What's new

Every release, in order.

Currently shipping 0.26.0. Append a new entry to data/release-notes.ts on every feature drop.

• Latest

  0.26.0

  May 15, 2026

  Example playground · in-browser recording · unified nav

  A new dark-themed playground at /example lets anyone preview characters with the full animation library, record hi-res clips, and drop in a custom background — and every Charios page now shares one nav.

  • New /example playground — pick a template character, type to smart-search animations (Tab cycles matches), watch the live rig anywhere on the page
  • Type-ahead filters the animation list with a smooth collapse/expand, and the keyboard hint shows how many matches are visible
  • Animation library auto-warms in the background on first visit — every clip is fetched once and parked in the Cache API, so switching anims afterwards is instant
  • Add a background image with a circle button next to the search bar — drag to pan, scroll/slider to zoom, with the live character on top as a true WYSIWYG crop
  • Bones toggle next to it overlays the skeleton wireframe on the rig; both buttons have hover tooltips
  • Record button (top-left of the stage) with three modes: animation only (transparent webm), animation with subtitle (anim-name pill + background baked in), or full UI capture
  • Recordings are now hi-DPI (native canvas backing-store resolution) at 30 fps and 8 Mbps, so retina exports look as crisp as the live preview
  • Subtitle pill fades in on every anim change at the bottom of the character — the same pill is baked into the with-subtitle recording so the clip carries its own label
  • Edit this character button (top-right of the stage) clones the template into your account and drops you straight into the editor
  • Upload your character pill at the top of the character rail with a four-step progress preview (Reading file → Detecting layers → Segmenting bones → Fitting the rig) before nudging non-Pro users to upgrade
  • Video-to-anim teaser pill at the top of the animation rail — same upgrade flow
  • Oysianna joined the template library and is now the playground's default character
  • Single shared TopNav across every route — dashboard, settings, studio, and the playground no longer drift apart on link sets or hover states
  • TopNav supports light/dark theme + container/full-width variants so playground and editor surfaces don't fight the marketing chrome
• Shipped

  0.25.0

  May 10, 2026

  Smoother variants · cleaner thumbs · refined credit icon

  Variant generation no longer freezes the editor, cards show real progress instead of waiting on a skeleton, and panel thumbnails stop breaking after an hour.

  • Variants generation is fully off-thread now — typing, scrolling, and the canvas stay smooth while a batch runs in the background
  • First Generate after opening the editor is ~3-5 s faster: the AI cleanup model warms up the moment the panel mounts, so the cold start happens while you're still picking a style
  • Each variant card now shows real progress — Generating · Cleaning · ready — with the raw composite appearing under a soft veil while edges are being cut
  • Cards stream in as each variant finishes instead of waiting for the whole batch — pick the first one you like the moment it's ready
  • Variant edges look cleaner — flames, glows, and wisps no longer get cut off by background-removal because the prompt now demands hard ink-defined silhouettes
  • Variant card thumbnails stay live indefinitely — no more broken images after leaving the editor open for over an hour
  • Refined credit icon: the sparkle now sits inside a circle for a tighter, more brand-consistent look across every Add / Generate / Top up button
  • Account dropdown drops the small ring next to Balance; the avatar's usage ring is now solid black at every level (calmer at a glance, the Top up CTA still surfaces low-balance state)
  • Failed variants no longer leave a half-broken card — partial entries are filtered out so the panel only shows variants that actually rendered
• Shipped

  0.24.0

  May 7, 2026

  Multi-select anims · in-app community · faster R2

  Curate a set of animations per project, post bugs and feature requests straight from the editor, and watch images load faster everywhere.

  • Anim-check modal cells now have a round radio in the top-right — click to multi-select; selections survive across sessions
  • Right-rail Animation panel turns into your curated list: GIF thumbnail, per-row Speed dropdown (0.2× / 0.5× / 1× / 2× / 3×), hover-to-preview, click to pin
  • Layers / Map preview tabs moved into the right-rail Preview section — keeps the center pane focused on the live character
  • Map mode now packs the atlas tightly to the panel width with no wasted whitespace
  • Right-rail chrome standardised: every section header gets the same pill-style action button (Add / Reset)
  • Bug Report / Feature Request / Get Support open an in-app modal that posts straight to the public community board with a screenshot picker built in
  • Community page gets category tabs (Questions, Bugs, Feature requests, General, Billing) with deep-linkable querystrings
  • Community threads + replies support image attachments — drag, paste, or click; up to 6 per post, 6 MB each
  • Test-run modal renders at the editor's 3/4 camera angle and full character scale, matching the live preview
  • State pickers in test-run get the LibraryPicker treatment: GIF thumbnails on every row
  • Skeleton on/off in anim-check modal now uses the same toggle as 'Select all' in the import modal — consistent vocabulary across modals
  • Images on production never break again: thumbnails, mocap library GIFs/FBX, project layer textures, and community attachments all serve from a custom asset domain (assets.charios.com) with no expiring signed URLs
• Shipped

  0.23.0

  May 7, 2026

  Editor polish · Layers / Map preview · double-click to edit

  Pickier eyedropper, double-click into edit mode, a packed-atlas preview, smarter trims after every edit, and a stack of small visual fixes.

