Ballast 0.4.0-beta · Windows · invited beta
What changed.
What matters.
Follow the updates to your trading controls, setup and workflow. Each release keeps its own history and known limits.
Current invited release: 0.4.0-beta. Older local review builds remain labeled. Download through your beta invitation; read upgrade instructions before maintenance.
0.4.0-beta — full report
2026-09-17
Trading safety, private storage, signed updates, and modular onboarding
- Crypto stops use a longer historical-volatility baseline captured per position; falling recent volatility cannot silently tighten that captured stop. Existing operators review the changed policy before new crypto entries resume.
- A confirmed stop-loss sale blocks re-entry into that coin for 48 hours by default, including across app restarts. Paper and live cooldowns are separate.
- Uncertain broker orders stay pending for reconciliation instead of becoming estimated fills or duplicate submissions.
- Ordinary Windows launches and crash recovery run without console windows. Automatic startup is an explicit, reversible System preference.
- The installed version appears in the app title and System tab. Public and invited-beta channels offer a download-and-apply prompt and an Update later option.
- Signed update manifests verify archive and file hashes. Updates patch changed program files with rollback copies and preserve private state. Downloads include the version in their names.
- Dashboard rendering escapes text, JavaScript arguments, and external URLs for their actual context. A DPAPI-protected launcher session gates private APIs; independent session tokens and same-origin checks protect mutations.
- All saved provider credentials use Windows DPAPI; old plaintext database values and OAuth token files migrate. OAuth debug logging no longer records token response bodies.
- New installs keep private data under the local Windows profile. System can close the engine, migrate a legacy ledger and restart with STOP engaged for review; original files are preserved.
- Runtime, test, bootstrap, and audit dependencies are pinned with artifact hashes and checked for known vulnerabilities.
- Onboarding is a selectable course with modules, lessons, time estimates, completion percentages, and local timing feedback. Patch notes offer a short walkthrough of critical changes.
- Versioned release history, tutorial coverage, security checks, and release procedures are required by repository agent instructions and packaging gates.
- Preserves the published 0.3.8 capital-plan review, ledger readiness diagnostics, settings snapshots and account-scoped portfolio protections.
- Managed Quit, Restart and Cancel wait for active cycles; closing the window keeps the engine running, while intentional Quit is respected by background recovery.
- Finance keeps account panels usable when options research is unavailable and labels partial data. Options execution remains disabled.
- Markets retains accurate provider crypto categories and pair/base-symbol matching; topic-specific news and article-image fallbacks are retained. Map and Events stay retired from navigation.
- Packaging now requires a reviewed published-source baseline, current candidate hashes and retained regression coverage so a version bump cannot conceal missing earlier improvements.
- Online release history and a documentation hub accompany the invited beta download; wider public launch remains deferred.
- Registered beta testers receive factual release notices with a separate owner copy. Marketing broadcasts retain their confirmation and postal-address requirements.
0.3.8-beta
2026-09-16
Crypto market categories and coverage
- Published release: corrected matching of provider category/list identifiers, base symbols and trading pairs.
- Expanded every returned named-list member and stopped labeling arbitrary provider data as trending.
0.3.7-beta.3
2026-09-16
Quote-clock tolerance and article images (local review)
- Local review build: handled a bounded five-second future quote-clock difference without relaxing stale-data limits.
- Used source article images with local fallback.
0.3.7-beta.2
2026-09-16
Crypto market and topic research (local review)
- Local review build: added read-only Robinhood crypto market research and topic-specific news.
0.3.7-beta.1
2026-09-16
Independent Finance panels and capital review (local review)
- Local review build: unavailable options-income research no longer blocked independent Finance account panels.
- Added heatmap-first presentation, capital-plan review and local ledger readiness diagnostics.
- Clarified AI setup and cost descriptions; Map and Events were retired from navigation and the tour.
0.3.6-beta
2026-09-16
Managed terminal lifecycle
- Added confirmed Quit and Restart, cancellation while waiting for an active cycle, and intentional-stop handling by the watchdog.
- Required the matching managed launcher for this behavior.
0.3.5-beta
2026-09-16
Portfolio integrity and operator safeguards
- Added account-scoped portfolio/privacy and setup protections, settings snapshots and operating-cycle guards.
- Handled incomplete portfolio inputs without treating unavailable account values as zero.
- Kept automatic update application disabled pending a trusted maintenance path.
0.3.4-beta
2026-09-16
Strategy explanations
- Added plain-language theory and starting guidance above each System strategy group.
- Clarified tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 behavior and expanded guide explanations.
0.3.3-beta
2026-09-16
Windows startup and identity
- Added logon startup and desktop shortcuts; automatic logon registration is superseded by explicit consent in 0.4.0-beta.
- Added seal icons and staged launcher replacement so updates do not overwrite a running batch file.
0.3.2-beta
2026-09-16
First-run guided tour
- Added a guided tour after Terms acceptance, a Guide button, and a written guide covering tabs, account setup, API keys, and live-mode review.
0.3.1-beta
2026-09-16
In-app updating
- Added download, install, and restart from the update chip while retaining private data.
- Kept the launcher alive through an update. This unsigned update protocol is superseded by signed manifests in 0.4.0-beta.
0.3.0-beta
2026-09-15
SEC fundamentals and owner operations
- Added SEC EDGAR fundamentals on ticker pages and SEC-first company search.
- Used Treasury yield data, Cboe VIX data, and Frankfurter FX data; improved map setup guidance.
- Added the owner console and Ballast email infrastructure.
0.2.0-beta
2026-09-15
Terms, beta access, and updates
- Added Terms click-through and invite-gated beta downloads with referral attribution.
- Added update discovery, opt-in community insights, community summaries, and share features.
- Added waitlist and beta email delivery and unsubscribe support.
0.1.0
2026-09-15
Initial Ballast product repository
- Created the local trading terminal with sample configuration, paper/live controls, research desks, and account dashboard.
- Added request guards, Windows credential protection, audit records, offline licensing, and a release package gate excluding personal data.
- Added the initial branded website and setup documentation.