Smaller, Please 0.1.0

Changelog

Notable changes to Smaller, Please (formerly ContextSlim). The product/Core version is the
release version; contextslim remains only a compatibility alias.

[0.1.0] - 2026-10-03

The first stable release of Smaller, Please. It consolidates the beta line into the supported
0.1.0 product: a local-first media optimizer that shrinks images and video before they are
consumed by AI agents or uploaded in the browser, without modifying the original file.

Shipped

• Local image optimization and local video optimization through the single public
  smaller optimize <input> command (image, video, or directory); --mode smart is the default
  safety pipeline and never keeps a derivative larger than its source.
• Browser upload optimization on the currently supported sites and paths: ChatGPT,
  Gemini, and DeepSeek. An upload is replaced with an optimized derivative only after a
  confirmed handoff, and fails open to the original otherwise. Gemini drag/drop is
  passthrough — the original attaches with no optimization claim.
• Source preservation — originals are never modified, overwritten, or deleted; optimization
  writes derivatives only, and a below-threshold source is skipped with the original used.
• Managed Core store / cache at ~/.contextslim-bridge/store, with marker-validated
  derivatives/, cache/, and tmp/; smaller clean removes only marker-validated managed
  content and the bridge-owned inbox/.
• smaller prepare / prepare-batch — frozen JSON output with an authoritative use_path for
  agents; derivatives and cache default to the managed store rather than a source-adjacent
  .contextslim/ directory.
• Bundled Agent Skill inside the Homebrew install
  (share/smaller-please/skills/smaller-please/) plus the read-only smaller get skills
  command, which surfaces the Skill and its install instruction without writing to any AI-tool
  directory. The correct Agent Skill install/update lifecycle is now documented: installed via a stable symlink so brew upgrade keeps it current; copy is a fallback that requires reinstall.
• Free / Pro capability split — Free covers the smart pipeline; Pro unlocks maximum
  compression and explicit metadata remove-all, resolved locally from a stored licence.
• Production licence verification — licences are verified offline on-device against the
  shipped Production trust root; a Pro licence is purchasable and activates locally, and unknown or
  unrecognized installs fail closed to Free. Media content is never uploaded to a Smaller, Please
  server.

Installation / platform

• Homebrew is the supported installation channel:
  brew tap wberry9813/smaller-please then brew install smaller-please.
• macOS 12+ on Apple Silicon (arm64) only; the Homebrew formula refuses Intel.
• Installing the browser extension is always manual: Chrome Developer mode → Load unpacked
  from the visible ~/Applications/Smaller Please Extension path staged by smaller setup /
  smaller extension.

Not yet available

• Automatic updates, the Chrome Web Store listing, Intel (x86_64), and Windows are
  not shipped. There is no signed DMG/installer: the earlier DMG is historical and no longer
  produced.

Smaller Please v0.1.0 Beta 8

Changelog

Notable changes to Smaller Please (formerly ContextSlim). The product/Core version is the
release version; contextslim remains only a compatibility alias.

[0.1.0-beta.8] - 2026-10-03

Corrects agent-facing prepare output placement and tightens the bundled Agent Skill, following
the first real-world Beta.7 Skill acceptance.

Changed

• Agent prepare / prepare-batch derivatives now default to the Core managed store — optimized
  outputs are written to <bridge_store_dir>/derivatives/ instead of a source-adjacent
  .contextslim/ directory. smaller optimize output semantics are unchanged.
• prepare cache/dedupe now lives under the managed store — cache and dedupe records are stored
  in the managed store's cache/ rather than beside the sources.
• --output is preserved and overrides the derivative directory only — an explicit
  --output <dir> keeps its existing behavior (it overrides where optimized derivatives are
  written); the cache remains in the managed store.
• Bundled Agent Skill input-resolution contract — the Skill now defines a safe order for
  resolving an attachment input (authoritative local filesystem path → standard attachment/file API
  → one-time byte materialization → ask the user) and forbids discovering attachments by crawling
  HOME, unrelated folders, application/browser/agent caches, private databases, or broad temp
  directories.
• Skill success fast path — after a successful smaller prepare ... --json, the Skill treats
  the Core JSON and its exact use_path as authoritative and avoids redundant post-success
  diagnostics or verification probes.
• Skill/docs distinguish config from managed-store output — the macOS config location
  (~/Library/Application Support/SmallerPlease/config.json) is now documented distinctly from the
  managed-store derivative/cache locations, so agents do not confuse configuration with output.

Known limitations / Planned

• Still Planned: automatic updates, the Chrome Web Store listing, and a public Media Pack
  download service. Intel (x86_64) and Windows are deferred; the Homebrew formula refuses Intel.

[0.1.0-beta.7] - 2026-10-02

The first public release to bundle the Smaller, Please Agent Skill inside the Homebrew install.
Distributed through Homebrew; unsigned and DMG-free.

Added

• Bundled Agent Skill — the canonical skills/smaller-please/ bundle (SKILL.md,
  workflows.md, reference.md) now ships inside the release archive at
  share/smaller-please/skills/smaller-please/ and is installed by the Homebrew formula, so users
  no longer need to clone the GitHub repository to get the Skill.
• smaller get skills — a new read-only command that resolves the bundled Skill relative to
  the installed executable (no hardcoded prefix) and prints the AI-agent installation instruction
  together with the SKILL.md content. It never writes to ~/.agents, ~/.claude, or any other
  AI-tool configuration directory, and never detects or installs an AI tool.

Changed

• Docs / website copy — the public READMEs lead with smaller get skills, and the website
  install section now presents the simplified Skills-tab copy (website source only; see Known
  limitations).

