Release Notes

What's new in Command Book.

Command Book v1.0.45

Released March 6, 2026

Bug Fixes

  • Watch-mode commands now stay running: Commands that use --watch flags (like npx tailwindcss --watch, npx vite, webpack --watch, nodemon, and similar tools) previously exited immediately after the initial run instead of staying alive to watch for file changes. This happened because Command Book wasn't providing a stdin pipe to child processes — without one, watch-mode tools see an immediate end-of-input signal and exit. Command Book now keeps stdin open so watch loops persist as expected.
  • Ctrl+D (EOF) sends proper EOF: The Ctrl+D shortcut now correctly closes the process's stdin pipe to deliver a true end-of-file signal, instead of sending SIGHUP. This matches how Ctrl+D works in a real terminal and is useful for signaling end-of-input to interactive programs like cat, python, or node.

Command Book v1.0.44

Released February 19, 2026

What's New

Faster Switching Between Commands

Switching between commands that have thousands of lines of output is now near-instant. Previously, clicking a different command in the sidebar could cause a noticeable delay (or spinning cursor) while the output was reprocessed. Command Book now remembers each command's rendered output and scroll position, so switching back and forth feels immediate — even with 5,000+ lines of output.

Protocol-Relative URL Detection

Some web servers output URLs without an explicit scheme, using the protocol-relative format //localhost:1313/ instead of http://localhost:1313/. Command Book now detects these and automatically normalizes them to proper http:// URLs so they appear as clickable links in process output and in the detected links dropdown.

Supported formats include //localhost, IP addresses like //127.0.0.1:8080/, and domains like //example.com/path.

Command Book v1.0.43

Released February 10, 2026

What's New

Duplicate Command

Right-click any saved command in the sidebar and choose Duplicate Command... to create a copy. The editor opens immediately so you can customize the name, working directory, or any other setting. Smart name deduplication ensures copies are named logically: "My Command copy", "My Command copy 2", "My Command copy 3", and so on.

Compound Command Splitting

Commands joined by && are now parsed into individual steps and executed sequentially. Each step gets its own visual header in the output, making it easy to see where one step ends and the next begins. This applies to pre-commands, main commands, and ad-hoc commands.

For example, a command like npm install && npm run build && npm start will run each step separately with clear output separation between them.

Bug Fixes

  • Pre-command execution fully non-blocking: Pre-commands now use the same event-driven architecture as main commands — process.run() returns immediately and a termination handler chains to the next step. Previously, pre-commands used waitUntilExit() which could freeze the UI entirely (e.g., if git pull hung waiting for a network response)
  • Stop and Force Stop kill entire process trees: Stop and Force Stop now terminate the entire process group (shell + child processes like git, npm) instead of just the shell, ensuring hung child processes are properly cleaned up
  • Real-time output streaming: Output from pre-commands and intermediate && steps now streams in real-time instead of appearing all at once after the step finishes
  • Auto-scroll stability: Auto-scroll now stays engaged throughout blocking step execution instead of losing track when batched output was dumped

Command Book v1.0.42

Released February 6, 2026

What's New

Import Renamed to Restore

"Import Commands" has been renamed to Restore Commands in the File menu and Settings to better communicate that the operation replaces (not merges) the database.

Bug Fixes

  • Settings and About windows no longer get lost behind the main window; they now stay anchored above it
  • Restored commands now appear immediately in the sidebar and command palette without requiring an app restart
  • Stop All button now cancels pending auto-restart countdowns in addition to stopping running processes
  • Stop Group button now also cancels pending auto-restart countdowns for processes within a separator group

Command Book v1.0.41

Released February 3, 2026

What's New

Status-Colored Sidebar Selection

Selected sidebar items now display status-colored text instead of plain white, making it easier to see whether a process is running, stopped, or failed while selected.

CLI Working Directory Default

The commandbook new CLI command now defaults the working directory to your current directory instead of the home folder, so new commands are set up where you're already working.

Command Book v1.0.40

Released February 3, 2026

What's New

.env File Support

Import environment variables from .env files instead of entering them one at a time:

  • Browse: Click "Browse for .env file or drop here" in the Command Editor's Environment Variables section
  • Drag and drop: Drag a .env file directly onto the Environment Variables section
  • Auto-import: When creating a new command, .env files in the working directory are imported automatically

Supports .env, .env.local, .env.development, and .env.production (merged in order, later files override). Standard .env format: KEY=VALUE pairs, comments, blank lines, quoted values, and the export prefix.

Quick Edit Shortcut

  • Press ⌘E to edit the selected command directly from the sidebar

Released January 27, 2026

What's New

Command Book 1.0.0 is the initial release - a native macOS app for managing long-running terminal commands.

Command Management

  • Create, edit, delete, and duplicate saved commands
  • Run ad-hoc commands without saving, with history
  • Per-command environment variables
  • Auto-restart with configurable delay
  • Working directory validation
  • 40+ technology-specific icons (Python, Node, Docker, databases, etc.)

Process Management

  • Full signal hierarchy: SIGINT, SIGHUP, SIGTERM, SIGKILL
  • Batch operations: Stop All and Start All
  • Restart running processes
  • Graceful app termination with 10-second timeout

Output Display

  • ANSI color support (8, 16, 256, and 24-bit true color)
  • Text styling: bold, dim, italic, underline, strikethrough
  • Clickable URL detection
  • Multi-line text selection
  • Context menu: Copy, Copy All, Clear
  • Configurable buffer size (10K to 500K lines)

Sidebar

  • Drag & drop reordering with visual indicators
  • Persistent sidebar order
  • Live resource summary (processes, memory)
  • Hover actions: Start/Stop/Restart/Dismiss
  • Keyboard navigation
  • Visual separators for organization

Command Palette

  • Real-time search with highlighted matches
  • Keyboard navigation (arrows, Tab to edit, Enter to run)
  • Context menus for all actions
  • Section headers with count badges
  • Running status indicators

Real-Time Monitoring

  • Per-process memory tracking via proc_pid_rusage
  • Process tree memory calculation
  • Live uptime counter
  • Human-readable exit code interpretation

Settings

  • Four-tab layout: General, Storage, License, About
  • Configurable output buffer size
  • Terminal appearance settings
  • Exit confirmation toggle
  • Database export/import with timestamps
  • Shell detection display

UI/UX

  • Dark mode optimized
  • Accessibility labels on all indicators
  • Window state persistence
  • Smooth animations respecting reduce-motion
  • Custom About window