UltraConvert 1.9.0

UltraConvert 1.9.0 adds quieter startup, clearer native Settings and optional compression controls.

• Start minimized at login in Settings → General keeps the converter closed when macOS launches it at login. Open Converter, Settings and Quit remain available from its menu bar icon even without folder rules. Opening files and in-app update recovery still show the converter. Off by default.
• Native General / Updates / Finder Settings panes with remembered navigation, aligned action buttons, readable explanations and feedback next to each action.
• Optional per-category Custom quality sliders for supported lossy image, audio and video outputs. Audio shows a duration/bitrate-based size estimate; actual size varies. Quality 100 can still be lossy. Custom media profiles use 48 kHz audio. Omitted quality keeps established defaults; lossless/fixed profiles stay unchanged.
• The conversion bar keeps the save location visible; Save location… jumps to its controls. Custom quality toggles use settled layout and a short control fade, avoiding competing resize/scroll animations.
• Report now opens readable, selectable batch outcomes, full errors and notes, with Copy and Reveal controls. Activity → Details… opens complete selectable recovery text. Larger helper text, standard Mac Hide/Window commands, relevant queue context menus and clearer mixed-batch format guidance.
• Homebrew release checks audit the verified recipes on the maintainer’s Mac before publishing the update feed. The real installed-app upgrade is tested separately, including preservation of preferences, rules and Finder actions when automatic Finder repair is off.

Update through Homebrew: finish your batch and quit the app, then run in order:

brew update
brew upgrade samuel-zhang01/ultraconvert/ultraconvert-runtime
brew upgrade --cask --greedy samuel-zhang01/ultraconvert/ultraconvert

Open UltraConvert from Applications afterward. Runtime-first protects Finder actions during the first upgrade from an older cask. Settings and saved rules are retained; ordinary Quit/Homebrew upgrade does not restore a queued batch. For an in-app update with queued-file restoration, use UltraConvert → Check for Updates… instead.

Normal Homebrew removal retains Finder actions. Optional brew uninstall --zap --cask ultraconvert removes only this app’s owned actions while still preserving saved rules, preferences, converted files and unrelated services.

All full-release downloads are included: universal installer ZIP/DMG, app-only update ZIP, source archive, release metadata, signed appcast and SHA-256 checksums. The universal app is Developer ID signed, Apple-notarized and stapled; the signed DMG is not separately notarized. Intel compilation is verified; physical Intel hardware remains untested.

Illustrated guide · Homebrew tap.

UltraConvert 1.8.3

UltraConvert 1.8.3 is a small maintenance release for real GitHub updates and Homebrew installation.

• Fresh Homebrew installations can use a managed conversion runtime. Existing installations keep their working per-user runtime.
• Settings includes Open Download Page… for a manual installer or repair download.
• Read-only --version and --check-setup commands support installation verification.
• Version-tag releases now run CI, Developer ID signing, Apple notarization, complete packaging/checksums, public download verification, custom-tap publication and Homebrew installation tests before publishing the signed appcast.

Install with Homebrew: brew install --cask samuel-zhang01/ultraconvert/ultraconvert. If the same signed app is already installed, quit it first and use --adopt. The custom tap is maintained by UltraConvert and is not an official Homebrew Core/Cask submission.

Update an existing 1.8 app: choose UltraConvert → Check for Updates…, then Install Update → Install and Relaunch. Preferences and saved folder rules are retained. Existing engines are separately maintained.

The full installer ZIP/DMG, app-only updater ZIP, source archive, release metadata, signed feed and SHA256 checksums are included. The universal app is Developer ID signed and Apple notarized with its ticket stapled. The DMG is signed and is not separately notarized. Intel compilation is supported; physical Intel testing remains unverified.

The release controller waits for Apple’s notarization ticket before validating the exported app. Homebrew tests validate real JSON → YAML output and apply custom-tap audit rules without the official catalogue’s popularity requirement. Package integrity, repository status and installation checks remain enabled.

Completed verification: real production GitHub updates 1.8.0 → 1.8.2 → 1.8.3 downloaded, installed and relaunched on an Apple Silicon Mac. The queued file, selected format/destination, all 11 persistent preferences and saved-rule bytes survived both updates. Post-update conversion kept the original file. Local Homebrew source installation, conversion tests and adoption of the existing app passed; the adopted app remains signed, notarized and accepted by Gatekeeper.

