journal app releases

the journal app for mac 2.0.38

october 9, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.38 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.37

october 8, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.37 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.36

october 8, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.36 →

Fixed

the journal app no longer keeps two processor cores busy while your journal runs.
before moving the journal app to Trash, the removal command in INSTALL.md now stops it from starting at login.

the journal app for mac 2.0.35

october 7, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.35 →

Fixed

quitting the journal app while "add a device" or a "remove" question is open now quits it. before, the journal app stayed open, and logging out or restarting your mac could be refused.

the journal app for mac 2.0.34

october 6, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.34 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.33

october 5, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.33 →

Fixed

opening the journal app while your journal starts now waits for its mark. home and device pairing show "your · journal" while it loads, then show your mark when it can be read.

the journal app for mac 2.0.32

october 4, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.32 →
your journal is named by its mark. there is no name to edit. home shows the mark, and if the journal app can't read it, it shows "mark · unavailable".

the journal app for mac 2.0.31

october 4, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.31 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.30

october 3, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.30 →
run state settings now show the journal's version and build, and the system it runs on, in one block with a copy button, so you can paste it when you ask for help.
home and the updates item in the sidebar now show when a journal update needs attention. install actions explain that the journal is unavailable while the journal app restarts.
updates settings explain when automatic checks are off and let you turn them on.

Fixed

the release notes link now opens the journal app's notes. after an update check finished, the check button could stay unavailable. it now comes back right away, and checking again updates the "last checked" time even when the result is the same.

the journal app for mac 2.0.29

october 2, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.29 →

Fixed

with VoiceOver on, the journal app no longer reads out hidden labels meant for automated testing between the real controls.
when your journal stops unexpectedly several times within a minute, or not all of its processes can be confirmed closed, the home and run state pages now say so, above the start button.

the journal app for mac 2.0.28

october 1, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.28 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.27

september 30, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.27 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.27

september 29, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.26 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.26

september 28, 2026

Added

the journal menu now has "open admin terminal". it opens a Terminal window in your own shell. in zsh (the mac default), bash or fish, journal and solstone there run this app's own copies. nothing is installed, and your shell files stay as they were.

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.24 →

Fixed

running the journal app's own program from a terminal with a command, such as journal --version, now runs that command and returns. before, it opened the app instead and the terminal never got an answer.
the "automatic updates" checkboxes and the "how often" menu in "updates" now show your change as soon as you make it. before, the boxes kept showing the old setting even though your change was saved, and each further click changed the setting again. if you clicked either box, check how each one is set now.

the journal app for mac 2.0.25

september 27, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.23 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.24

september 27, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.22 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.23

september 26, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.19 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.22

september 25, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.18 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.21

september 25, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.17 →

Fixed

while you set up your journal, the time-of-day background now fills the whole window. it used to stop short of the edges, leaving a plain band down each side.

the journal app for mac 2.0.20

september 24, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.16 →
the time-of-day background in the journal app's window now follows your mac's light or dark setting, and no longer switches the window between light and dark on its own. after sunset, a warm glow stays in the corner where the sun went down, and it's gone only for a few hours around the middle of the night, then comes back in the corner where the sun will rise.

the journal app for mac 2.0.19

september 23, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.15 →

Fixed

removing a device from your journal in settings no longer reports a failure after the device was removed. the list now refreshes right away.

the journal app for mac 2.0.16

september 22, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.13 →

Fixed

the background that follows the time of day is now accurate for a day that crosses midnight in your time zone, a sunset after midnight, and the multi-day case near the poles.

the journal app for mac 2.0.15

september 21, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.12 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.14

september 20, 2026

Added

the journal app's window now shifts its background with the time of day, taking sunrise and sunset from your mac's time zone rather than your location. the window goes light and dark with it, instead of following your mac's appearance setting. there's no setting for it yet.

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.11 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.13

september 19, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.10 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.12

september 18, 2026

Changed

home now leads with "open your journal" and says where it opens: in your browser. the journal app keeps your journal running on your mac.
the pane where you name your journal and see where it lives is now called "name & location".
updated the bundled journal to 2.0.9 →

Fixed

before your journal has a mark of its own, this app's home pane now shows the placeholder mark instead of empty space.

the journal app for mac 2.0.10

september 17, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.8 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.9

september 16, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.7 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.8

september 14, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.5 →

the journal app for mac 2.0.7

september 13, 2026

changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.4.

the journal app for mac 2.0.6

september 12, 2026

Fixed

fresh setup no longer says the installation couldn't be verified when another copy of the journal command is already installed.
journal updates now refresh bundled models before starting, fixing a case where object detection stopped working after an update.

the journal app for mac 2.0.0

september 10, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 2.0.0 →
device renaming has been removed from the devices list. pairing and removing devices work as before.