  • Double-click any layer in the editor canvas to jump straight into edit mode (eraser/paint)
  • Eyedropper at the end of the colour palette — pick from anywhere on screen with the browser EyeDropper API
  • Preview pane gets Layers / Map tabs (top-right) — Map packs every visible layer onto a 1024² atlas
  • Subtle download icon next to the tabs ships the current view as PNG
  • Saving an edit auto-trims transparent borders so the persisted PNG hugs the visible content; layer x/y/width/height adjust to keep the visual position locked
  • Editor + preview now render at your saved cam angle (default 74° three-quarter) and sit vertically centred in their pane
  • Variants panel moved above the Preview section so swatches are above the fold
  • Test-run modal teardown is surgical — no longer corrupts editor state on close
  • Floating edit toolbar slide-in is properly animated (was popping into place)
  • Animation dropdown popover hugs the trigger width; no more bleeding past the right rail
  • Removed the white circle on the head joint in the skeleton overlay
  • Removed the horizon line in test run — just a faint ground tint left
• Shipped

  0.22.0

  May 6, 2026

  Test-run upgrade · upgrade modal · variant skin cycling

  Bigger test-run arena with per-state animation pickers, in-app upgrade prompt instead of an error overlay, and ↑/↓ to flip through saved variants while you're auditioning anims.

  • Test run is now a full-screen arena with five state pickers (Idle / Walk / Run / Jump / Attack) — each pulls from your mocap library, your picks save per project, and Shift now toggles run speed
  • Anim-check modal: ↑ / ↓ cycles through your saved variant skins on the live character; Cmd+Z reverts the swap
  • Hitting the free-plan project cap now opens a clean Upgrade modal everywhere a 'New' or 'Duplicate' button lives — no more raw error overlay
  • Confirm-layer-bounds modal restyled to match the editor design language, with a single Select-all toggle in place of the two pills
  • Tiny progress ring on each anim-check cell shows real bytes-downloaded while the FBX is fetching
  • Save retries once on stale-version conflict — second-tab edits no longer lock the editor
• Shipped

  0.21.0

  May 6, 2026

  Curated mocap library + redesigned anim-check

  Pick from a searchable library of mocap clips with live thumbnails, hover-to-preview, and a full modal for side-by-side comparison.

  • New Animation dropdown in the right rail — searchable, hover any row to preview the clip on your character live, click to pin it
  • FBX clips are pre-fetched as rows scroll into view, so the first hover plays back instantly
  • Anim check is now a dedicated modal — 10 cells side-by-side at any time, all driven by your character
  • Filter the library by quick category pills (Idle / Walk / Run / Jump / Dance / Punch / Sword / Sit), search, or sort by name / category / duration
  • Keyboard shortcuts in the modal: ← / → to page, 1–7 to jump categories, Esc to close
  • Saves auto-recover from a stale-version conflict instead of permanently locking — second-tab edits no longer brick the editor
• Shipped

  0.20.0

  May 6, 2026

  Editor polish + jump between projects

  Faster brush controls, lighter chrome, motion presets back online, and one-click hop to your recent files.

  • Press + / − while erasing to grow or shrink the brush, on top of the existing [ and ] shortcuts
  • Smaller default brush so the cursor reads as a precise circle from the start
  • Recent projects live in the logo dropdown — click to jump straight into your last five files, with thumbnails
  • Tooltips ease up from below with the same motion used by the floating toolbar
  • Slimmer, low-contrast zoom slider in each canvas corner so it stays out of the way
  • Cleaner layer-group headers — the bone label leads, no more decorative glyph
  • Mocap presets load again from cloud storage (browser-fetch hiccup resolved)
• Shipped

  0.19.0

  May 4, 2026

  Brand refresh + cleaner editor

  The new Charios mark is everywhere, the editor is quieter, and projects open without flicker.

  • New Charios logo across the navbar, footer, dashboard, editor, favicon, and Apple touch icon
  • Charios wordmark sits next to the logo on the homepage and dashboard
  • Dashboard shortcut pill in the navbar for signed-in visitors browsing public pages
  • Templates show on your own dashboard with a Template chip — only you see your originals
  • No-thumbnail project cards now show the faded Charios mark instead of a placeholder caption
  • Capes removed from the rig — the editor is now a clean stage for your own art
  • Projects open without the brief flicker where layers used to flash at the wrong position
• Shipped

  0.18.0

  May 4, 2026

  Templates

  Start a new project from a template, or stay blank — your choice.

  • New project picker: blank canvas or any of 20 starter templates
  • Picking a template clones it into your account so you can edit freely
  • The procedural body shapes are gone — the editor is now a clean stage for your own art
• Shipped

  0.17.0

  May 4, 2026

  Tweak the base body parts

  Resize, rotate, and nudge any procedural body part — head, torso, limbs — independently of the rig.

  • Click a Base art row to open its transform panel
  • Per-part scale (0.4×–2×), rotation (±180°), and offset (±80px in any direction)
  • Adjustments persist with the project and ride along with every animation
  • Reset button restores the default proportions in one click
• Shipped

  0.16.0

  May 4, 2026

  Smoother editor, sharper dashboard

  Cleaner imports, locked-in transform cursors, no-flicker project loads, real character thumbnails.

