Aethel Release Notes
Lucin Solutions LLC · Aethel · Last updated: May 2026
A running log of what changed in each Aethel release. Newest at the top. For a deeper walkthrough of any feature mentioned here, see the User Guide. For installation steps, see the Quick Start.
v1.0.0 — May 1st 2026 (BETA_v1.0.0)
The first beta release. Aethel ships with everything you need for a personal AI operator on Mac and Windows: a guided setup wizard, three AI engines to choose from, Telegram and local web chat, scheduled tasks, browser automation, and a built-in credential vault.
What's new
- Setup wizard walks you through every piece on first launch: license activation, dependency check, Mac permissions, AI engine install + sign-in, Google sign-in, browser extension, Telegram bot, and your first scheduled task with a test run at the end.
- Three AI engines to pick from in Settings → AI: Gemini (recommended for the free tier), Codex (OpenAI), and Claude (Anthropic). Swap engines or models at any time without losing your tasks.
- Telegram chat is the primary way to talk to Aethel from anywhere. Voice notes are transcribed and answered; you can send photos, documents, and your live location.
- Local web chat on your home Wi-Fi at
https://<your-machine>.local:5004. Per-user passwords (claimed via a Telegram code on first sign-in), live streaming responses, voice in and out, file and image upload, light/dark theme, and multi-device sync — your phone and laptop see the same conversation update in real time. - Tasks tab for scheduled jobs (daily / weekly / monthly / cron). Aethel can also propose new tasks based on patterns it notices; you reply
/approve <id>or/reject <id>on Telegram to decide. - Reminders tab for one-off Telegram pings and Watchers tab for inbox- and web-page-change alerts.
- Vault for your saved logins so Aethel can act on sites that need a password without juggling Chrome autofill. The encryption key lives in your OS keychain (macOS Keychain / Windows Credential Manager) — never on disk in plaintext.
- Plugins tab for installing extra MCP tools from the Smithery marketplace, and an Agent tab for longer-running multi-step jobs.
- Slash commands (
/help,/status,/engine,/tasks,/reminders,/watchers,/cancel,/why) that bypass the AI when you just want a quick answer or to stop a long run. - Progress card during AI runs that names the engine + model and lists the tools Aethel is calling, so you can see what's happening rather than waiting at a blank screen.
- Browser automation via the Playwright Bridge Chrome extension — Aethel drives your real browser with your active sessions, so multi-step flows (including 2FA) work end-to-end.
Known limitations
- The Mac build is not yet notarized by Apple, and the Windows installer is not yet code-signed. First launch shows a Gatekeeper / SmartScreen prompt — see the Quick Start for the one-time approval steps.
- Google OAuth still shows the "Google hasn't verified this app" screen during sign-in. Click Advanced → Go to Aethel (unsafe) to continue. Brand verification is in progress.
- On Intel Macs only, voice dependencies need Python 3.10 to 3.12 (newer versions break a few packages we rely on). Apple Silicon Macs and Windows have no such restriction.
- Aethel only runs while your computer is awake. Adjust your sleep settings if you want overnight scheduled tasks to fire.
- The Telegram bot has a 5-message-per-minute rate cap to play nicely with Telegram's API; bursting past that briefly queues replies.
Older releases will be listed here as they ship.