RootMind 2.6.1

Added

• GET /proof?nonce=<hex> on the REST API and on MCP over HTTP (loopback only) (#70): answers, without a token, HMAC-SHA256(token, "rootmind-token-proof\0" + nonce), so a client can check that the server on a port knows the token before it sends it.

Changed

• Desktop: the agent's steps open and close with a click on their summary, also while the question runs ("Working: 7 steps, 0:42"). They start closed; while the question runs, the current step with its timer stays visible below the summary. Each step takes one line; a long search term or file list is cut off and shows in full on hover.

Fixed

• Windows: service install (and so the installer, "error 7") and the app refused a running RootMind service with "Another program listens on 127.0.0.1:8000" on systems whose TCP listener table does not list the service's socket (#70). service install, the app and the rootmind command line now let the service prove that it knows its token (GET /proof) before they send it, instead of looking up the port's owner in that table; a program that took the port cannot give the proof and still never receives a token. A service from before this release is checked in the table as before.
• A service whose port another program already uses (for example a development server on port 3000) now logs "Port 3000 on 127.0.0.1 is already used by another program" instead of a WinError 10013 traceback (#70); rootmind api says the same. The service manager still restarts the service, so it starts once the port is free.
• Desktop: the chat scrolls along while new steps of a question come in, as long as it is scrolled to the end; scrolled up to read, it stays where it is.

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Downloads

File	What it is
RootMind-Setup-x64.exe	The Windows app with its background service (42.0 MB). Installs for all users of the computer and sets up the service for your account; needs one administrator approval, no Python.
RootMind-amd64.deb	The Linux app for Ubuntu and Debian: sudo apt install ./RootMind-amd64.deb. On its first start it sets up its background service as systemd user services of your account; no root needed for that.
RootMind-x86_64.rpm	The same for Fedora and openSUSE Tumbleweed: sudo dnf install ./RootMind-x86_64.rpm (openSUSE: sudo zypper install ./RootMind-x86_64.rpm).
RootMind-x86_64.AppImage	The same as an AppImage for other distributions, without installation: chmod +x RootMind-x86_64.AppImage, then run it (needs FUSE 2, libfuse2).
rootmind.mcpb	RootMind for Claude Desktop: double-click it and Claude Desktop installs it. Needs RootMind installed with Serve MCP over HTTP on (the default).
rootmind-backend-windows-x64.zip	The backend on its own for Windows, for the command line and servers. Not needed for the app.
rootmind-backend-linux-x64.tar.gz	The backend on its own for Linux (x86-64, glibc 2.35 or later), for the command line and servers. Not needed for the app.
SHA256SUMS.txt	SHA-256 checksums of these files.

Verify the download

The binaries are not code-signed yet. On the first start, Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC" (choose More info, then Run anyway), and Smart App Control, when it is on, may block them; it has no exception for a single app. Check the files before you run them. The hash must match the line for the file in SHA256SUMS.txt:

(Get-FileHash .\RootMind-Setup-x64.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()

sha256sum --check --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS.txt
gh attestation verify RootMind-Setup-x64.exe --repo cgaeking/rootmind

Every file has a build provenance attestation that ties it to this repository and to the workflow run that built it.

Code signing policy

See CODE_SIGNING.md: the binaries are not code-signed yet; what will be signed, team roles and the privacy policy.