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Changelog

All notable changes to Owlette are documented here. The format is based on Keep a Changelog and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

For the full version management workflow, see Version Management.

[2.5.3] - 2026-04-01

Fixed

  • Auto-update now reliably replaces Python files — replaced deprecated WMIC call terminate with PowerShell Stop-Process -Force in the installer's InitializeSetup() phase. WMIC was silently failing to kill Python processes before file overwrite, causing Inno Setup to schedule locked DLLs for next-reboot replacement (which never comes during auto-update). Two-pass kill with verification ensures all handles are released before file copy begins.

[2.5.2] - 2026-03-31

Changed

  • Version bump

[2.5.1] - 2026-03-31

Added

  • Agent longevity hardening for 24/7 uptime — fixed resource leaks, unbounded queue growth, and error handling across all background threads
  • Windows console event signal handling (CTRL_SHUTDOWN_EVENT etc.) in the agent runner
  • Version number logged at service startup

Fixed

  • Dashboard machine online/offline status delay reduced from ~27s to ~4s
  • Slow command worker thread must start after self.running = True (previously caused worker to exit immediately)
  • Killed processes no longer trigger crash detection and relaunch
  • Parallel install support for Cortex deploy_software — existing registry keys hidden from installer to prevent unintended removal of previous versions
  • Cortex now requires explicit user confirmation before calling deploy_software
  • install.bat service detection switched to registry query — nssm status returned non-zero for stopped services, causing upgrade installs to skip removal and fail on re-registration

Performance

  • Landing page Lighthouse score improved from 69 to 89

[2.4.4] - 2026-03-31

Added

  • Cortex deploy_software tool — AI-driven software deployment with full pipeline tracking (download, silent install, verify, Deployments page visibility). Server-side tool with user confirmation required
  • Cortex get_system_presets tool — Retrieves admin-configured software presets (installer URLs, silent flags, verification paths) for use with deploy_software
  • 12h/24h time format preference — User preference persisted to Firestore, applied across schedule editor, time pickers, and dashboard
  • listen_to_document returns a wake_event for instant polling on Firestore writes

Fixed

  • deploy_software overrides /DIR flag to match the target version install path
  • Bidirectional config sync between agent and Firestore
  • Network metrics flickering on dashboard
  • Process list not detecting running processes; added Deployments link
  • Cortex sidebar categories sorted by recency, batch categorize fixed
  • Schedule editor time picker opens upward when near bottom of viewport
  • timeFormat preference not persisting due to missing equality check

[2.4.2] - 2026-03-27

Added

  • Feedback / Bug Reporting — Report bugs from the web dashboard and the agent GUI (system tray → "Report Issue"), with log attachments and direct Firestore submission
  • Branded email templates — Dark-theme HTML emails with shared layout system (header, footer, logo, site name in all transactional emails)
  • Landing page overhaul — New hero with eye ignition animation, Blade Runner easter egg, rotating word, typewriter text, interactive background, use case and value prop sections, demo mode
  • Demo mode — Full dashboard preview with simulated data, no login required
  • SEO overhaul — new OG image, lowercase brand voice, sitemap, robots.txt, proper metadata
  • File path, arguments, and PID displayed on process rows in the dashboard
  • Download link in landing page nav; /download redirect route

Fixed

  • Agent Bearer token auth in bug-report API route
  • Email template: logo URL fallback, auto-link color, footer links, Gmail clipping
  • Landing page layout: 4K centering, mobile accordion, hero vertical alignment, subheadline jitter

[2.4.1] - 2026-03-26

Changed

  • Agent pairing replaces browser OAuth — Agents now authenticate via QR code / device code flow. No browser window is opened on the target machine; users scan a QR code or enter a 3-word phrase in the dashboard
  • Installer publisher, URLs, and fallback version updated

Fixed

  • Installer pairing UX — auto-opens browser, improved colors, handles failure gracefully
  • Rate limits increased; pause added on pairing failure
  • Dashboard button and status badge hover states

Removed

  • Browser-based OAuth flow (replaced by device code pairing)

