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v0.5.3

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@github-actions github-actions released this 14 Oct 10:58
· 65 commits to main since this release
v0.5.3
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Learn about vigilant mode.

Start with what you're building 🧭

v0.5.3 lets Blitz understand your project before it sets it up. A new /spec command interviews you about what you're making, who it's for, how fast and big it must be, where it runs and how people sign in, then writes a real specification your agents follow. Gemini 4 Argon is the new default model. An idle window no longer keeps your processor busy, and both help screens are finally easy to scan.

See it in a minute:

  1. Open an empty folder in Blitz and type /spec a recipe-sharing web app.
  2. Answer a few rounds of questions: intent and value, users, performance, platform, security.
  3. Confirm the list of specs it proposes. You get .agents/specs/001-overview.md, one spec per piece of work in the order you'd build it, and an index.
  4. Run /setup: it reads the specification and sets up the instructions, skills and agents to match.

Specifications that drive your agents

  • /spec writes numbered specs in .agents/specs/ (001 to 999, in build order). Each has goals, numbered requirements, acceptance criteria and open questions. Run it again, or /spec <what changed>, to revise them.
  • /setup asks first. With no specification yet, it offers to write one before anything else, because the spec should shape the setup.
  • /skills update and /agents update check your skills and agents against the specs, propose what to add, change or retire, and change only what you pick.
  • Blitz notices when a spec changes. The welcome screen offers "The specification changed: update the skills and agents".

Gemini 4 Argon by default

  • New installs, and anyone who never picked a model, now use gemini-4-argon, for chat and for web search.
  • A model you've chosen in your settings stays as it is.

Lighter on your computer

  • An idle window no longer burns CPU. The glowing ring around the chat box now moves only while the agent works. On Linux this ends the window sitting at 100% CPU while idle, even with the display off.
  • Linux uses your graphics card. The window now draws with the GPU where it can. If it flickers or goes blank, turn off Use the graphics card in Settings › Appearance (with the advanced settings shown). If Blitz won't start at all, launch it once with BLITZ_GPU=off.
  • Linux dock icon: the window now groups under the Blitz icon in your dock or taskbar.

Feels like a Mac app

  • Blitz › About Blitz and Settings… (⌘,) are in the menu bar, along with Hide, Hide Others, Show All and Quit, in your language.
  • Escape in full screen closes a dialog without also leaving full screen.

Help you can actually read

  • blitz --help groups its commands (runs and sessions, the workspace, models and extensions, setup) and its flags (session, agent and model, one-shot runs, permissions, instructions), each alphabetical.
  • /help in a session does the same for its slash commands, then lists your custom commands by where they come from.

Good to know

  • Placeholder price: Gemini 4 Argon is priced at Gemini 3.8 Flash's rate until Google publishes its own, so costs and --max-cost-usd still work. If you know the real price, set it under [pricing."gemini-4-argon"].
  • Retiring skills and agents: /skills update and /agents update can't delete files. A retired skill or agent says why it was retired, so you can remove the file.
  • /help and update: /help mentions update in the descriptions of /skills and /agents, not yet in their usage columns.
  • Testing so far: the menus and specifications were tested on macOS. Linux GPU drawing is new, so please tell us if your window misbehaves.

Verifying

checksums.txt lists every archive; its signature is checksums.txt.sigstore.json. Each desktop package has its own .sigstore.json. Verify against this repository's release workflow:

cosign verify-blob --bundle checksums.txt.sigstore.json \
  --certificate-identity-regexp '^https://github.com/retail-cortex/blitz/\.github/workflows/release\.yml@refs/tags/v' \
  --certificate-oidc-issuer https://token.actions.githubusercontent.com checksums.txt
sha256sum --ignore-missing -c checksums.txt

Desktop app

Blitz_*_macos_universal.dmg (notarized when the release was signed) and blitz-desktop_*.deb (Ubuntu 24.04, Debian 13 and later).

macOS

The macOS CLI binaries aren't notarized by Apple. If you download one in a browser, Gatekeeper refuses to run it until you clear the quarantine flag:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine blitz blitzd

You can also open it once through Finder's context menu (Open). A copy downloaded with curl isn't quarantined.

What's Changed

  • Idle CPU fix, the GPU on Linux, and a native macOS app menu by @rmcguinness in #25
  • /spec: the project's specification first, and skills and agents that follow it by @rmcguinness in #26
  • Default Gemini model: gemini-4-argon by @rmcguinness in #27
  • CLI help in groups, alphabetical within each by @rmcguinness in #28

Full Changelog: v0.5.2...v0.5.3

Contributors

rmcguinness
Assets 26
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