Release Notes
Here you'll find the most important changes of each version – new features, improvements and fixed bugs.
Release 1.0.1
10.06.2026This release deepens many existing tools – more useful features, clearer guidance and more diagnostics processed locally in the browser. The focus is on developer, crypto and security tools.
New Features
- Hash tool – Additional modern algorithms SHA-3, BLAKE2b and Argon2id.
- Secret generator – Copy-ready exports as .env, Kubernetes Secret and Terraform variable.
- Meta preview – Ready-to-copy HTML block for title, description, canonical, Open Graph and Twitter Cards.
- Text diff – New 3-way merge mode with conflict markers and result export.
- QR generator – Logo/design options plus Swiss QR bill for payment QR codes.
- .env diff – Local secret-leak detection with masked preview and rotation advice.
- Port scanner – Service banners and fingerprints for open ports.
Changes & Improvements
- HTTP protocol check – TLS handshake timing, HTTP/2 vs HTTP/1.1 latency and a 0-RTT replay safety check.
- Security headers & CSP – A–F grading, risk levels and provider-specific fix snippets.
- SEO validator – Sitemap sampling and robots checks for deeper diagnostics.
- SQL formatter & YAML/JSON converter – Dialect selection, anti-pattern lint and Kubernetes manifest hints.
- JWT tools – JWKS import including key matching and clearer error messages.
- wellknown check – VDP / bug-bounty readiness scoring with next actions.
- PageSpeed check – Concrete CMS/framework fixes (WordPress, Next.js, Astro and more).
- Localisation – Contrast Checker, Epoch Converter and User-Agent Parser fully in DE/EN/FR.
What's Next
Coming up: more tool depth, expanded AI explanations and additional visual tests.
Release 1.0.0
09.06.2026This is the first official release of Balou Tools – our Developer Diagnostic Platform for developers, DevOps and IT teams. Version 1.0.0 marks the transition from internal development to a stable, production-ready platform with hardened security, optimised performance and a fully accessible admin console. And since today also happens to be Balou's birthday 🐶, there couldn't be a better day for a launch.
New Features
- Admin console – A central interface for user management, lead analysis, system health and RAG quality insights.
- System health dashboard – Real-time status of PostgreSQL, Redis, the Gemini gateway and the PageSpeed API, including latency and error rates.
- Authenticated data export – User and lead lists can be exported as CSV or JSON, securely through authenticated requests instead of open links.
- RAG quality analysis – A transparent log of retrieval requests with similarity score, latency and cache status.
Changes & Improvements
- Performance – Removed N+1 queries and findAll() patterns in favour of targeted aggregate queries and new indexes on analytics tables.
- Architecture – Bounded async thread pool with a dedicated exception handler; recommendation thresholds are now configurable instead of hardcoded.
- Security – Server-side admin authorisation via middleware, a hardened admin bootstrap (minimum password length, env-driven) and CSV injection protection on export.
- UX & accessibility – Tables with caption, column scope and aria-sort; status indicators conveyed by text rather than colour alone; consistent loading and error states.
Bug Fixes
- User search fixed – A Postgres search error (lower(bytea)) caused failures – search now works reliably.
- Aggregation stabilised – A ClassCastException in the AI usage cost aggregation has been eliminated.
- Search race condition – Fast search input could display stale results – in-flight requests are now cancelled, keeping the display consistent.
- Cost precision – Increased numeric precision prevents rounding loss when recording AI costs.
What's Next
Coming up next: full localisation of the admin interface and broader integration-test coverage against a real PostgreSQL instance.