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SceneShift v2.1.1 - Clarity & Safety Improvements

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@tandukuda tandukuda released this 16 Jan 00:14
· 15 commits to main since this release
v2.1.1
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SceneShift v2.1.1 - Clarity & Safety Improvements 🛡️

Release Date: January 16, 2026
Type: Patch Release
Migration: Automatic (v2.1.0 configs auto-upgrade)

📋 What's New

This patch release addresses community feedback about confusing terminology and adds curated safe-to-terminate process lists with visual safety indicators.

🏷️ Clearer Terminology

The confusing "Safelist" has been renamed to "Exclusion List" to better communicate its purpose: these are processes that SceneShift will NOT touch, no matter what.

Before (v2.1.0):

  • ❌ "Safelist" - Could mean "safe to kill" OR "safe to keep."
  • Ambiguous and confusing for users

After (v2.1.1):

  • ✅ "Exclusion List" - Crystal clear: these processes are excluded from all operations
  • No more confusion!

🛡️ Visual Safety Indicators

Every app in your list now shows a clear safety indicator:

> [x] 🛡️ explorer.exe        ← Protected (cannot be killed/suspended)
> [ ] ✓ Discord.exe          ← Safe to kill (confirmed by community)
> [ ] ⚠ nvcontainer.exe      ← Use caution (might affect functionality)
  • 🛡️ Protected - Critical Windows processes in the exclusion list
  • ✓ Safe to Kill - Community-curated safe-to-terminate processes
  • ⚠ Use Caution - Unknown or potentially system-critical processes

📋 Curated Safe-to-Kill Lists

SceneShift now includes pre-configured lists of processes that are safe to terminate:

Bloatware (12 processes)

  • OneDrive, Microsoft Edge, Cortana, Widget Service, and more

Chat Apps (8 processes)

  • Discord, Slack, Teams, Zoom, Skype, Telegram, WhatsApp

Game Launchers (8 processes)

  • Steam, Epic Games, Battle.net, Origin, GOG Galaxy, and more

Utilities (13 processes)

  • Spotify, iTunes, Adobe Creative Cloud, RGB software (iCUE, Razer, etc.)

These lists are automatically used to detect safety levels for your configured apps!

🔄 Automatic Migration

Your existing v2.1.0 config is automatically upgraded when you run v2.1.1:

  1. Old safelist → New protection.exclusion_list
  2. Empty safe-to-kill lists populated with defaults
  3. All existing apps get auto-detected safety levels
  4. Your apps and presets remain unchanged

No manual intervention required!

🎯 Key Features Recap

Process Management

  • ⚡ Kill: Terminate processes to free maximum resources
  • ❄️ Suspend: Freeze processes (keep Chrome tabs alive!)
  • ▶️ Resume: Unfreeze suspended processes
  • 🔄 Restore: Relaunch apps when done

Safety System

  • 🛡️ Protected Processes: 20+ critical Windows processes in exclusion list
  • ✓ Safe-to-Kill Lists: 41+ curated safe processes across 4 categories
  • ⚠ Smart Detection: Auto-categorizes unknown processes
  • 📊 Visual Indicators: See safety status at a glance

Other Features

  • ⌨️ Keyboard-First: Vim-style navigation (j/k keys)
  • 🎨 5 Built-in Themes: Rose Pine, Dracula, Nord, Gruvbox, Cyberpunk
  • 🔖 Preset System: One-key activation of app groups
  • 🔍 Process Search: Ctrl+F to find running processes

📦 Installation

Via Scoop (Recommended)

scoop bucket add tandukuda https://github.com/tandukuda/scoop-bucket
scoop install sceneshift

Manual Download

  1. Download SceneShift.exe from the Assets below
  2. Run as Administrator
  3. Your v2.1.0 config will auto-migrate!

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/tandukuda/SceneShift.git
cd SceneShift
build-release.bat

🔧 What Changed Under the Hood

Breaking Changes (with Auto-Migration)

  • Config structure updated: 
    # Old (v2.1.0)
safelist:
  - explorer.exe
  - dwm.exe

# New (v2.1.1)
protection:
  exclusion_list:
    - explorer.exe
    - dwm.exe
safe_to_kill:
  bloatware: [...]
  chat_apps: [...]
  game_launchers: [...]
  utilities: [...]

New Fields

  • AppEntry.SafetyLevel - Auto-detected on app creation/edit
  • Config.Protection - Replaces old Safelist.
  • Config.SafeToKill - New curated process lists

UI Changes

  • Safelist Manager → Exclusion List Manager (W key)
  • Added legend: 🛡️=Protected ✓=Safe ⚠=Caution
  • Protection violation messages now show 🛡️ icon
  • Updated all help text and labels

🐛 Bug Fixes

  • Fixed terminology inconsistency across UI elements
  • Improved error messages for protection violations
  • Better config validation to prevent empty exclusion lists
  • Enhanced backward compatibility handling

🙏 Community Contributions

Huge thanks to [@vasudev-gm](https://github.com/vasudev-gm) for:

This release wouldn't exist without community feedback. Thank you!

📚 Documentation

🗺️ What's Next?

v2.2 (Coming Soon)

  • Visual suspension status indicators in the menu
  • PID-specific resume tracking
  • Session history / Undo feature
  • Process CPU/RAM stats
  • Export/Import config profiles

v3.0 (Future)

  • Linux support (SIGSTOP/SIGCONT)
  • macOS support
  • Auto-trigger on game launch
  • Cloud config sync

⚠️ Upgrading from v2.1.0

  1. Download v2.1.1
  2. Replace your SceneShift.exe.
  3. Run it - your config auto-migrates!
  4. Check the legend to understand the new safety icons

Your apps, presets, and theme are preserved.

💬 Feedback

Using SceneShift? We'd love to hear from you!

📊 Project Stats

  • 49 Stars ⭐ (and growing!)
  • Featured on: MajorGeeks (5/5), Neowin, Deskmodder
  • Downloads: 500+ (v2.1.0)
  • Community: Growing open-source project

🔐 Security & Safety

SceneShift v2.1.1 includes multiple safety layers:

✅ Protected critical Windows processes by default
✅ Visual indicators for process safety
✅ 5-second confirmation countdown
✅ Suspend option to preserve work

Always save your work before using process management tools.

📄 License

MIT License - see [LICENSE](https://github.com/[tandukuda](https://github.com/tandukuda)/SceneShift/blob/main/LICENSE)

Built with ❤️ by tandukuda

Special thanks to the community for making SceneShift better with every release!

🔗 Quick Links

⬇️ Download Assets

See the Assets section below to download:

  • SceneShift.exe - Standalone executable (Windows 10/11)
  • SceneShift_v2.1.1_source.zip - Source code archive
  • checksums.txt - SHA256 checksums for verification

SHA256 Checksums:

[Generated during release build]

Full Changelog: [v2.1.0...v2.1.1](https://github.com/tandukuda/SceneShift/compare/v2.1.0...v2.1.1)

Assets 3
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