Changelog

Notification System v2

We've completely redesigned how Devcaster handles notifications, giving you much more control over what you're alerted about and how.

What's New

Granular notification controls: Instead of a single on/off toggle, you can now configure notifications per event type:

• Task completed ✓
• Approval required ✓
• Error occurred ✓
• Integration disconnected ✓
• New Devcaster update available ✓

Notification channels: Choose how you want to be notified:

• Desktop: System notification (Windows/macOS)
• In-app: Badge on the Devcaster icon in the taskbar/dock
• Sound: Optional audio alert (choose from 5 sounds or use your own)
• Webhook: POST to a URL (see webhook docs)

Do Not Disturb: Set a DND schedule (e.g., 10pm–8am) during which only critical alerts (errors, approvals) are shown.

For New Installations

All new Devcaster installations will have desktop notifications enabled by default for approvals and errors. Other notification types are opt-in.

For Existing Users

Your existing notification settings are preserved. You can review and update them in Settings → Notifications.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed notifications not appearing on Windows when the app was minimized to the system tray
• Fixed duplicate notifications when the same event fired multiple times in quick succession

Removed Deprecated Integrations

As announced in January, several deprecated integrations have been removed in this release.

Removed Integrations

The following integrations have been removed because they relied on APIs that are no longer available or have been superseded by better alternatives:

• Twitter v1 API: Twitter's v1 API was shut down. Use the X (Twitter) v2 integration instead, which supports the current API.
• Heroku Legacy: Heroku's legacy deployment API has been replaced. Use the Heroku Platform API integration.
• Zapier Webhooks (v1): Replaced by the new Zapier integration which uses the official Zapier API.

Migration

If you were using any of these integrations, here's how to migrate:

Twitter → X (Twitter) v2

1. Go to Integrations → Communication
2. Find "X (Twitter)" and click Connect
3. Authorize with your Twitter/X account
4. Your existing Twitter-related prompts will work without changes

Heroku Legacy → Heroku Platform API

1. Go to Integrations → Cloud
2. Find "Heroku" and click Connect
3. Enter your Heroku API key (found in your Heroku account settings)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed removed integrations still appearing in search results
• Fixed error messages referencing removed integrations by their old names

Organized Integration Library

The Integrations panel has been redesigned to make it easier to find and connect the tools you need.

Categories

Integrations are now organized into categories:

Search

Use the search bar at the top of the Integrations panel to find any integration by name or keyword. Results update as you type.

Featured Integrations

The top of the panel now highlights the most popular integrations based on community usage.

One-Click Connect

For integrations that support OAuth, you can connect with a single click. For API key-based integrations, a small form appears inline — no need to navigate to a separate settings page.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed integration search not finding integrations by their alternate names (e.g., searching "GH" now finds GitHub)
• Fixed category counts not updating after connecting or disconnecting an integration

Git Integration

Devcaster now has deep git integration, making it a true collaborative coding partner.

What the Agent Can Do

• Read git history: The agent can look at recent commits to understand what's changed and why
• Create branches: Ask "Create a feature branch for this change" and Devcaster will run git checkout -b
• Stage and commit: After making changes, the agent can stage the relevant files and create a commit with a descriptive message
• Read diffs: The agent understands git diff output and can explain what changed between commits

Example Workflow

"Fix the bug introduced in the last commit and create a new commit with the fix"

Devcaster will:

1. Run git log -1 to see the last commit
2. Run git diff HEAD~1 to see what changed
3. Identify the bug
4. Fix it
5. Stage the fix with git add
6. Create a commit: git commit -m "fix: revert accidental null check removal in auth.ts"

Safety

Devcaster will never push to remote or force-push without explicit instruction. All git operations that modify history require approval.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed git commands failing when the workspace was not at the repo root
• Fixed branch names with special characters causing errors

Event Notifications

Devcaster can now notify you when long-running tasks complete, so you don't have to watch the screen while the agent works.

Desktop Notifications

Enable desktop notifications in Settings → Notifications. You'll get a system notification when:

• A task completes successfully
• The agent needs your approval to continue
• An error occurs that requires your attention
• An integration action fails

Webhook Notifications

For power users and CI/CD integrations, Devcaster can POST a JSON payload to a URL of your choice when task events occur.

Configure webhooks in Settings → Notifications → Webhooks. Each webhook call includes:

{
  "event": "task.completed",
  "timestamp": "2026-02-06T14:23:00Z",
  "task": {
    "id": "task_abc123",
    "summary": "Refactored authentication module",
    "duration_seconds": 142,
    "files_modified": 7
  }
}

Supported Events

• task.started
• task.completed
• task.failed
• task.approval_required
• integration.connected
• integration.disconnected

VS Code Extension v1.2

The Devcaster VS Code extension has been updated to v1.2 with several new features.