  • Layers no longer pop into the wrong spot when a project opens — they appear in their final position straight away
  • Thumbnails actually show your character now, framed and compressed for fast dashboard loading
  • Rotate / scale / move cursors stay locked for the whole drag — no flicker mid-transform
  • Drop a PNG anywhere on the editor pane and it snaps to the right bone, even when the drop point lands on the preview side
  • Settings page for managing your plan, profile, and billing
  • Pro / Team plan badge in the navbar, no more name clutter
• Shipped

  0.15.0

  May 4, 2026

  Billing is live

  Upgrade to Pro from the pricing page; manage your card and cancellation from the dashboard.

  • Pro checkout from /pricing — secure hosted checkout, taxes handled, cancel anytime
  • Plan badge on the dashboard with a one-click Manage link
  • Self-service customer portal — update card, change plan, cancel without emailing us
• Shipped

  0.14.0

  May 4, 2026

  Community, FAQ, Blog

  Three new public surfaces: a Q&A forum, a real FAQ, and a place for longer writing.

  • Community forum — ask a question, answer someone else's, mark accepted answers
  • Standalone FAQ page grouped by topic
  • Blog with the first three posts
  • Faster bone-snap when dropping a single PNG — lands on the bone you dropped on, not centroid-offset away from it
  • Drag cursor stays locked to rotate / scale / grab for the whole transform — no flicker mid-drag
  • Dashboard thumbnails frame your character instead of showing 80% empty canvas
• Shipped

  0.12.0

  May 4, 2026

  Cleaner navigation

  Public pages and the dashboard show just the logo; the editor menu adds a quick way home.

  • Logo-only nav on every public and dashboard page
  • Editor brand menu now has a direct Home page link
• Shipped

  0.11.0

  May 3, 2026

  Smart thumbnails

  Dashboard cards now show what you actually built.

  • Every save captures a fresh thumbnail of your editor scene
  • Smart-deform and Show-mesh are now independent toggles — deform without the wireframe, or inspect the mesh without changing the look
• Shipped

  0.10.0

  May 3, 2026

  Marketing facelift

  Charios graduated from a dev demo to a proper product surface.

  • Smart hero CTA that flips between Sign In and Dashboard
  • Pricing page with Free / Pro / Team tiers
  • About + Privacy + Terms + Release Notes pages
  • Per-page metadata, Open Graph, sitemap.xml, robots.txt for SEO
  • Google Analytics wired in
• Shipped

  0.9.0

  May 3, 2026

  Smart upload

  Layers appear instantly while uploads run in the background.

  • Optimistic render — layers visible the moment you confirm
  • Parallel asset uploads instead of one-at-a-time
  • Per-layer pending spinner
  • Live status counter while uploads run
• Shipped

  0.8.0

  May 3, 2026

  Photoshop-grade selection

  Multi-select, group corner drag, marquee, and joint magnets.

  • Marquee drag-select
  • Group corner-drag scale + rotate around the bbox centre
  • Joint magnet ring during near-joint drag
  • Floating responsive toolbar with smart overflow
  • Custom rotate cursor on outside-corner hover
  • W × H dim badge under the selection
• Shipped

  0.7.0

  May 3, 2026

  Layer-import modal

  Drop one PNG, get every body part as its own layer.

  • Auto alpha-island detection
  • α threshold + min size sliders
  • Shift-drag manual rectangle cuts
  • Mask-aware crops (no neighbour bleed)
  • Uniform scale + centroid spread across multi-import
• Shipped

  0.6.0

  May 3, 2026

  Smart deform

  Layers bend with the rig.

  • Linear-blend skinning toggle
  • Per-layer alpha-trimmed mesh
  • Re-bake on every layer change
• Shipped

  0.5.0

  May 3, 2026

  Anim check

  Nine clips at once. One toggle.

  • 3×3 anim-check grid toggle
  • User layers mirror across all 9 cells in real time
  • Single preview pauses while the grid is active
• Shipped

  0.4.0

  May 3, 2026

  Bone snap

  Layers know which bone they belong to.

  • Auto bone-snap on every drop
  • Bone-local position lock — layers follow the rig
  • Per-bone colour cue in the layer list
• Shipped

  0.3.0

  May 3, 2026

  Persistent projects

  Sign in. Save. Reload. Everything's still there.

  • Google sign-in via One Tap
  • Project dashboard with create / rename / duplicate / delete
  • Autosave on every edit
• Shipped

  0.2.0

  May 3, 2026

  The editor

  Drop, snap, pose, repeat.

  • Click + multi-select
  • Drag to move; arrow keys to nudge
  • Rotate / scale / snap shortcuts
  • 60-deep undo / redo
• Shipped

  0.1.0

  May 3, 2026

  The bones

  Procedural humanoid + four synthetic clips.

  • Walk / idle / wave / jump synthetic clips
  • Bone vocabulary: head, neck, spine, arms, legs, hands, feet, sword