v1.0 beta — The rebuilt Golden Retriever
This is the first beta of the rebuilt Golden Retriever — new architecture, new interface, same mission: everything you’ve collected, searchable and askable. (The version reads 1.0.0.x in the app; the .x is the beta number — plain 1.0 ships when the beta cycle ends.)
If you ran the previous beta (0.9.x), the new app offers to bring your library across on first launch. The import reads your existing data directly — the old app doesn’t need to be installed or running — verifies everything it copies, and can be resumed if interrupted. Your original data is never modified.
Beta 4 — Honest progress, long videos, sharper search
Section titled “Beta 4 — Honest progress, long videos, sharper search”Progress you can believe
Section titled “Progress you can believe”The processing screen now tracks real work: upload progress is sized from actual file bytes, AI enrichment shows visible liveness instead of a frozen percentage, and progress never jumps backwards at part boundaries. When something needs your attention, the screen holds until you dismiss it — no more vanishing warnings.
Long videos, start to finish
Section titled “Long videos, start to finish”Multi-hour videos now process reliably in parts. Interruptions resume without re-uploading or re-billing finished work, and if one part fails the rest of the video still lands — marked honestly as partial and retryable, never silently dropped.
Jump to the moment
Section titled “Jump to the moment”When a search matches inside a video or audio file, opening it now drops a marker at the matching moment in the player — you land where the answer is, not at 0:00.
Sharper search
Section titled “Sharper search”Results are ranked by how well they actually match, and tags on results now reflect what was really found — no more confident-looking noise above the real hit.
Your old library’s history, done right
Section titled “Your old library’s history, done right”Importing from the previous app now brings your processing history across correctly: one entry per past run with its true cost, instead of a flood of per-file entries.
Honest notes for beta 4
Section titled “Honest notes for beta 4”- The previous-generation app (0.9.x) is retired. Importing its libraries remains fully supported — nothing changes for migrated users.
- The two-device free-plan limit remains a temporary beta measure.
Beta 3 — Accounts and your devices
Section titled “Beta 3 — Accounts and your devices”Link your account
Section titled “Link your account”Sign in by email: enter your address in Settings → Account and click the link we send you. There’s no password — the link does it. Once linked, your plan and account status live in Settings.
Manage your devices
Section titled “Manage your devices”Your account now shows every Mac linked to it, and you can unlink any of them — including ones you no longer have — right from Settings → Account. A lost or replaced Mac never leaves you stuck. The free plan supports two linked Macs during the beta.
Clearer account feedback
Section titled “Clearer account feedback”Account results now appear as a banner in the main window — link sent, linked, or an error you can act on — instead of being tucked away. The same status shows inline in Settings, right next to the action that caused it.
Honest notes for beta 3
Section titled “Honest notes for beta 3”- The two-device limit on the free plan is a temporary beta measure and may change before 1.0.
- Accounts are optional in this beta — AI features still run on your own Gemini key.
- Billing and credit packs are groundwork only; nothing charges you.
Beta 1 — first release
Section titled “Beta 1 — first release”One place to ask
Section titled “One place to ask”Search and Ask AI now live on a single query surface. Type once; get matching content immediately, and an AI answer with citations when you want one. Topic pills, grouping, and a metadata sidebar keep large libraries navigable.
Ingestion that tells you the cost before you spend it
Section titled “Ingestion that tells you the cost before you spend it”Everything that would call a paid AI service shows you an estimate first — files, batches, re-processing. You confirm, then a dedicated progress screen tracks the work. Nothing spends your API budget silently.
Smarter media handling
Section titled “Smarter media handling”Photos, videos, and audio get AI descriptions so they show up in search and answers. New in this release: media is compressed before upload by default — a 19 MB video clip becomes ~6 MB with no measurable loss in AI understanding — which makes ingestion faster and cheaper. You can turn this off in Settings if you prefer full-quality uploads.
Updates you can trust
Section titled “Updates you can trust”The app updates itself from our own server, and every update is cryptographically verified before it installs — the app refuses anything that isn’t signed by us.
Tell us what’s broken
Section titled “Tell us what’s broken”Help → Report a Bug (or the button in Settings) sends your report with the app’s recent log attached — you can review or exclude the log before sending. Screenshots and screen recordings can be attached too.
Honest notes for beta 1
Section titled “Honest notes for beta 1”- Bring your Gemini API key: AI features run on your own key, set up during onboarding.
- Billing/subscriptions are not part of this beta.
- The old app keeps ownership of
goldenretriever://links for now. - Installing the new app replaces the old one in /Applications (same name). Your old data stays untouched — the import reads it in place.