Inline Code Actions

You can now trigger Devcaster directly from the editor:

• Select any code and press Ctrl+Shift+D to ask Devcaster about it
• Right-click selected code for options: Explain, Refactor, Add Tests, Fix Bug
• Hover over an error squiggle and click "Fix with Devcaster" in the lightbulb menu

Diff Preview

Before applying any file changes, Devcaster now shows a VS Code diff view so you can review exactly what will change. Accept or reject individual hunks just like you would with a git merge.

Multi-Root Workspace Support

Devcaster now works correctly in VS Code multi-root workspaces. You can switch between workspace roots from the Devcaster sidebar, and the agent will scope its file operations to the selected root.

Settings Sync

If you use VS Code Settings Sync, your Devcaster preferences (model selection, approval settings, etc.) will now sync across machines.

How to Update

The extension updates automatically. If you don't see v1.2, open the Extensions panel, find Devcaster, and click Update.

Configurable Auto-Apply Limits

You now have fine-grained control over which types of changes Devcaster applies automatically and which require your explicit approval.

Approval Settings

In Settings → Agent → Approvals, you can configure:

Safe Mode

Enable Safe Mode to require approval for every action, regardless of individual settings. This is useful when working on critical production code.

Trust Levels

You can set different approval levels for different directories:

• Trusted: Auto-apply everything (e.g., a scratch/experiments folder)
• Normal: Use your default settings (e.g., your main project)
• Protected: Always ask (e.g., config files, secrets)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed auto-apply sometimes triggering for file writes even when set to "Ask"
• Fixed approval cards not showing the full file diff for large files

Performance Improvements

This release focuses on making Devcaster faster and more stable.

Startup Time

The desktop app now starts up 60% faster. We've moved several initialization tasks to run in the background after the UI is visible, so you can start typing immediately.

Memory Usage

Memory usage has been reduced by ~35% for long-running sessions. The main improvements:

• Tool call history is now stored on disk rather than in memory after 50 entries
• File cache now uses LRU eviction to stay within the 50MB limit
• Unused integration connections are closed after 5 minutes of inactivity

Response Streaming

Agent responses now stream token-by-token as they're generated, rather than appearing all at once when the full response is ready. This makes the agent feel much more responsive, especially for long explanations.

Stability Fixes

• Fixed a crash that could occur when the workspace folder was deleted while Devcaster was running
• Fixed the agent getting stuck when a terminal command produced no output
• Fixed rare deadlock when multiple tool calls completed simultaneously
• Fixed the app not responding after the computer woke from sleep

VS Code Extension

The VS Code extension received the same performance improvements as the desktop app. Update to v1.1.0 via the Extensions panel.

Python Project Support

Devcaster now has first-class support for Python projects.

Virtual Environment Detection

When you open a Python project, Devcaster automatically detects and activates the virtual environment:

• Checks for .venv/, venv/, env/, and conda environments
• Uses the detected environment for all terminal commands (pip install, pytest, etc.)
• Shows the active environment name in the toolbar

Package Awareness

The agent now reads your requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, or setup.py to understand what packages are available. This means:

• The agent won't suggest importing packages that aren't installed
• When it needs a new package, it will run pip install automatically (with your approval)
• Type hints and completions are more accurate

Testing Integration

Devcaster now integrates with pytest out of the box:

• Run tests with "Run the tests" — no need to specify the command
• Failed tests are automatically shown to the agent so it can fix them
• Test output is parsed and displayed in a structured format

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the agent using python instead of python3 on systems where both are installed
• Fixed virtual environment not being activated in subshells spawned by the agent

Simplified Tool Configuration

We've made it much easier to configure how Devcaster uses external tools and integrations.

Smarter Defaults

Most tool parameters now have sensible defaults, so you don't need to configure anything to get started. For example:

• GitHub: Devcaster automatically uses the repo associated with your current workspace's git remote
• Slack: Messages are sent to the channel you specify in the prompt — no pre-configuration needed
• Jira: Issues are created in the project associated with your workspace by default

Optional Parameters

Parameters that are optional are now clearly marked in the tool configuration UI. You only need to fill in what you actually want to customize.

Configuration Profiles

You can now save multiple configuration profiles for the same integration. For example, you might have a "Work" profile for your company's GitHub org and a "Personal" profile for your own repos.