Illustrated update guide · Verification record · Automatic release CI · Fresh Homebrew CI.

UltraConvert 1.8.2

UltraConvert 1.8.2 is a small maintenance release for real GitHub updates and Homebrew installation.

• Fresh Homebrew installations can use a managed conversion runtime. Existing installations keep their working per-user runtime.
• Settings includes Open Download Page… for a manual installer or repair download.
• Read-only --version and --check-setup commands support installation verification.
• Version-tag releases now run CI, Developer ID signing, Apple notarization, complete packaging/checksums, public download verification, custom-tap publication and Homebrew installation tests before publishing the signed appcast.

Install with Homebrew: brew install --cask samuel-zhang01/ultraconvert/ultraconvert. If the same signed app is already installed, quit it first and use --adopt. The custom tap is maintained by UltraConvert and is not an official Homebrew Core/Cask submission.

Update an existing 1.8 app: choose UltraConvert → Check for Updates…, then Install Update → Install and Relaunch. Preferences and saved folder rules are retained. Existing engines are separately maintained.

The full installer ZIP/DMG, app-only updater ZIP, source archive, release metadata, signed feed and SHA256 checksums are included. The universal app is Developer ID signed and Apple notarized with its ticket stapled. The DMG is signed and is not separately notarized. Intel compilation is supported; physical Intel testing remains unverified.

The release controller now waits for Apple’s notarization ticket before validating and publishing the exported app.

UltraConvert 1.8.0

UltraConvert 1.8 adds signed in-app updates to the native macOS app. Choose UltraConvert → Check for Updates… to download, install and relaunch. In Settings → App updates, daily checks are enabled by default; background downloads/install on quit and preview releases are optional.

Updates verify both the feed and download before extraction. Installation waits for manual conversions, running or queued folder-rule jobs, previews and unsaved rule edits. Relaunch restores queued files, selected formats and destination. The update includes the app’s conversion code and ImageMagick policy; your preferences, saved rules and separately installed engines are retained.

Which download?

• First install, upgrading from 1.7 or earlier, or repairing engines: download UltraConvert-1.8.0-macos-universal.zip, extract it, quit UltraConvert, open Terminal in the extracted UltraConvert folder, and run python3 install.py. Install Homebrew first if it is not installed. See the illustrated installation and usage guide.
• DMG: contains the same complete installer folder. Copy UltraConvert from the mounted image into Downloads, eject the image, then run python3 install.py from that copied folder.
• UltraConvert-1.8.0-update-macos-universal.zip: the small app-only payload for the in-app updater. It requires an existing engine installation; use the full installer for first setup.
• Source: UltraConvert-1.8.0-source.tar.gz and GitHub’s automatic source archives are for developers.
• Verification: SHA256SUMS.txt covers the named downloads, signed appcast.xml and RELEASE-METADATA.json.

The universal native app includes Apple Silicon and Intel executables, is Developer ID signed with hardened runtime, and is Apple-notarized with a stapled app ticket. The signed DMG is not separately notarized. The native app targets macOS 13+; engine compatibility may require a newer system. Intel compilation is verified, but physical Intel hardware and its engine installation have not been tested.

Verified

• Actual isolated signed-app update 1.7.99 → 1.8.0, automatic relaunch and queue/format restoration.
• Actual background download and install on quit 1.8.0 → 1.8.1 in a separate test app.
• Tampered feed and update archive rejected without replacing the existing app.
• Updater policy/settings, packaging and release security gates; all 62 format targets; malicious input, batch preservation and installer rollback; native layout, folder automation and rule editor checks.
• CI and final notarized app signature, Gatekeeper and stapled-ticket validation passed.

The end-to-end update fixtures were Developer ID signed but not notarized; the exact public app was notarized separately. In-app updates update UltraConvert’s app/code, not Homebrew or conversion-engine dependencies. Selected files and saved rules are not sent to GitHub. Sparkle system profiling is disabled.

UltraConvert 1.7.0 — Notarized universal preview

UltraConvert 1.7.0 improves the native puzzle rule editor, makes updates reuse the existing installation and adds a universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel.