[2.4.0] - 2026-03-25

Added

  • Network Monitoring Dashboard — Per-NIC throughput charts with historical data (upload/download MB/s per adapter)
  • Agent GPU Process Monitoring — Per-process VRAM usage via Windows Performance Counters (cross-vendor: NVIDIA, AMD, Intel)
  • Cortex execute_script tool — Unrestricted PowerShell execution on the remote machine (Tier 3, requires confirmation)
  • Screenshot Vision Analysis — Cortex can analyze captured screenshots and provide behavioral guidance
  • Cortex Chat Improvements — Markdown rendering, conversation categorization, process context awareness
  • Live View — Real-time screenshot stream modal in the dashboard
  • Reboot Scheduling — Schedule recurring reboots with cron-style configuration
  • Threshold Alerts — Configurable alerts when CPU, memory, or disk usage exceeds thresholds
  • Webhook Platform Formatting — Slack, Teams, and Discord formatted payloads for webhook notifications
  • OpenAPI Documentation — Auto-generated API docs via Scalar at /docs/api
  • Admin Tools API — REST endpoints for all Cortex tools, usable by external integrations
  • Logs Improvements — Infinite scroll, date range filters, auth re-render optimization
  • React Markdown rendering with GFM support in Cortex chat

Fixed

  • Screenshot max width increased to 8K; lower JPEG quality for reduced payload size
  • Cortex language and tone improvements

[2.3.1] - 2026-03-24

Changed

  • Version bump for documentation audit and accuracy pass

[2.3.0] - 2026-03-22

Added

  • Cortex AI Chat — AI-powered chat interface with 24 specialized tools across three tiers for machine management via natural language
  • Tier 1 (read-only): system info, process lists, logs, metrics, network, disk
  • Tier 2 (process management): restart, kill, start, set launch mode, screenshot
  • Tier 3 (privileged): run commands/scripts, read/write files, reboot/shutdown
  • Autonomous mode: AI auto-investigates process crashes with configurable directives
  • Escalation system: emails admins when Cortex can't resolve an issue
  • Per-user and per-site LLM key management (encrypted at rest)
  • Passkey Authentication (WebAuthn) — Passwordless login using biometrics or device PIN
  • Discoverable credentials (no email needed to start login)
  • Passkey login skips 2FA entirely (passkey IS the second factor)
  • Clone detection via signature counter validation
  • Management UI: list, rename, and delete registered passkeys
  • Webhook Notifications — Configurable webhooks for process events, machine status changes, and deployment updates
  • Process Scheduling — Schedule processes to run during specific time windows with launch modes (off, always, scheduled)
  • Schedule presets for reuse across processes
  • Admin schedule management page
  • Screenshot Capture — Remote desktop screenshots with multi-monitor support
  • Health Probes — Agent-side health monitoring with configurable checks
  • Server-Side Deployment Status — Firebase Cloud Functions for automatic deployment status tracking
  • Firestore trigger updates deployment status on command completion
  • Scheduled sweeper marks stale deployments as failed (15 min pending, 30 min active)
  • Software Inventory — Agent reports installed software to Firestore
  • Admin Webhook Management — Dashboard page for configuring site webhooks
  • Admin Schedule Presets — Dashboard page for managing schedule presets
  • MkDocs Documentation — Complete documentation rewrite with MkDocs Material theme

Changed

  • Agent monitoring loop interval reduced from 10s to 5s
  • Deployment system now uses Firebase Cloud Functions for status aggregation
  • Process launch mode replaces simple autolaunch toggle (set_launch_mode replaces toggle_autolaunch)

Removed

  • owlette_updater.py — self-update logic moved into main service command handler

[2.1.8] - 2026-03-15

Added

  • Remote reboot/shutdown commands with dashboard UI
  • Process crash email alerts
  • Installer setup logging enabled by default

Fixed

  • useSites hook fetches assigned sites individually instead of collection query
  • Setup page fetches assigned sites individually instead of collection query

[2.0.49] - 2025-11-28

Fixed

  • VBS Cleanup Race Condition — VBS wrapper files for hidden process launches are now cleaned up in a background thread after 10s delay, preventing "file in use" errors
  • Reduced Log Noise — GUI config change detection logs moved from INFO to DEBUG; verbose tray status logging removed

[2.0.48] - 2025-11-26

Fixed

  • Windows Defender False Positive — Installer now adds Defender exclusion for Owlette directory (WinRing0 driver flagged as VulnerableDriver:WinNT/Winring0). Exclusion removed on uninstall.
  • Join Site Performance — Fixed extremely slow "Join Site" operation (2+ minutes to instant) by removing redundant Firebase client initialization from GUI
  • Silent Browser Launch — Changed from webbrowser.open() to os.startfile() to prevent flashing command prompt windows during OAuth flow

[2.0.47] - 2025-11-24

Fixed

  • Token Encryption Key Stability — Changed encryption key derivation from uuid.getnode() (MAC address) to Windows MachineGuid. MAC address can return different values after reboot; MachineGuid is stable. Resolves "Agent not authenticated" errors after restart.

