitting asks you in Telegram first; the app refuses any unapproved one at dispatch, and an approval works exactly once (#143, plugin #89, #96).
• CAPTCHA handback. The bot detects a challenge, hands the tab to you, and resumes when you've solved it. It never solves CAPTCHAs itself (#138, plugin #92).
• Versions and Update everything. The bottom bar shows app, Hermes, plugin and browser-host versions and updates them in one click (#139).
• Teach by demonstration. Record a task once and share it with a bot; typed text and secret fields stay out unless you choose otherwise (#134, #137, #142).
• Faster, cheaper computer and browser use. Mac batched tasks 4/7 → 7/7 with ~91% fewer text tokens (#116); browser benchmark 36/36 with −28% calls and −39% tokens (#131).
• Windows updater fixes: bounded waits, correct exit codes and quoting on PowerShell 5.1 (#142); gateway restart failures are reported honestly (#144).

Downloads: Mac (OpenAlan-mac.dmg, signed and notarized) and Windows (OpenAlan-windows-setup.exe). A Linux AppImage is attached for early testers; official Linux support is coming soon.

Server/plugin: pair with Alan's Way plugins v0.21.5. Existing installs update from the app (Update now / Update everything).

What's Changed

• Record VM retry results under the saved VM id so the stale-version banner clears by @capthvnsen in #109
• Retry refused Windows-guest plugin updates under a stopped gateway by @capthvnsen in #110
• Show site favicons on every tab, not just human ones by @capthvnsen in #111
• Keep the update popup above the Telegram view by @capthvnsen in #112
• Check setup: close out the follow-ups by @capthvnsen in #114
• Document reboot resilience and add a reboot smoke test by @capthvnsen in #115
• Host computer use: readable lists, stable refs, delta replies, and where-to-act errors by @capthvnsen in #116
• Reboot smoke test: check-only by default, kill only node and Chrome processes by @capthvnsen in #123
• Fix blank tabs appearing after restarting the workspace by @capthvnsen in #124
• Bot needs you: handback with reason, banner, and notification by @capthvnsen in #126
• Reboot smoke test: match Chrome for Testing by @capthvnsen in #127
• Windows computer use: stable refs and deltas by @capthvnsen in #129
• Review follow-ups from #110, #111, #112 by @capthvnsen in #130
• Computer use follow-ups from #116: toggle state, pinned generation, run deadline, current-Space screenshots by @capthvnsen in #125
• Browser use: stable refs, name targets, delta replies and overlays (−28% calls, −39% tokens) by @capthvnsen in #131
• Teach by demonstration: record a task once, let the bot learn it by @capthvnsen in #134
• Add a settings button that runs hermes update and has the bot report back by @capthvnsen in #113
• Release: build a Linux AppImage by @capthvnsen in #121
• Recorder: catch more secret fields by @capthvnsen in #137
• O132E: stable refs compare identity, gateway restart follow-ups by @capthvnsen in #144
• Bots take back tabs automatically by @capthvnsen in #140
• O128E: follow-ups from #124 and #126 reviews by @capthvnsen in #141
• CAPTCHA handback: detect challenges, hand the tab to you, resume when solved by @capthvnsen in #138
• Bottom bar: show versions and update everything in one click by @capthvnsen in #139
• App-side commit check: refuse unapproved purchase/submit clicks at dispatch by @capthvnsen in #143
• O136E: #136 follow-ups — recorder echoes, cut-short name lookups, updater waits by @capthvnsen in #142
• Bump the app to 0.21.5 by @capthvnsen in #135

Full Changelog: v0.21.4...v0.21.5

v0.21.4

What's Changed

• Snapshot waits for loading frames and lists shadow-root widgets by @capthvnsen in #103
• Let the eval harness drive the shipped Mac app and Codex by @capthvnsen in #104
• Mac engine parity: dialogs, finished downloads, parsed open by @capthvnsen in #105
• Bump the app to 0.21.4 by @capthvnsen in #106

Full Changelog: v0.21.3...v0.21.4

v0.21.3

What's Changed

• Add a held-out agent eval suite for the workspace browser and computer use by @capthvnsen in #99
• Add an end-to-end onboarding test, and fall back to ssh-keyscan for RSA/ECDSA-only servers by @capthvnsen in #100
• Fix the app-side onboarding bugs from the E2E audit by @capthvnsen in #101
• Bump the app to 0.21.3 by @capthvnsen in #102

Full Changelog: v0.21.2...v0.21.3

v0.21.2

What's Changed

• Make the update flow quit reliably, add main.log, warn on duplicate copies by @capthvnsen in #94
• Retry plugin updates that Hermes refuses under a live gateway, and always bring the gateway back by @capthvnsen in #91
• Deflake the agent input and real-Chrome tests, and run check on macOS in PR CI by @capthvnsen in #97
• Only claim an active systemd gateway unit when stopping for plugin updates by @capthvnsen in #95
• Bump the app to 0.21.2 by @capthvnsen in #98

Full Changelog: v0.21.1...v0.21.2

v0.21.1

What's Changed

• Make the VM updater script test hermetic against a real passwordless sudo by @capthvnsen in #89
• Bump the app to 0.21.1 by @capthvnsen in #90