What changed

• Connected WHEN → IF → DO → SAVE → AFTER SUCCESS pieces with consistent joints, generous padding, larger text and clear match/no-match branches.
• Consistent 180 ms native transitions across navigation, rule stages, guidance, settings and batch options; rapid interactions cancel obsolete motion and Reduce Motion uses immediate updates.
• Aligned action/condition controls, adaptive selected-rule contrast and intrinsic Settings buttons. Adding actions from Activity returns to the Builder so the result is visible.
• Persistent action palette, stage navigation, keyboard ordering, live filename illustrations and a read-only preview with full selectable details.
• Clearer converter navigation and Settings instructions; illustrated installation and first-conversion guides in the README.
• Queue limits now include already waiting files. Repeated Run Existing requests prioritise unhandled files, retain settling waits and skip work already queued or running.
• Cancellation retains the single-watcher lock until cleanup completes. Queue-full warnings and paused-save messages describe the actual state.
• Updates and removal resolve the owned app in either Applications location and reject ambiguous, linked or unowned destinations.

Install or update

1. Install Homebrew and complete its shell setup if this is your first installation.
2. Download UltraConvert-1.7.0-macos-universal.zip, extract it, and open Terminal in the extracted UltraConvert folder.
3. Run python3 install.py, wait for the printed Next steps, and open the app from the installer's reported Applications location.

Quit the app before updating. Rules and preferences are preserved. The app is written in Swift/AppKit, signed with Developer ID and Apple notarized, with a stapled ticket and verified Gatekeeper acceptance. The ZIP installs the conversion engines separately; dragging the .app alone does not install them.

Verification and limits

The independent component assessment passes at 9.585/10, with all components above the 9.0 floor. 399 editor checks include real event-loop motion interruption and layout regressions; 330 automation checks cover native filesystem events and source safety. Required native, engine, preservation, security, installer and release checks are recorded in the repository evidence and final CI. The stricter visual assessment is documented in the UX audit.

The app contains verified arm64 and x86_64 slices. Intel hardware and engine operation have not been tested. The native app targets macOS 13+, while engine availability can impose a newer minimum. Hands-on UI checks used Apple Silicon/macOS 27, including physical action dragging. These scoped developer reviews are not a novice-user study or a promise that every file converts perfectly; VoiceOver, frame-pacing profiles and older-system appearance remain unverified.

This is a preview release. RELEASE-METADATA.json identifies the source commit, native fingerprint, CPU slices and signing/notarization status. SHA256SUMS.txt verifies the downloadable ZIP and source archive.

UltraConvert 1.6.0 — notarized macOS preview

UltraConvert 1.6.0 is a native macOS preview focused on helping new users find and understand conversion, Finder actions and folder rules.

• A four-topic Getting Started guide opens on an empty first launch and links directly to the relevant task. Settings and help are visible in the converter.
• Numbered conversion stages and advice for all 62 formats explain the next step and format tradeoffs.
• Folder rules retain their setup checklist, explain ALL/ANY matching and stable-file waiting, show unsaved changes, and provide selectable full preview details. Editing invalidates old plans; Discard restores Archive acknowledgement.
• Mixed-file context shortcuts require a compatible target for every selected file. An incompatible Finder preset waits for an explicit compatible choice before enabling Convert.
• Finder Quick Actions, format Services and optional startup registration have separate, clearer setup instructions and truthful status messages. Finder icons use the canonical ICNS artwork; automatic setup only runs from system/user Applications folders, so test archives cannot redirect installed actions.

The native app in the installer ZIP is signed with Developer ID Application and Apple notarized, with its ticket stapled and Gatekeeper assessment checked. Conversion engines remain a separate installation: keep the extracted UltraConvert folder together and run python3 install.py after installing Homebrew. The prebuilt .app alone does not provision its runtime. See README.md and INSTALL-FIRST.txt in the ZIP.

Validation: 305 native folder-rule assertions, guidance/layout/backend regressions, installer rollback/signature checks, 22 release tests, representative round trips for every listed format, preservation/security/batch tests and successful GitHub CI on the frozen app-code commit. A final programmatic controller/engine check passed 33 assertions for real WAV→MP3 and PNG→WebP recognition/conversion, direct sibling placement, collision retention, accurate results/reports and queue clearing. The exact notarized app installed on the maintainer's Mac then passed actual mixed-file conversion and an independent full rule-preview crawl, including read-only/selectable details, edit invalidation and safe discard/cleanup. Existing separate-runtime engines also passed all 62 round trips, 14 preservation checks, 10 edge checks, 18 security tests and 13 batch tests against extracted release source. The coding-agent first-use assessment improved from 7.9 to 9.0/10; this is a scoped developer assessment, not a human user study or a guarantee for every input. Older macOS/Intel, manual VoiceOver and actual login activation remain unverified.