Switch between profiles from the Integrations panel without needing to re-enter credentials.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed tool configuration not saving when the panel was closed without clicking Save
• Fixed optional parameters being incorrectly marked as required in some integrations

Devcaster v1.1

This is our biggest update since launch. Here's what's new:

Agent Improvements

• Parallel tool execution: The agent can now run multiple independent tool calls in parallel, cutting task time by up to 40% for tasks that involve reading many files
• Better planning: For complex tasks, the agent now creates an explicit plan before executing, which you can review and edit before it starts
• Smarter stopping: The agent is better at knowing when a task is complete and stopping cleanly, rather than continuing to make unnecessary changes

UI Overhaul

• Redesigned chat bubbles with clearer distinction between user messages, agent responses, and tool outputs
• Collapsible tool call cards — click to expand and see the full input/output of any tool call
• New progress bar showing how many steps the agent has taken and how many remain (estimated)
• Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter to send a message, Escape to cancel the current task

Integration System

• Integrations panel now shows all 10,000+ available tools organized by category
• Search bar to find specific tools quickly
• One-click connect for popular services (GitHub, Slack, Jira, Linear, Notion)

Breaking Changes

• The settings file format has changed. Your settings will be migrated automatically on first launch.
• The keyboard shortcut for opening settings changed from Ctrl+, to Ctrl+Shift+, to avoid conflicts with VS Code

Suggested Prompts

When you open a new conversation, Devcaster now shows a set of suggested prompts based on your current workspace. These are generated by analyzing the files in your project and suggesting relevant tasks.

Examples

For a React project, you might see:

• "Add error boundaries to all page components"
• "Write unit tests for the utility functions in /lib"
• "Refactor the API calls to use React Query"

For a Python project:

• "Add type hints to all functions in main.py"
• "Set up a pre-commit hook for Black and isort"
• "Write a README based on the project structure"

How to Use

Click any suggested prompt to send it immediately, or click the pencil icon to edit it before sending.

Disabling Suggestions

If you prefer a clean slate, you can disable suggested prompts in Settings → Agent → Show Suggested Prompts.

Quick Actions

Right-click any file in the workspace explorer to access quick actions:

• Explain this file — get a plain-English summary of what the file does
• Find bugs — ask the agent to review the file for potential issues
• Write tests — generate a test file for the selected module

Bug Fixes

• Fixed suggested prompts not updating when switching workspace folders

Task History

Devcaster now saves your conversation history so you can review past tasks and pick up where you left off.

Features

• History panel: Click the clock icon in the sidebar to see a list of past conversations, sorted by date
• Resume a task: Click any past conversation to load it back into the chat — the agent remembers the full context
• Search history: Filter past conversations by keyword to find a specific task quickly
• Delete entries: Right-click any history entry to delete it

Storage

Conversation history is stored locally on your machine in %APPDATA%/Devcaster/history/ (Windows) or ~/Library/Application Support/Devcaster/history/ (macOS). Nothing is sent to our servers.

Limits

History is retained for 30 days by default. You can change this in Settings → History → Retention Period.

Active Task Indicator

The toolbar now shows a pulsing indicator when the agent is actively running. This makes it easy to tell at a glance whether Devcaster is working or waiting for your input.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed history not being saved when the app was closed mid-task
• Fixed conversation timestamps showing in UTC instead of local time

Multi-File Edit Mode

Devcaster's agent can now plan and execute coordinated edits across multiple files in a single step, rather than editing files one at a time.

How It Works

When you ask the agent to make a change that affects multiple files — for example, renaming a function that's used across your codebase — it now:

1. Searches for all occurrences across all relevant files
2. Plans all the edits upfront and shows you a summary
3. Executes all edits atomically after you approve

Example

"Rename the processData function to transformPayload everywhere in the codebase"

Previously, the agent would find and edit files one by one, requiring multiple approval steps. Now it presents a single approval card showing all affected files and the changes it will make.

Approval UI

The approval card for multi-file edits shows:

• A list of all files that will be modified
• A diff preview for each file
• A single Approve All button or individual Approve / Skip buttons per file

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an edge case where the agent would create a new file instead of editing an existing one when the path differed only by case on Windows

Workspace File Cache

Devcaster now maintains an in-memory cache of file contents during a session. This means the agent doesn't need to re-read files from disk every time it references them, making tasks significantly faster.

How It Works

• When the agent reads a file, the contents are cached for the duration of the session
• If the agent writes to a file, the cache is updated immediately
• If you edit a file externally (e.g., in your editor), the cache is invalidated automatically via file system watching
• The cache is cleared when you start a new conversation

Performance Impact

For tasks that involve reading the same files multiple times (e.g., iterative debugging), this reduces disk I/O by up to 80% and cuts average task completion time by 15%.

Cache Size Limit

The cache holds up to 50MB of file content. Files larger than 5MB are not cached and are always read fresh from disk.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed file watcher not detecting changes made by external processes on Windows
• Fixed cache not being cleared when switching workspace folders

Integration Auth Flow Improvements

Connecting third-party services to Devcaster is now smoother and more reliable.