Full Changelog: v0.21.0...v0.21.1

v0.4.0

What's Changed

• Refresh the README for Hermes Alan's Way by @capthvnsen in #67
• README: Support Plan at $79.95/mo by @capthvnsen in #68
• Cloud onboarding: claim a hosted computer, pair over Tailscale, migrate, model, Telegram, support by @capthvnsen in #69
• Bump the app to 0.4.0 by @capthvnsen in #70

Full Changelog: v0.3.3...v0.4.0

v0.3.3

What's Changed

• Release 0.3.3 by @capthvnsen in #66

Full Changelog: v0.3.2...v0.3.3

v0.3.2

What's Changed

• Release 0.3.2 by @capthvnsen in #62
• Fix Mac release signing: bump electron-builder to 26.17.0 by @capthvnsen in #63
• Describe the plugin's idle check-ins by @capthvnsen in #64
• Give the release build time for a slow first notarization by @capthvnsen in #65

Full Changelog: v0.3.1...v0.3.2

v0.3.1

What's Changed

• Release 0.3.1 by @capthvnsen in #61

Full Changelog: v0.3.0...v0.3.1

v0.3.0

What's Changed

• Fix agent browser reliability, cross-host handoff guards, and add the agent setup guide by @capthvnsen in #2
• Keep line breaks in snapshot text and drop the Homebrew PATH setup step by @capthvnsen in #3
• Bring the live cross-host test up to date and ship its fixture by @capthvnsen in #4
• Have the setup guide ask the human about proactive messages by @capthvnsen in #5
• Install or upgrade the Mac app with one command by @capthvnsen in #6
• Give desktop contributors a real on-ramp and scope the security policy to what ships by @capthvnsen in #7
• Add community files and run the Electron integration tests on macOS CI by @capthvnsen in #8
• Put one Tailscale setup prompt in the README by @capthvnsen in #10
• Fix Telegram link detection, page sharing, and unread badges by @capthvnsen in #9
• Seal agent browser access after human takeover by @capthvnsen in #11
• Make browser tools reliable for multi-step tasks by @capthvnsen in #12
• Shorten the setup prompt to a repo link by @capthvnsen in #13
• Keep catalogue plugins in place during setup by @capthvnsen in #14
• Clear the publication scan on security-test addresses by @capthvnsen in #15
• Add background Mac computer use by @capthvnsen in #16
• Capture one background Mac window when the tree cannot name it by @capthvnsen in #17
• Drive the Linux desktop from the accessibility tree by @capthvnsen in #18
• Reuse a desktop snapshot when the tree has not changed by @capthvnsen in #19
• Return the fresh desktop tree with the action by @capthvnsen in #20
• Click a Linux control by its snapshot coordinates by @capthvnsen in #21
• Reload a connector when its script is replaced by @capthvnsen in #22
• Drag a Linux slider from snapshot coordinates by @capthvnsen in #23
• Replace desktop text without keystrokes by @capthvnsen in #24
• Drag a Linux scroll bar from snapshot coordinates by @capthvnsen in #25
• Set a Mac slider from the drag end point by @capthvnsen in #26
• Show whether a check box is on in the snapshot by @capthvnsen in #27
• Mark disabled controls in the snapshot by @capthvnsen in #28
• Put check box and disabled state in web snapshot names by @capthvnsen in #29
• Show whether a web section is open by @capthvnsen in #30
• Show the selected tab and the current link by @capthvnsen in #31
• Leave empty fields out of web snapshots by @capthvnsen in #32
• Return controls with a web action by @capthvnsen in #33
• Drop tab icons from browser tool results by @capthvnsen in #34
• List clickable controls a snapshot used to miss by @capthvnsen in #35
• List controls inside open shadow roots by @capthvnsen in #36
• List controls inside same-origin frames by @capthvnsen in #37
• Name controls from aria-labelledby by @capthvnsen in #38
• Name pressed toggles on or off by @capthvnsen in #39
• Stay on the Mac browser until it is unreachable by @capthvnsen in #40
• Continue web work on the VPS when the Mac drops by @capthvnsen in #41
• Make agent clicks land without a long pointer glide by @capthvnsen in #42
• Stop rereading page text on every click by @capthvnsen in #43
• Default snapshots to 2000 characters by @capthvnsen in #44
• Keep the tab the connector already continued by @capthvnsen in #45
• Point a missing tab at the continued page by @capthvnsen in #46
• Carry a missing Mac tab onto the continued page by @capthvnsen in #47
• Carry an in-flight action onto the continued page by @capthvnsen in #48
• Return a continued tab before the page finishes loading by @capthvnsen in #49
• Reload the VPS browser host when its script changes by @capthvnsen in #50
• Return VPS controls when a Mac ref is stale by @capthvnsen in #51
• Shrink the default screenshot by @capthvnsen in #52
• Drop tracking parameters from snapshot links by @capthvnsen in #53
• Stop rechecking visibility for every text node by @capthvnsen in #54
• Return a still-loading page after 400ms by @capthvnsen in #55
• Shorten iframe URLs in snapshots by @capthvnsen in #56
• Stop the shadow search when the snapshot budget is spent by @capthvnsen in #57
• Support Windows hosts and macOS guests by @capthvnsen in #58
• Release 0.3.0 by @capthvnsen in #60

Full Changelog: v0.2.1...v0.3.0