This is a prerelease. Stable v1.3.0 remains the default release. The complete bundled-engine development app stays local while its corresponding-source/licence and complete-bundle distribution checks are unfinished. RELEASE-METADATA.json and SHA256SUMS.txt describe the exact public artifacts.

UltraConvert 1.5.1 Preview — Native polish and safer editing

UltraConvert 1.5.1 refines native folder automation and Finder conversion with safer rule editing, cancellable file tests and standard Mac keyboard controls.

• Rule navigation and closing now offer Save Changes, Keep Editing and Discard Changes. Discard restores the saved rule, including text still being edited; invalid enabled-rule saves keep the editor open.
• Read-only file tests can be cancelled. Late results cannot overwrite feedback after edits, rule switches or closing, and quit waits for cleanup. Test previews use the same source and companion-file protections as conversion.
• Native Undo, Redo, Cut and Close Window shortcuts, plus Cancel/Escape in the Finder grouped-format picker. Explicit app-controller retention keeps actions responsive in optimized builds.
• Reused Activity rows reset completely and share cached date formatting. The neutral native macOS glass design remains free of coloured block-edge accents.

Validation: 265 local automation assertions, real content recognition and conversion, native layout/backend checks, installer rollback/signature checks, static security/dependency audits, and installed-app keyboard/save/discard/Settings/Finder cancellation checks on Apple Silicon with macOS 27. The scoped developer UX review remains 9.0/10; independent usability, VoiceOver and older-system validation remain open. See docs/UX-AUDIT.md and evidence/automation-1.5.1.json.

Preview installation: download the macOS arm64 ZIP, keep its complete folder together and run python3 install.py following README.md. The DMG contains the same installer folder. Conversion engines are installed separately; the prebuilt app alone is not a standalone installer. This preview is ad-hoc signed and not Apple notarized. If macOS blocks it, use the documented build-from-source route without disabling Gatekeeper.

Finder Services and Quick Actions remain flat under macOS control. The Choose Format service opens UltraConvert's grouped category/format picker; nested category menus are also available inside the app. This release does not ship a Finder Sync extension.

The complete local development app retains all engines and remains unpublished pending dependency-source/licence review and Developer ID/notarization. This preview does not replace stable v1.3.0.

Released commit: 2715ebadac3ad5ea10bccfd5b523e2f8ad073fa4. GitHub CI: static audit and macOS conversion/native UI/security/rollback checks.

UltraConvert 1.5.0 Preview — Folder Rules & Native Glass

UltraConvert adds native folder automation: match files by detected format, category or name; run ordered conversion and rename blocks; route results; keep, archive or send eligible originals to Trash after successful conversion. Templates, read-only testing, persistent pause, local Activity and a menu-bar control make rules easy to review.

The rule builder now uses neutral native macOS glass, with no coloured edge stripes or tinted block outlines. Reduce Transparency and older systems use an opaque fallback. Activity uses reusable table rows and bounded history.

Finder has a new Convert Here with UltraConvert — Choose Format… Service. Pick a category and output format, review the batch, then convert. The app's file context menu also groups all 62 targets. Apple's Services/Quick Actions do not support nested submenus; this preview does not ship a Finder Sync extension. Single-file Convert Here results stay directly beside their originals.

Startup & Finder settings include Launch at Login, optional menu-bar startup for enabled rules, automatic Quick Action registration and repair/refresh controls. Launch at Login remains off unless you enable it.

Validation: 231 local automation checks, native layout/backend checks, the sealed-runtime format/preservation/security/batch corpus and installer rollback/signature checks. Real Finder chooser → MP3 conversion and watched-folder WAV → MP3 conversion were verified on macOS 27. The scoped developer UX review is 9.0/10; independent usability, VoiceOver, older macOS and clean-Mac Gatekeeper validation remain open. See docs/UX-AUDIT.md and evidence/automation-1.5.0.json.

