BaseHalf 0.2.4 — note means a file, badge means what agents read

Clearer language around the one thing agents read, a calmer document view, and a batch of safety + reliability fixes.

Already installed? Nothing to download — the app finds this version on its own and asks (or Settings ⌘, ▸ Updates ▸ Check for Updates).

Clearer

• One word per idea. A note is a real Markdown file you write. The one sentence an agent reads about a file is that file's badge — and it's now called a badge everywhere (the empty-workspace hint, the badge panel, the brief preview, the card tooltip). No more "note" meaning two different things.
• The document view is calmer. The always-docked input strip under each open document is gone — you annotate a file through its badge (the pencil on its card), which is the single home for what agents read.
• Preview matches the editor. A Markdown card at rest now has the exact line spacing it has once you click in — no more shifting when you start editing.

Safer & more reliable

• Links inside notes can no longer navigate the app away from itself (clicked links open in your browser instead).
• A file event arriving right as you switch workspaces can no longer write into the wrong one.
• Renaming a folder now carries its files' badges and connections along with it.
• Folder navigation and quitting now wait for in-flight saves first.

Also

• The brief shows inline backlinks and a hint when it's thin; a portable copy variant for pasting elsewhere.
• Agents can now leave write-back proposals that you triage (core + CLI + in-app).
• bh init upgrades an existing agent-hint section in place.

Install (fresh machines)

Download the dmg, drag BaseHalf onto Applications, then run once in Terminal before first launch (unsigned beta — skips the false "damaged" dialog; the instruction is also printed on the installer):

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseHalf.app

Known rough edges

• Unsigned + un-notarized (no Apple Developer ID yet).
• arm64 only.
• The bh CLI ships from source.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

BaseHalf 0.2.3 — files in, instantly

Getting things INTO a workspace, with one rule throughout: everything becomes a real file in YOUR folder, and the original is never touched.

Already installed? Nothing to download — the app finds this version on its own and asks (or Settings ⌘, ▸ Updates ▸ Check for Updates).

New

• Drop files onto the canvas to bring them in. A PDF (or anything else) dragged from your file manager is copied into the workspace folder — the original stays where it was — and its card appears right where you dropped it. Name collisions never overwrite; a quiet banner confirms what happened. Dropping a folder still opens it as a workspace.
• The empty canvas invites your first note. A dashed ghost card sits where the first card would; click it and it becomes a real untitled.md in your folder, open and ready to type — no filename dialog. (Need a specific path? ⌘K → "New note at path…".)
• New note is instant everywhere — the button, ⌘N, and ⌘K all create a real untitled-N.md in the folder you're looking at and open it immediately.

Faster

• Outside changes show up in ~0.3s. Save or drop a file into the folder from your file manager and its card appears on the canvas about 4× sooner than before.

Fixed

• Real OS drag-and-drop had silently stopped working (a runtime API removal); both the folder-drop and the new file-drop paths now use the supported API.
• Creating a note with no workspace open is a quiet no-op instead of an error.

Install (fresh machines)

Download the dmg, drag BaseHalf onto Applications, then run once in Terminal before first launch (unsigned beta — skips the false "damaged" dialog; the instruction is also printed on the installer itself):

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseHalf.app

Known rough edges

• Unsigned + un-notarized (no Apple Developer ID yet).
• arm64 only.
• Untitled notes don't auto-rename from their first heading yet; rename files in your file manager and BaseHalf follows along.
• The bh CLI ships from source.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

BaseHalf 0.2.2 — a lighter, self-explaining footprint

A lighter, self-explaining footprint when you open a folder.

Already installed? Nothing to download — the app finds this version on its own and asks (or Settings ⌘, ▸ Updates ▸ Check for Updates).

Changed

• Opening a folder now writes exactly two files — CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md, the instruction files AI agents actually read. The third one (.github/copilot-instructions.md, plus its conjured hidden directory) is gone: Copilot's coding agent reads AGENTS.md natively now.
• The files explain themselves. Each starts with what it is, who added it, and how to remove it. If your folder already has them, BaseHalf only appends a short marked section — your content is never touched.
• The canvas is for YOUR content. The two instruction files no longer appear as cards; the sidebar still lists them (dimmed, tagged AI, with an explanatory tooltip) — visible truth, without scaffolding in your thinking space.
• Onboarding now says plainly what gets added to a folder.