[2.0.46] - 2025-11-19

Added

  • Email Testing Page — New admin-only page at /admin/test-email for testing email notifications, templates, and delivery
  • Update Panel Layout — Improved spacing and organization for machine update dialog

[2.0.44] - 2025-11-13

Added

  • Config & Logs Buttons — Quick access buttons in GUI footer to open config.json and logs folder
  • Custom Messagebox — Improved text wrapping (92% width), compact layout, dark theme matching
  • Firebase Reconnection Auto-Detection — Service detects when Firebase is re-enabled and automatically restarts the client

Changed

  • Unified Site Management — Join/Leave Site consolidated into single dynamic button
  • Increased Deployment Timeout — Extended from 20 to 40 minutes for large installers
  • Force Close on Uninstall — Inno Setup uninstalls now automatically close running applications

Fixed

  • Firebase Client Reference Errors — Fixed incorrect global variable usage in uninstall handler
  • Firebase Client Not Restarting — Service now detects enable/disable transitions and reinitializes

[2.0.29] - 2025-11-12

Fixed

  • Config Version for New Installs — Fixed hardcoded version in configure_site.py; new installs now use correct CONFIG_VERSION constant

[2.0.28] - 2025-11-12

Added

  • Environment Configuration — New environment setting in config.json (production vs development)

Fixed

  • Tray Icon Launch Failure — Added get_python_exe_path() helper to locate bundled Python interpreter
  • Incorrect Server URL — "Join Site" now correctly defaults to production URL
  • Port Conflict on Retry — Enabled allow_reuse_address on OAuth callback server

[2.0.27] - 2025-11-11

Fixed

  • Software Inventory Sync Error — Fixed NameError in post-installation inventory sync
  • Real-Time Deployment Status — Fixed deployment status staying on "downloading" until manual refresh; now transitions in real-time

[2.0.26] - 2025-11-11

Added

  • Process Launch via Task Scheduler — Complete rewrite using schtasks for service restart resilience
  • Enhanced Event Logging — Agent lifecycle events, process crash detection, GUI kill tracking

Fixed

  • Agent Stopped Logging — Implemented restart flag mechanism for graceful shutdown event logging
  • Process Crash False Positives — Crash events no longer logged for manually killed processes

[2.0.15] - 2025-11-11

Added

  • Event Logs Page — Dedicated page for monitoring process events with filtering, pagination, and color-coded severity
  • Hidden Process Launch — VBScript wrapper for truly invisible console application launches
  • Event Logging to Firestore — Automatic logging of process starts, kills, crashes, and command executions

[2.0.0] - 2025-01-31

Major Release — Cloud-Connected Architecture

Version 2.0.0 transforms Owlette from a standalone Windows process manager to a cloud-connected system.

Added

  • Next.js Web Dashboard — Remote monitoring and control from any browser
  • Firebase/Firestore Backend — Real-time bidirectional data sync
  • Remote Software Deployment — Silent installation across multiple machines
  • Deployment Templates — Save and reuse installer configurations
  • PID Recovery — Reconnect to existing processes after service restart
  • Multi-Site Management — Organize machines by location

Changed

  • Monorepo Structure — Unified agent/ and web/ directories
  • Firebase as Primary Backend — Gmail/Slack marked as legacy
  • Configuration Schema — Updated to v1.3.0 with Firebase settings

Deprecated

  • Gmail and Slack notifications (replaced by web dashboard alerts)

[0.4.2b] - Legacy

Standalone Architecture

The original Owlette — a standalone Windows service with local configuration.

  • Windows service process monitoring with auto-restart
  • System tray icon and GUI configuration
  • Gmail API and Slack API notifications
  • Local JSON configuration
  • Process priority and visibility control

Migration Guide: v0.4.2b to v2.0.0

v0.4.2b Feature v2.0.0 Equivalent
Gmail notifications Web dashboard alerts + email via Resend
Slack notifications Web dashboard alerts
Local GUI only GUI + Web dashboard
Manual configuration GUI or web-based config
Single machine Multi-machine, multi-site
N/A Remote deployment
N/A Project distribution
N/A Cortex AI chat