OAuth Flow Redesign

The OAuth connection flow for services like GitHub, Slack, Jira, and Linear has been redesigned:

1. Click Connect next to any integration in the Integrations panel
2. A browser window opens to the service's OAuth page
3. After authorizing, the browser closes automatically and Devcaster shows a success confirmation

Previously, step 3 required you to manually copy a code back into Devcaster. This is no longer needed.

Better Error Messages

When an integration fails, you now get a specific, actionable error message instead of a generic "connection failed":

• Token expired: "Your GitHub token expired. Click Reconnect to refresh it."
• Insufficient permissions: "Devcaster needs the repo scope to access private repositories. Reconnect with the correct permissions."
• Rate limited: "GitHub API rate limit reached. The agent will automatically retry in 45 seconds."

Supported Integrations

Devcaster currently supports OAuth connections for: GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Jira, Linear, Notion, Asana, Trello, and Google Workspace.

Smarter Tool Selection

We've significantly improved how Devcaster's agent decides which tool to use for a given step. Previously, the agent would sometimes reach for a terminal command when a file operation would be faster and safer, or vice versa.

What's Improved

• File operations preferred over shell: For tasks like reading, writing, or searching files, the agent now consistently uses the built-in file tools rather than spawning shell commands like cat or grep. This is faster and works cross-platform.
• Better search strategy: When looking for code patterns, the agent now uses search_files with targeted regex patterns rather than reading every file individually.
• Reduced redundant reads: The agent tracks which files it has already read in the current session and avoids re-reading them unless the content may have changed.

Impact

In our internal benchmarks, these changes reduced the average number of tool calls per task by 22%, making tasks complete faster and use fewer tokens.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed search_files returning duplicate results when the same pattern matched multiple times in one file
• Fixed list_files not respecting the .gitignore patterns in the workspace root

New Models Available

Devcaster now supports two powerful new models via OpenRouter:

DeepSeek R1

DeepSeek R1 is an open-source reasoning model that excels at complex multi-step coding tasks. It's particularly strong at:

• Debugging tricky logic errors
• Refactoring large codebases
• Writing comprehensive test suites

Select it from the model dropdown in the toolbar as deepseek/deepseek-r1.

Gemini 2.0 Flash

Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash offers an excellent balance of speed and capability, with a 1M token context window. This makes it ideal for working with very large codebases where you need to load many files into context at once.

Select it as google/gemini-2.0-flash-001.

Model Switching Mid-Task

You can now switch models mid-conversation without losing context. The agent will seamlessly continue from where it left off using the newly selected model.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed model dropdown not updating after saving settings
• Fixed rare crash when switching models during an active tool call

API Key Validation

We've tightened up how Devcaster handles API keys across all integrations.

What Changed

Previously, invalid or expired API keys would only surface as errors mid-task, after the agent had already started executing steps. Now, Devcaster validates your API keys at startup and surfaces any issues immediately in the Settings panel.

• OpenRouter key: Validated on app launch — you'll see a green checkmark or a clear error message
• Integration keys: Each connected service now shows its connection status in the Integrations panel
• Graceful degradation: If a key is invalid, the agent continues working with the tools that are available rather than failing entirely

How to Update Your Keys

Open the Settings panel (gear icon in the toolbar) and update any keys showing a red status indicator. Changes take effect immediately — no restart required.

Security Improvements

• API keys are now stored in the OS credential store (Windows Credential Manager / macOS Keychain) instead of plain JSON files
• Keys are never logged or included in error reports
• The agent's system prompt no longer echoes back key values in any form

Happy New Year! We're kicking off 2026 with some big updates.

Desktop App Public Beta

The Devcaster desktop app is now in public beta for Windows. Download it from the download page and start using Devcaster without needing VS Code installed.

The desktop app includes:

• Full autonomous agent with file read/write, terminal execution, and tool integrations
• Dark-themed chat UI with markdown rendering
• Workspace folder picker — point Devcaster at any project directory
• Model selector — switch between Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, and more
• Settings panel for API key management

macOS support is coming soon.

Agent Reliability Improvements

We've made the agent loop significantly more reliable:

• Better error recovery: The agent now retries failed tool calls up to 3 times before surfacing the error to you
• Improved context management: Long conversations no longer cause the agent to lose track of earlier context
• Cleaner tool output: Tool results are now summarized more concisely, reducing token usage by ~30%

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the agent would sometimes get stuck in a loop when a file write failed
• Fixed terminal output truncation for commands that produce large amounts of output
• Fixed settings not persisting after app restart on Windows