Known limitations / Planned

• The website Skills-copy update is source-only / not deployed at the time of this release.
• Claude Code live Skill acceptance remains unverified (the shared Agent Skills standard is
  documented as compatible).
• Paddle Live purchasing is not yet fully live pending merchant/domain verification; no real-card
  Production charge has been tested — only the 100% discount test path has been observed.
• Still Planned: automatic updates, the Chrome Web Store listing, and a public Media Pack
  download service. Intel (x86_64) and Windows are deferred; the Homebrew formula refuses Intel.

[0.1.0-beta.6] - 2026-10-01

The first public beta whose release build includes the Production licence verification trust root.
Distributed through Homebrew; unsigned and DMG-free.

Added

• Production licence verification — the normal release build now trusts the first Production
  licence verification key (prod-license-2026-01, public-key fingerprint
  435044822c4b3252c2264ddfc48739dbb59786806a44e128612d6df5b6ada3fb). A licence issued by the
  Production backend can activate Pro on the release build; previously the release build trusted
  no Production key, so every licence resolved to Free. Unknown or development/Sandbox key ids
  still fail closed (resolve to Free), and no private signing key ships in the client.

Changed

• Licence validation hardening — the licence envelope's key_id is now bound to the signed
  payload; a mismatch is rejected.
• Homebrew is the supported installation and update path —
  brew tap wberry9813/smaller-please then brew install smaller-please /
  brew upgrade smaller-please. From this release, releases are unsigned and DMG-free; the
  earlier signed installer DMG is no longer produced.
• Extension lifecycle honesty — smaller extension status reports the staged extension's
  source/version and whether it is stale, and reports a "not staged" state honestly instead of
  implying the extension is loaded.
• Homebrew onboarding — the Homebrew formula's caveats and the install docs now guide the
  supported flow end to end: brew install → smaller setup → smaller extension path → Chrome
  "Load unpacked" from the visible ~/Applications/Smaller Please Extension path (never from the
  Homebrew Cellar).

Known limitations / Planned

• Paddle Live purchasing is not yet fully live pending merchant/domain verification; no Production
  purchase and no Production-signed licence has been exercised end-to-end yet.
• Still Planned: automatic updates, the Chrome Web Store listing, a public Media Pack download
  service, and GitHub release automation. Intel (x86_64) and Windows are deferred; the Homebrew
  formula refuses Intel.

[0.1.0-beta.5] - 2026-09-28

Added

• Canonical version contract — all version surfaces are now strictly derived from Cargo.toml.
• GitHub release automation — draft-first release automation via release.sh --publish github.
• Public Homebrew tap publication flow — the tap formula is published from the released GitHub
  artifact.

Changed

• Pro capability delivery — granular licence capabilities reach the CLI and the browser
  extension end to end.
• Chrome extension Pro controls — Smart stays selectable and the Pro-gated Maximum /
  metadata controls show a concise lock hint instead of silently changing state.

[0.1.0-beta.4] - 2026-09-20

Added

• First public CLI macOS arm64 artifact and public Homebrew formula (brew tap wberry9813/smaller-please + brew install smaller-please) shipped alongside the still-signed DMG.
• AI-install fresh-user acceptance.

Changed

• Version scheme — added version_scheme 1 in the Homebrew formula so betas upgrade over the historical 0.1.0.

[0.1.0] - Unreleased (development)

Local-first media optimization before images/videos are uploaded to AI agents or browsers.
Sources are never modified. macOS-first. From Beta.6 the supported install/update path is
Homebrew (unsigned, DMG-free).

Added

• Image optimization — HEIC/JPEG/TIFF → JPEG and PNG/PNG-with-transparency handling, a
  never-grow guard, a minimum-savings threshold, metadata stripping, and a per-media minimum
  source size (a hard gate). Batch traversal excludes generated .contextslim/ output.
• Video optimization — MP4/MOV/M4V → MP4 (H.264 + AAC, +faststart, metadata removal) with
  the same never-grow guard and thresholds.
• Chrome extension (MV3) — ChatGPT/Claude picker, drag-and-drop, and paste interception;
  local optimization through the Native Messaging host; a progress chip; and honest fallback to
  the original when a file is skipped or fails.
• Native Core — the smaller CLI (legacy contextslim alias), a single persisted config,
  a marker-validated managed store with cache/dedupe and storage statistics, and clean.
• Media Engine — the optional LGPL-only Media Pack (FFmpeg 7.1, macOS arm64,
  VideoToolbox H.264 + native AAC) installed with smaller media install, with automatic
  fallback to an existing Homebrew/system FFmpeg.
• macOS installer (previous betas only; dormant from Beta.6) — an earlier Developer ID signed
  • notarized Smaller Please Installer.app + DMG that installed Core, the extension bundle, and
    the Media Pack user-level (no sudo). From Beta.6 the Homebrew CLI formula is the supported
    path and no DMG is built or published.
• Languages — English + Simplified Chinese in the installer and extension (Follow system).
• Diagnostics and repair — smaller doctor, smaller setup, smaller repair, the
  extension/native/media lifecycle commands, a read-only smaller release verify, and the
  smaller uninstall lifecycle (settings/cache kept by default).

Known limitations / Planned

• Implemented: public GitHub releases and the public Homebrew CLI formula
  (brew tap wberry9813/smaller-please + brew install smaller-please). Developer ID signing +
  notarization of the installer DMG is retained tooling but dormant from Beta.6 (that DMG was
  shipped only through Beta.5). Still Planned: automatic updates, the Chrome Web Store
  listing, a public Media Pack download service, and GitHub release automation.
  Intel (x86_64) and Windows are deferred; the Homebrew formula refuses Intel.