// changelog

Kernel

← All changelogs

v1.0.222026-08-18

  • Downloads and automatic updates now come straight from KVRNL's own servers instead of a third-party host. Updates are quicker and more reliable, and nothing inside the app itself has changed.
  • If you installed this app before today, please download it once more from kvrnl.io. Older copies still look for updates at the old location and can't carry themselves across the move — this one time has to be done by hand.

v1.0.212026-07-21

  • New installs now default to the clean Mono theme with the animated RGB border off. You can switch back to any theme (and turn the RGB border on) anytime in Settings → Appearance.

v1.0.202026-07-21

  • AI CLIs now start up perfectly clean — the shell launches at its final size, so tools like Claude Code paint their welcome screen exactly once (no leftover duplicate).
  • Much smoother window resizing: dragging an edge or corner no longer looks buggy or glitchy. Kernel pauses its heavy per-frame link-underlining while you drag and does one clean pass the moment you let go.

v1.0.192026-07-21

  • Fixed the big one: AI CLIs like Claude Code no longer redraw their welcome screen over and over into a stacked, garbled mess. Kernel now waits until you finish resizing the window before telling the shell its new size — so full-screen tools repaint once, cleanly, instead of dozens of times.

v1.0.182026-07-21

  • Fixed rare graphics glitches on some PCs — smeared or repeating text, or old text bleeding through. Kernel now automatically switches to a rock-solid drawing mode if the GPU renderer misbehaves, and stays there.
  • New setting (Appearance → Hardware acceleration) to turn GPU drawing off yourself if you ever see glitches — for instant, guaranteed-clean text.

v1.0.172026-07-09

  • Two new themes: GitHub (clean dark) and Cursor Blue.
  • A first-run welcome popup plus a new Getting Started tab in Settings, packed with quick tips and shortcuts (reopen it anytime).
  • There's now always one empty line under the last row, and it's locked to the bottom of the window — no resize can ever push content past the frame.
  • New installs now default to the Matrix theme with the animated RGB border on.

v1.0.162026-07-09

  • Links now stay underlined at all times, not only when you hover them, so it's obvious what's clickable.
  • Rebuilt window resizing to be rock-solid — content reflows live and correctly for any resize, from a one-pixel nudge to a full drag, with no stalls or glitches.

v1.0.152026-07-09

  • Links dropped by AI CLIs are now clickable — including the escape-sequence (OSC 8) hyperlinks where the visible text is a word rather than a raw URL. Click opens it in your default browser.

v1.0.142026-07-08

  • Shift+Enter now inserts a newline in Claude Code and other modern CLIs — Kernel now speaks Windows’ win32-input-mode, so it can tell Shift+Enter apart from Enter the way Windows Terminal does.
  • Drag & drop an image or file onto the terminal and its path is typed in (quoted) so AI CLIs can pick it up — no more accidental window navigation.

v1.0.132026-07-08

  • Shift+Enter now reliably inserts a newline in Claude Code (sends a backslash then Return, the newline shortcut Claude Code always understands).

v1.0.122026-07-08

  • Settings panels are now a fixed size, so switching tabs no longer resizes the window.
  • Setting tooltips now pop up instantly on hover to explain what each option does.
  • Shift+Enter now sends the standard “insert newline” sequence so it adds a line break in Claude Code instead of submitting.

v1.0.112026-07-08

  • 7 new color themes — Dracula, Nord, One Dark, Catppuccin, Gruvbox, Solarized and Matrix — plus an optional animated RGB window border (Settings → Appearance).
  • Font family is now a dropdown of popular coding fonts instead of a text box.
  • Fixed padding on the right edge so text no longer runs into the side of the window.
  • Settings is now organized into tabs (Appearance · Terminal · App · Report a problem), and every option has a hover tooltip explaining what it does.

v1.0.102026-07-08

  • New in Settings → Terminal: choose the default “Start folder” Kernel opens in (Browse to pick it, or Reset to your home folder).
  • Cleaned up the title bar — removed the new-window “+” button and its profile dropdown. Open more windows by launching Kernel again, right-clicking a folder → “Open Kernel here,” or Ctrl+Shift+N.

v1.0.92026-07-08

  • Kernel now uses separate windows instead of tabs — open as many as you like (the + button, its ▾ menu for a specific shell, or Ctrl+Shift+N), each its own terminal. “Open Kernel here” opens a fresh window at that folder too.
  • Shift+Enter now inserts a newline in your input (great for multi-line prompts to AI CLIs) instead of sending right away.
  • Trimmed the experimental built-in voice input to keep Kernel lean — voice tools that type into the focused terminal still work in Kernel just like any terminal.

v1.0.82026-07-08

  • Fixed the last line of the terminal getting cut off at the bottom edge.

v1.0.72026-07-08

  • Fixed bug reports failing with a Discord error — they now send cleanly through the KVRNL backend.
  • The bug-report attach button now lets you attach an image file (screenshot) instead of only capturing the app window.
  • Fixed the bottom line of the terminal getting clipped by re-fitting once the font finishes loading.
  • Improved push-to-talk reliability (microphone permissions + audio startup) and added clearer on-screen feedback.

v1.0.62026-07-08

  • Push to talk: hold a key, speak, and Kernel types your words straight into the terminal — perfect for dictating to Claude Code and other AI CLIs. Runs 100% on your PC (private); your voice never leaves the machine. Turn it on and pick your key in Settings → Voice.
  • Themes now restyle the whole window — the title bar, tabs, and frame recolor to match, not just the terminal text.
  • The cursor now lands in the terminal automatically when you focus the window.

v1.0.52026-07-08

  • PowerShell tabs now run npm-installed command-line tools (like Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini) out of the box — no more “running scripts is disabled” error, and no need to change your system’s execution policy. The bypass is per-session only and never touches your machine settings.

v1.0.42026-07-08

  • Python now runs in UTF-8 mode by default (PYTHONUTF8), so scripts that print emoji or accented text no longer crash — especially handy when AI tools shell out to Python.

v1.0.32026-07-08

  • Shift+Enter now inserts a newline (multi-line input), including in AI CLIs like Claude Code.
  • Kernel now identifies itself to the shell (TERM_PROGRAM=Kernel + version), so tools, prompts, and shell integrations can detect it.
  • Sets a sensible UTF-8 locale (LANG) and truecolor hint by default.

v1.0.22026-07-08

  • Hotfix: fixed a startup crash in 1.0.1 (“A JavaScript error occurred in the main process”) caused by a file that wasn’t bundled. The app launches normally again.
  • Hardened packaging and added a build check so a missing module can’t ship again.

v1.0.12026-07-08

  • Added “Open Kernel here” to the Windows folder right-click menu — right-click a folder (or its background, or a drive) to open a Kernel tab right there. On Windows 11 it’s under “Show more options,” same as Git Bash. Toggle it in Settings → Terminal.
  • If Kernel is already open, “Open Kernel here” opens a new tab in the current window at that folder.

v1.0.02026-07-08

  • Initial release.
  • A fast, GPU-accelerated Windows terminal (xterm.js WebGL) running real shells over ConPTY — PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, and WSL — with tabs, clickable links, and find.
  • Bundled Bash: bash commands work on any machine, even without Git Bash or WSL installed.
  • One-click AI CLI profiles — Claude, Codex, and Gemini render their full-screen interfaces perfectly when installed.
  • Configurable themes, fonts, cursor, padding, window opacity, default profile, and scrollback, plus copy-on-select and keyboard shortcuts.