Install (fresh machines)

Download the dmg, drag BaseHalf onto Applications, then run once in Terminal before first launch (unsigned beta — skips the false "damaged" dialog; the instruction is also printed on the installer itself):

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseHalf.app

Known rough edges

• Unsigned + un-notarized (no Apple Developer ID yet).
• arm64 only.
• First-run: the floating sidebar overlaps the onboarding card's left edge.
• The bh CLI ships from source.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

BaseHalf 0.2.1 — folder opening fixed, installer explains itself

Folder-opening behaves like you expect now, and the installer explains itself.

Already on 0.2.0? Don't download anything — open Settings (⌘,) ▸ Updates ▸ Check for Updates, or just wait: the app finds this version on its own and asks. This is the first release delivered through in-app update.

Fixed

• "Workspace already exists" is gone. Opening a folder is idempotent: a folder that's already registered simply opens (folder identity is the path). Two different folders with the same name get distinct labels automatically (notes, notes-2).
• File ▸ Open Folder… now actually opens the folder — previously a second folder registered in the background while the old one stayed on screen.
• Removing the current workspace lands on the welcome screen. It no longer auto-jumps to some other registered folder; you choose what to open next. Relaunching keeps it that way.

New

• The installer window explains itself: drag-to-Applications instruction and the one-time first-launch Terminal command are printed right on the dmg background.

Install (fresh machines)

1. Download BaseHalf-0.2.1-arm64.dmg, open it, drag BaseHalf onto Applications (don't double-click inside the installer).

2. Before first launch, run once in Terminal (unsigned beta — skips the false "damaged" dialog):

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseHalf.app

3. Open BaseHalf. Future versions arrive in-app — no re-download, no repeat of step 2.

Known rough edges

• Unsigned + un-notarized (no Apple Developer ID yet); proper signing planned before external distribution.
• arm64 only.
• First-run: the floating sidebar overlaps the onboarding card's left edge.
• The bh CLI ships from source (pnpm -r build && cd packages/cli && npm link).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

BaseHalf 0.2.0 — Settings & in-app updates

Settings and in-app updates. This is the last release you install by hand — from now on, new versions arrive inside the app: it checks in the background, asks before downloading, verifies the archive against the project's signing key, and swaps itself on restart.

Install (one terminal command BEFORE first open)

1. Download BaseHalf-0.2.0-arm64.dmg, open it, drag BaseHalf to Applications.

2. Before opening the app, run this once in Terminal (the build is not Apple-notarized yet, and without this macOS shows a false "damaged" dialog):

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BaseHalf.app

3. Open BaseHalf normally. You'll never need that command again on this machine — in-app updates don't re-trigger it.

What's new

• Settings (⌘, — also in the app menu and the ⌘K palette): background update check toggle, window zoom, version + releases link.
• Self-updating: Settings ▸ Updates ▸ Check for Updates, or just wait — a background check runs a few hours apart and asks before anything downloads. Updates are signed and verified; a tampered archive is refused.
• App icon is now the Pointa Labs mark.

What to test (the first-run loop)

1. Open BaseHalf → onboarding → Add a folder (or try the demo workspace first).
2. Adding a folder silently installs the agent protocol: .bh/ + hints appended to CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / .github/copilot-instructions.md.
3. Open the same folder in Claude Code and ask it something — it should read .bh/focus.md and know what BaseHalf is without being told.
4. Write a note on a file, connect two cards, multi-select → Copy agent brief (⌘K) → paste anywhere.

Testing on a machine that already uses BaseHalf? The app and the bh CLI share one registry (~/Library/Application Support/basehalf), so the installed app opens straight into your current workspace instead of onboarding. To experience the true first run: BH_CONFIG_DIR=$(mktemp -d) /Applications/BaseHalf.app/Contents/MacOS/BaseHalf

Known rough edges

• Unsigned + un-notarized (no Apple Developer ID yet) — hence the one-time xattr above. Proper signing + notarization is planned before any external distribution and will remove that step entirely.
• arm64 only.
• First-run: the floating sidebar overlaps the onboarding card's left edge.
• The bh CLI is not bundled with the app yet — it ships from source (pnpm -r build && cd packages/cli && npm link).

🤖 Generated with Claude Code