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BasicShell 0.7.0

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@mbahakeskin mbahakeskin released this 31 Oct 10:45
· 2 commits to main since this release
v0.7.0
b1fbfca

Download: BasicShell-0.7.0.zip, with BasicShell.app inside: unzip, move it to Applications. A release is the build with the agent tools (Settings › Agents, off until you turn it on); the plain build is ./build.sh from the source.

It is self-signed, not an Apple Developer ID, so the first time macOS refuses to open it: open it once, then System Settings › Privacy & Security › Open Anyway.

Requires: macOS 27 on Apple silicon.

Updates. BasicShell updates itself: BasicShell menu › Check for Updates…, and once a day by itself unless Settings › General turns that off. Update and Restart downloads the zip, checks it against its SHA-256 and the app in it against this app's identifier, then replaces the old app (which goes to the Trash) and opens the new one. Nothing is installed without your say.

New since 0.6.2

  • Tab groups. Pastel colours, a + on the group's header for a new tab in it, drag a tab onto another to group them, drag it out to leave. Collapse and rename from the header; groups come back after a restart.
  • Profiles. A strip of coloured dots above the pinned tabs. Each profile has its own cookies, tabs, history and bookmarks, so two accounts on one site can be open at once.
  • Split view. Two pages side by side (right-click a tab › Open Side by Side) with a divider; Find, zoom and the address bar follow the half in focus.
  • Page translation. A button in the address bar and in the page's menu. Google's online engine by default (fast, nothing to download); Apple's on-device one can be chosen in Settings › General. The page is translated as you scroll to it, and the agent tools always read the original text.
  • Import from Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc, Vivaldi, Opera, Firefox and Safari: bookmarks, history, and passwords as a CSV file (Settings › Import). Cookies are not imported.
  • Hover preview and Peek. Hold ⌘ over a link for a small live preview; Shift-click a link to open it in a Peek over the page, then keep it as a tab or close it.
  • Developer settings per site (user agent and more), listed in Settings.
  • Settings › Tabs: how long a tab is left running before it is put to sleep (right away, 30 seconds up to an hour). A fresh install starts with the sidebar only; an existing install keeps its layout.
  • Also: ChatGPT's icon shows again; the zoom level is in the page's right-click menu; Codex is in the agent list (Settings › Agents); signing in to Claude Code through a Google popup reaches the code screen (the page that opened the popup is no longer frozen meanwhile); Esc closes Find from the page.

Agent tools

  • arrange and tabs know groups, split view and profiles; open can use a profile, and an optional "Agent" profile is created and chosen by the agent per task (Settings › Agents). Agents work in whichever profile is shown and ask before reaching into another, per site.
  • New pick: you point at an element on the page and the agent gets it; selection returns the picked element first.

Known limits

  • Passkeys and Apple Passwords need an Apple Developer ID and so don't work yet; "We weren't able to sign you in" with a Google passkey is that.
  • Extensions run in the main profile only.

After updating, quit and reopen BasicShell if it did not restart itself, and start a new chat in your agent.

SHA-256: BasicShell-0.7.0.zip fc86e90b1659ae84bb7b91cf9aea74e2adea4e05f667b86ae2e862ade78f1127

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