Preview installation: download the macOS arm64 ZIP, keep the full folder together, and run python3 install.py as described in README.md. The DMG contains that installer folder. Conversion engines are installed separately; the prebuilt app alone is not a standalone installer. This preview is ad-hoc signed and not Apple notarized. If macOS blocks it, use the documented build-from-source route without disabling Gatekeeper.

The complete local development app retains all engines and remains unpublished while dependency-source/licence review and Developer ID/notarization are completed. This release does not change the stable v1.3.0 release.

GitHub CI passed for the released commit: static audit and macOS conversion/native UI/security/rollback checks.

UltraConvert 1.4.0 Preview — Startup and Finder Settings

UltraConvert 1.4.0 preview adds native startup and Finder integration settings.

• Open UltraConvert → Settings… (⌘,): optional Launch at Login, current macOS approval/error status, automatic Finder action registration, manual action repair and format-service refresh. Launch at Login stays off until you request it.
• Repair templates are included in every native app. Finder and Keyboard Settings buttons lead to macOS's enable switches; registering a service does not change those switches.
• The standalone development builder packages all engines inside the app and removes about 94 MB / 4.4% of local/debug symbols and Python development files. All codecs, Calibre plugins and offline geographic precision grids are retained. The local compressed DMG shrank by about 22 MB, from 1,341,930,197 to 1,319,457,872 bytes.
• Clearer install notes are included in the public ZIP and DMG. The README now covers startup/Finder settings as well as installation, mixed batches and output locations.

Install this public preview: download the macos-arm64 ZIP, extract the complete UltraConvert folder, open Terminal there and run python3 install.py. The public DMG contains the same installer folder. Homebrew engines and a separate Python runtime are installed; dragging its prebuilt .app alone is insufficient. See installation instructions.

The public prebuilt app is ad-hoc signed with Hardened Runtime and not Apple notarized. If macOS blocks it, follow the documented source-build route; do not disable Gatekeeper. Apple Silicon is tested locally on macOS 27 and in CI on macOS 26. The native interface targets macOS 13, but earlier macOS and Intel/engine availability remain unverified.

Verification: 62 representative format round trips plus preservation, security and batch regressions passed against the smaller standalone runtime; native layout, Finder ownership/repair, settings state/error checks and static/dependency audits passed. Both macOS and static CI jobs passed for the exact released commit.

Standalone distribution status: the drag-to-Applications DMG is still local. Public bundled-engine distribution awaits complete corresponding-source/notices review, Developer ID signing, Apple-accepted notarization/stapling and a quarantined clean-Mac check. The preview's source includes the builder; its public assets do not bundle those engines. See standalone status and size measurements.

This is a prerelease; v1.3.0 remains the latest stable release.

UltraConvert 1.3.0 — Native UX and Finder format shortcuts

UltraConvert 1.3.0 improves the native conversion workflow and Finder context menus.

• Finder Services format shortcuts for PNG, JPEG, WebP, MP3, Opus and MP4. Select files → right-click → Services → Convert to … with UltraConvert. Review the selected format and click Convert.
• File-row right-click actions: reveal original/result, copy names/errors and remove rows. Retry Failed loads only failures for recognition and review.
• Source → target previews, clear error labels, compact status/action layout and accurate skipped-only completion.
• Cached queue rows and coalesced progress updates. Five alternating samples reduced synthetic 1,000-row recognition preparation from 1.62s to 0.12s; this does not measure engine speed or drawing.
• Both original Finder Quick Actions retained and verified from cold launch. Convert Here still saves ordinary files beside their originals; reports remain separate.

Verification: 134 representative backend checks, expanded native assertions, installed mixed-batch and Finder interaction crawl, Ruff/Bandit/dependency audit. See UX rubric and limits for the developer 9.0/10 assessment; this is not an independent usability/security rating. Both macOS and static CI jobs passed for the exact released commit.

Installation: download the macos-arm64 ZIP, extract its complete UltraConvert folder, open Terminal there and run python3 install.py. The DMG contains the same installer folder. Homebrew engines and a separate Python runtime are required. Public builds are ad-hoc signed with Hardened Runtime and are not Apple notarized. Intel and older macOS are unverified source-build paths.