This is the official public history for JP the Cat. It is written for customers, not operators, so it summarizes meaningful product changes and leaves out internal release mechanics, credentials, test data, and implementation-only noise.
Last updated July 7, 2026. For the current app, use the download buttons on this site so the signed stable build, checksum, and newsletter prompt stay on the shared path.
July 6, 2026 · 1.001
First post-v1 polish release
This update tightened the launch site, download path, pricing card, email styling, and widget verification after the v1.0 public line went live.
- Made downloads start immediately from public CTAs while keeping the newsletter prompt non-blocking.
- Kept the live pricing card direct: Buy remains available, and the free-trial download stays one click away.
- Improved transactional email spacing and dark-mode legibility.
- Added real-render widget checks so shipped widget faces cannot silently render blank.
- Fixed the Test meow setting path so alert sounds and interactive sounds stay distinct.
July 6, 2026 · 1.0
Public v1.0
JP the Cat reached the official v1.0 line: a signed, notarized, Sparkle-updated macOS app with paid checkout, trial licensing, Homebrew metadata, and a verified public download path.
- Shipped Claude Code and Codex tracking with local usage math, notional Codex pricing labels, and official limit gauges where available.
- Published the stable DMG, appcast, checksum, and Homebrew cask metadata from the same signed release artifact.
- Verified clean-install release confidence with the offline VM gate before accepting the v1.0 line.
- Completed the paid flow: Stripe checkout, server-anchored trial, license email, activation, validation, refund revocation, Free Mode, and widget entitlement mapping.
- Aligned the public website, pricing, privacy, terms, and launch copy with the shipped product state.
July 6, 2026 · 0.128-0.131
Release hardening and launch positioning
These builds closed the remaining launch checks before v1.0, including the cask, offline release gate, widget metadata, and premium website positioning.
- Added the offline VM gate and hardened release scripts so broad-distribution builds prove the real installed-app path.
- Kept the Homebrew cask, README release markers, stable manifest, and appcast aligned with public artifacts.
- Restored configurable WidgetKit metadata packaging and verified widget gallery readiness.
- Updated the homepage around the paid story, analytics audit state, premium CTAs, and clearer competitive positioning.
- Fixed the homepage demo chart series and tuned the launch copy, widget cards, and sparkline behavior.
July 5, 2026 · 0.117-0.127
Paid launch, emails, accessibility, and performance
This group moved JP from a product-ready app into a paid launch surface with live checkout, branded transactional email, accessibility coverage, and performance cleanup.
- Enabled live checkout, multi-Mac buying, returning-buyer add-ons, newsletter double opt-in, and branded confirmation pages.
- Unified license, newsletter, purchase, refund, and lifecycle emails on the JP the Cat visual system.
- Strengthened privacy disclosures for downloads, network intelligence, checkout, trial, and license flows.
- Expanded growth instrumentation and download funnel reporting without exposing prompts, code, transcripts, provider credentials, or raw license keys.
- Closed VoiceOver gaps across the dashboard, settings, widget, and loading surfaces.
- Improved first-run animation and chart performance, then added release gates for web quality and widget rendering.
July 4, 2026 · 0.109-0.116
Licensing, Free Mode, alerts, and checkout wiring
These releases built the full license foundation and connected the website to paid checkout while keeping the public copy honest about what was live.
- Added the license server, checkout and webhook functions, current-price endpoint, signed leases, device identity, Keychain storage, and offline verification.
- Shipped Free Mode, server-anchored trials, license activation UI, paste-key flow, and widget/theme gate plumbing.
- Added tiered usage alerts, alert permission handling, and clearer menu-bar display options.
- Wired the Buy button to checkout behind a public kill switch before turning on the live path.
- Added the checkout thank-you experience, Buy-more flow, direct share actions, and a branded 404 page.
- Sanitized generated Sparkle notes so internal commit prefixes and mechanical release noise do not appear in user-facing update copy.
July 3-4, 2026 · 0.093-0.108
Widget, themes, sharing, and release polish
This stretch added the WidgetKit extension, the named theme system, share flows, cleaner settings, and release-note safeguards.
- Shipped the WidgetKit extension with snapshot-only data, App Group packaging, and settings for provider focus and limit visibility.
- Added Sunlit Ledger and Midnight Ledger themes, theme switching, and contrast tests.
- Made the footer JP badge open the Tell others about JP share surface in the app and homepage demo.
- Moved shared actions into the card footer and kept Settings compact.
- Polished Sparkle release notes and guarded against empty, generic, or overly mechanical update text.
- Normalized sound cues and fixed social sharing links.
July 2-3, 2026 · 0.041-0.092
Dashboard maturity and official limit signals
These builds turned the early dashboard into the fixed-width, intrinsic-height app surface that defines JP today.
- Moved first-run onboarding into the dashboard card and added the settings/license routing path.
- Added the live-data opt-in for Claude statusline limits while keeping provider config changes explicit and reversible.
- Added provider availability states, stale-source handling, official-rate reset suppression, and clearer notional/list-price labels.
- Refined the status pill, right-click menu, tooltip, VoiceOver value, and multi-display menu positioning.
- Added budget alerts, refresh coordination, FSEvents-backed updates, and detailed provider panels.
- Kept the homepage demo in parity with the native dashboard as controls and footer behavior evolved.
July 2, 2026 · 0.017-0.040
Settings face, release notes, and native chrome
This group established the two-face dashboard/settings model and hardened update presentation.
- Added the settings face, pin control, shared footer, update status dot, Dock visibility controls, and launch-at-login toggle.
- Moved the dashboard toward the 384pt intrinsic-height card with the basis-label ticker and split-flap money readout.
- Generated Sparkle release notes from meaningful git history instead of a hand-maintained changelog file.
- Polished the legal snow-globe pages, homepage typography, and mobile layout.
- Fixed foregrounding for Sparkle update windows and notification-driven dashboard reveal.
June 30-July 1, 2026 · 0.001-0.016
Private beta foundation
The first public artifact line brought the product from plan to signed Mac app, release host, and live website.
- Created the JPtheCat brand, mascot assets, website, privacy page, terms page, SEO metadata, and global footer.
- Built the macOS menu-bar app scaffold, pure cost engine, Claude Code parser, Codex parser, persistent usage index, and provider catalog baseline.
- Renamed all implementation identifiers away from TokenBar to JPtheCat before shipping.
- Added Sparkle, signed and notarized DMG packaging, Supabase-backed public release hosting, checksums, and the stable download route.
- Shipped the first dashboard window, provider rows, local-day charting, timeframe picker, money formatting, and light status pill.
- Introduced the legal-page snow-globe visual system and the homepage demo that mirrors the app.
