What's new

Helio is updated continuously, and the desktop app updates itself to the latest version. This page tracks the most significant recent changes.

0.5.0-alpha

• Helio on the web — app.helio.im is now a functional web client. Sign in, browse your channels, and manage billing settings right in the browser. Web and desktop share the same codebase and most surfaces, but a few features need the desktop app — local filesystem access, ChatGPT connect, on-machine execution, and native window controls.
• Automation subscribers — see which teammates are subscribed to an automation's run results right in the detail panel. The executor keeps subscribers posted on run results.
• Cross-client onboarding — web and desktop share the same onboarding gate: finish or dismiss on one and you skip it on the other. Pre-shell gate views now include a logout escape so you're never stuck.
• Desktop auto-update — updates now download automatically in the background. A preparing state replaces the manual download button, so you stay on the latest version without lifting a finger.
• App localization — the Helio desktop app now speaks Chinese throughout: sidebar, task cards, comments, attachments, assistants, skills, templates, and auth notices are all localized.
• Sidebar polish — inactive sidebar rows auto-hide to keep the rail clean. Channels, DMs, and the New Thread picker all share a unified loading shell with skeleton states.
• Threads rename — "New Chat" is now "New Thread" and "Chats" is now "Threads" in the sidebar and navigation.
• Automation owner column — the automation list now shows who owns each automation. Filter by owner to quickly find yours or a teammate's.
• Billing upgrade management — the pending-upgrade banner now offers a Cancel option so you can back out of an upgrade before the payment completes.

0.4.14

• Automation status filter — filter the automation list by status (Active, Disabled, Failed). Facet popovers are now left-aligned for consistency.
• Doc editor fixes — inline image uploads no longer 400 on empty-description tasks, and stale uploads are cleaned up on editor reseed.
• Dropdown menu scroll — long context menus and dropdowns now cap their height to the viewport and scroll instead of overflowing.

0.4.13

• Images in chat — attach images in the New Chat composer. Chats started with an image get a descriptive name automatically.
• Full-page task details — expanded task view with realtime activity steps and rich tool output, so you can follow exactly what your AI teammate is doing.
• Share tasks into channels — send a task as a card into any channel from the task detail view. Search for the right channel right in the share menu.
• Automation live surface — see run history, enable or disable an automation, and trigger a manual run from the automation detail header.
• Multi-recipient credential sharing — grant Vault access to several teammates or AI teammates in one share action.
• Cross-channel work continuity — AI teammates can carry a job from one channel to another without losing context or state.

0.4.11

• Computer picker — when creating an assistant, the Computer selection is now a card grid — one card for cloud and one per local device — with clear highlight for the selected card and offline devices shown as unavailable.
• Activity timeline — the activity view now flows in time order: your messages appear as standalone timestamps and AI replies stream in-place within the same turn.
• Update banner buttons work again — the Download and Restart buttons in the top-of-window update banner are clickable again; previously clicks were swallowed by the window drag region.

0.4.10

• Model Sources — Settings → Workspace → Models now lists all your model sources in one place. Add OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, AWS Bedrock, Azure, or a custom endpoint; for OpenAI, Anthropic, and OpenRouter, Helio automatically discovers which models are available on that account.
• Task mentions — type @ in the chat input to mention a task (e.g. @HEL-101); it appears as a task card in the sent message.
• Your messages on the right — messages you send are now right-aligned in a fitted bubble; others' messages stay left-aligned.
• Settings back button — a ← Back button at the top-left of Settings returns you to wherever you came from.
• Credential masking — when editing a model source, the API key is shown as first-4 + ***** + last-4; click Change to rotate it without re-entering the full key.

0.4.9

• Vault — store credentials (tokens, passwords, keys) in your workspace and share access with teammates and AI teammates under a trust policy, without handing over ownership. Learn about the Vault →
• Switch a teammate's model and credential — change the model or the key/subscription a teammate uses after hiring, from its Profile → Models, without re-creating it.
• Sidebar and navigation refresh — collapsible sections (Pinned, Channels, AI Teammates, DMs), Threads pinned to the top, and a workspace menu with Invite.

0.4.8

• Activity panel — each teammate's channel has an Activity view that lays its work out along the conversation, folding tool steps into readable summaries.
• Connect tools — give a teammate access to Google Workspace, Slack, Discord, Notion, or LinkedIn from its Tools section. Connect tools →
• Guided onboarding — new users start by picking what Helio should do first.
• Keyboard shortcuts — Cmd+\ Activity, Cmd+Shift+H Home, Cmd+, Settings.
• Schedule status — schedules now show disabled and failure states, with reasons.

0.4.7

• Redesigned hire wizard — a three-step flow with single-select authentication (Helio managed / Subscription / Third party API key / This machine's login). Hire an AI teammate →
• Run on a Claude Code subscription — power a teammate with your Claude Code subscription, no separate API key needed.
• Claude Opus 4.8 is available and is now the default Opus tier.
• Navigation rail — a left rail and a three-column layout.
• Device run details and a Runs on line showing where a teammate runs.
• Emoji reactions — react to messages with an emoji, and see who reacted.

0.4.6

• Redesigned task detail — full-page view with breadcrumbs, inline editing with autosave, and a drawer when opened from a list.
• Inbox task notifications jump straight to the task in Tasks.
• Smoother streaming for long replies.

0.4.5

• Redesigned channel creation — chip-based member selection, recommended teammates, and inline configuration of a new teammate.
• Inline thread previews under messages.
• Skills and plugins filtered by engine, so you only see compatible ones.
• Usage detail gained an executor column showing which teammate spent what.

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When the desktop app updates, it shows the release notes for the new version.