Fixed

when the solstone app installs a newer copy of the journal app, it now waits for the open copy to quit before replacing it. if installation cannot finish, the copy you already have stays intact.
some upgrades from the older background setup could stop partway if its background process was not running. the journal app can now finish the handoff.
if the journal app stopped unexpectedly, it could fail to start again because part of the old attempt was still running. the journal app now clears that old process before restarting.
when you quit the journal app, it now stays closed instead of reopening on its own.

the journal app for mac 1.0.22

august 2, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.22 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.21

august 1, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.21 →

Fixed

two devices with the same name could look identical in the devices list, so it was easy to remove the wrong one. each device now shows when it last connected and when you paired it, and the remove confirmation names the device you picked.
renaming a device now starts from that device's own name, so a rename saves just the name you typed.

the journal app for mac 1.0.20

july 31, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.20 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.19

july 29, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.19 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.18

july 28, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.18 →

Fixed

some of the tools the journal sets up alongside itself could point at a temporary folder that no longer existed once setup finished, so they would not launch. they are now written to run from where they actually live.

the journal app for mac 1.0.17

july 26, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.17 →

Fixed

setting up a brand new journal now finishes instead of waiting at the last step.
the journal app no longer ends up without a working journal after it updates its bundled copy.

the journal app for mac 1.0.13

july 24, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.13 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.12

july 23, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 1.0.12 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.11

july 22, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 0.9.1 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.10

july 19, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal to 0.9.0 →

the journal app for mac 1.0.9

july 17, 2026

Changed

when the journal app finds a background journal service, it now shuts that service down and removes it, but only once it can prove the service is running the same journal the app was set up for. if the service points at a different journal, or the journal app can't tell, it stops and tells you what it found instead of taking over: nothing is uninstalled, stopped, or started while that's unclear. running a journal from the command line, with no journal app, works as it did before.
updated the bundled journal runtime to 0.8.9.

Fixed

once the journal app adopts your journal, it's the only thing running it. before, a background journal service could be running that same journal at the same time, and the two competed for the same files and the same port, so your journal could look healthy while behaving oddly. if you ran into that, this resolves it.
the journal app now calls your journal ready only when the journal it started is the one answering. before, it trusted whatever answered on the port, which could be a different copy entirely.
if you have your own sol or journal command, setup no longer replaces it with its own version. your command keeps working across app updates: the journal app refreshes only the commands it created, and leaves anything else exactly as it found it.

the journal app for mac 1.0.8

july 16, 2026

Added

first run can now adopt an existing journal that sol found on this mac: the location arrives pre-filled, and setup accepts the existing journal in place.

Changed

updated the bundled journal runtime to 0.8.8.

the journal app for mac 1.0.7

july 15, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal runtime to 0.8.7.

the journal app for mac 1.0.6

july 14, 2026

Changed

updated the bundled journal runtime to 0.8.6.

the journal app for mac 1.0.5

july 12, 2026

Changed

the bundled journal runtime now installs solstone 0.8.4, which adds batch review of duplicate-merge suggestions, renders sol's chat replies with formatting, checks your journal by default when you ask about your own history, shows live progress while local thinking installs, keeps your transcript text out of internal error reports, and handles local thinking and transcription limits more honestly.

the journal app for mac 1.0.4

july 10, 2026

Changed

the bundled journal runtime now installs solstone 0.8.3.

the journal app for mac 1.0.3

july 8, 2026

Changed

the bundled journal runtime now installs solstone 0.8.2, which keeps the screen and combined-transcript tabs from going blank on unexpected content, makes local thinking on your own machine steadier, files calendar moments as their own category, and stops the home page repeating the same thing to do twice.

the journal app for mac 1.0.2

july 7, 2026

Changed

the bundled journal runtime now installs solstone 0.8.1, including exact-match journal search, the unified journal app frame, local media/social/ambient-sound hints, and local helper-model checks in settings.

Fixed

sol call health summary now works from a sol-only runtime install without importing journal-only readiness code.

the journal app for mac 1.0.1

july 6, 2026

Added

(describe new journal-visible additions)

Changed

(describe journal behavior changes)

Fixed

(describe journal bug fixes)

the journal app for mac 1.0.0

july 5, 2026

Added

the journal has its own app now. your journal — the memory sol keeps — is a visible, deliberately installed thing: a dock app with a native window for its name, its mark, and its run state.
creating a journal is a short ritual: name it, choose where it lives, then meet your journal's mark — lock it in, and the app's own icon becomes it.
the devices pane shows every device that keeps to this journal, opens a pairing window for a new one, and can rename or revoke.
the journal app updates itself, separately from sol.

Changed

if sol was keeping your journal on this mac, the journal app adopts it in place — same journal, nothing moves.