xtc/docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md

0.1.0 development release notes

This remains a development prototype, not a production-qualified DAW. Phase 30 completes the local release workflow without bumping the application version, creating a tag or publishing artifacts. The exact source archive SHA-256 and reviewed Git commit identify a build; version 0.1.0 alone does not identify all of the development revisions that used that version.

Included functionality

The C99 engine provides bounded graphs, immutable plan publication, stereo audio, MIDI instruments and controller bindings, track/bus mixing, automation and inline MIDI editing. The C++17 FLTK application adds arrangement, routing, recording, undo/redo and a generic LADSPA editor. JACK is the only live audio/MIDI backend; core validation and offline rendering work without it. Native/LADSPA processors are trusted in-process code. No proprietary energyXT resources are included.

Project format v12 reads versions 1–12 transactionally. Syntax diagnostics identify records and lines. xtc-check --inspect lists dependency paths without executing plugins. Phase 29 adds timing/CPU/RSS reports, repeatable stress runs and virtual endurance. Phase 30 adds configurable install directories, shared install/remove inventory, installed MIDI examples and source archive checksum sidecars.

Upgrading and removal

Back up documents and external media before upgrading. Opening an older project does not rewrite it; saving upgrades it to v12, which older readers may reject. Use Save As for a separate migrated copy. Moving a project folder preserves media stored inside it via relative references. Absolute media and plugin module paths must be restored separately. There is no bundled plugin/media migration or saved JACK port configuration. See PROJECT_FORMAT.md and RECOVERY.md for exact policies.

Install to the same layout to repair owned files. Only documented owned filenames are replaced; unrelated files with other names remain. Use the same source version and directory variables for uninstall. It removes owned files and empty owned directories, never recordings or recursively deleting a prefix. A changed layout or an older release with a different inventory may require removing that old version before installing the new one. No database/package-manager registration or automatic cleanup of historical inventories is performed.

Known qualification limits

Physical devices, multi-hour wall-clock endurance, power-cut behavior and other Linux distributions remain unqualified. There is no disk streaming, crash autosave, plugin sandbox, latency compensation or stable shared-library ABI. A trusted plugin can allocate, block or crash the process. Metadata inspection checks file availability only. See KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md for the complete list.

The retained graph performance gate has a documented small-case timing alert on the shared development host; the project timing comparison passed. This alert was not hidden by changing the baseline. See PERFORMANCE.md before using these measurements as latency expectations. Sanitizers and virtual endurance qualify software paths, not hardware timing.

Phase 31 adds default-configuration CLAP/VST2/VST3 mono effect loaders, common GUI discovery/insertion/replacement and v11 format identity. Pinned MIT CLAP and BSD-3-Clause VST3 C headers ship with notices; VST2 uses original compatibility declarations. Modern instruments, parameters/state/editors and multichannel layouts remain unsupported. No third-party modern plugin has been qualified.

Phase 32 adds CLAP/VST2/VST3 mono instruments bound to MIDI tracks, sample-offset notes, a saved live target, track mixing, GUI assignment/undo and v12 persistence. See PLUGIN_HOSTING.md for compatibility and controller/state limits.

Phase 33 adds a flat DAW workspace, shared dark theme, track-creation sidebar, read-only musical transport/track inspector, colored track clips and real MIDI previews. New MIDI/audio track commands are undoable and prepare candidates before adoption. The default window is 1280 × 800, minimum 1220 × 720. No dependency or project-format change. See WORKSPACE.md and the new modern-session.xtc example; existing engine/plugin limitations still apply.

Phase 34 adds a sequencer grid/Snap dropdown, absolute grid snapping for moves and trims, MIDI double-click editing, a piano velocity lane/slider and per-track instrument dropdowns. Snap preferences are UI state; velocity and instrument bindings use the existing v12 format. No new dependency or engine feature is required. See WORKSPACE.md for supported divisions, controller semantics and limits.