Changelog

clicking any action button on a source card now renders the result as a separate card directly below that source, with a connector line between them. Previously all output appeared inline inside the card itself.

the page smoothly scrolls to the output card each time a button is clicked, with 80px of breathing room above so nothing feels cramped.

the output card fades and slides in from slightly above when it appears, instead of popping up instantly.

action buttons are now larger, bolder, and easier to tap on mobile. The 3x3 grid layout is preserved with bigger padding and bold text throughout.

relevance percentage, author, date, description icons, and source numbering are all noticeably larger on mobile for easier reading.

section titles (Summary, Deep Dive, Fact-Check, etc.) are now 18px bold and body text is 16px across every output section.

the topic overview summary is now 16px for easier reading.

helper text below the main action buttons increased from 12px to 14px.

turn any source into something. Generate a narrative with Story Mode, test your knowledge with Quiz Mode, study with Flashcards, or follow a structured Course. All in one click from the source card.

one click turns any source into a full audio episode. The script is written and narrated automatically, and the audio plays directly in the card. No extra steps.

tools now follow a natural research progression: Deep Dive, Key Points, Timeline, Historiography, Bias Check. Start broad, then refine.

clicking Find Source, Source Image, Fact Check, Resources, Analyse, Create, or Podcast switches the panel instead of stacking all results below the card.

clicking Peer Reviewed, Citations, Books/PDFs, Blog/Articles, Related Sources, or YouTube closes the previous result and opens the new one. Cached results switch instantly without re-fetching.

all results in every panel display in full without artificial height caps.

previously it disappeared as soon as the first text chunk arrived, leaving a blank gap before the quiz appeared.

only the custom loading indicator shows while generating; the redundant component-level spinner is gone.

You can now scroll up to re-read earlier messages while Sofia is still generating a response. Auto-scroll resumes when you send your next message.

Removed About, Blog, How It Works, and Changelog from both desktop and mobile nav to reduce clutter and keep the header focused on core app pages. All four are still accessible from the Profile page.

The hide button now slides the panel out without clearing the conversation. Previously it was wired as a destructive close that could remount the component and wipe all messages.

Clicking Ask Sofia on a source card now keeps the existing thread and injects a focused-source notice inline instead of remounting the component and wiping history.

New chat now resets focused source mode and clears the source-specific welcome message so a fresh conversation starts with the default Sofia greeting.

Renamed All / Focused to All sources / This source for clarity. Disabled tooltip now explains what action to take.

Button label now accurately describes what it does.

Replaced the plain spinner with an animated pulsing ring and 10 cycling status messages that reflect what is actually happening in the background: overview generation first, then source identification and verification. Hint text updates per phase and a slow-state message appears if the search takes longer than 50 seconds.

Trimmed the overview to a concise 3-sentence summary. Removed bullet points and the outro paragraph to reduce how far users have to scroll before reaching source cards, especially on mobile.

The overview now persists alongside search results when navigating away and back. Follows the exact same pattern as search results: restores from localStorage with no expiry and no re-fetch.

Reduced the height of the bottom tab bar for a thinner, more minimal look.

Fixed mobile horizontal scrolling caused by long source URLs in the Source Links results, allowed links to wrap cleanly, and improved readability with larger numbering, larger helper copy, larger snippet text, and fully visible source titles.

Rewrote the Sofia helper message so it more clearly explains that PDF and DOCX links need to be downloaded first and then uploaded with the `+` button in chat.

Simplified the Source Links result cards by removing the file-type badges and tightening the snippet presentation with a clearer excerpt label.

"America at 250: What the Founding Era Primary Sources Actually Say." Covers what the founding documents actually say ahead of the July 4, 2026 semiquincentennial, fact-checks common Founder misquotes, and links directly to free archives (Founders Online, Avalon Project, Chronicling America, National Archives).

Author name on blog posts now links to X profile with pink hover effect for better connection and credibility.

Rewrote the changelog page subheader for clarity, added a clickable Profile page link so users can send feedback, questions, or bug reports by live message, and updated the page so it shows the 5 most recent entries first and collapses older updates to keep the page easier to scan.

Refreshed the source card walkthrough to match the current UI with the Images action, two-row button layout, and live Learn/Resources labels, and expanded the Sofia walkthrough to cover source-focused Ask Sofia mode and document uploads alongside ADD to Chat and voice input.

Cleaned up desktop header hover styles, refreshed the Sign Up and Login buttons with a cleaner look that better matches the app, and added About directly after How It Works in the public header.

Refined the shared footer styling, updated the footer message to better match the app's cleaner design, and clarified the founder X link with a cleaner Follow on X treatment.

Reduced the suggested question pills to 10 on desktop and 4 on mobile, and updated the helper copy to better direct users toward the search bar and Sofia.

Replaced the small Ask Sofia icon with a full Ask Sofia button beside Resources, making the action easier to notice and more consistent with the rest of the source card controls.

Updated Sofia's onboarding and source-specific messages to reflect what the assistant can actually do, clarify that users are chatting about sources rather than with them, and explain when to use Find Source, add a link, or upload a document. Also matched the chat input container to the main search bar with the same pink border treatment.

Moved Blog under How It Works, added Changelog directly beneath Blog, refreshed the Blog icon with a clearer newspaper-style glyph, and removed Past Searches hover/container styling so it matches the rest of the header on desktop and mobile.

Added open-source disclaimer to Images section explaining that only publicly available images from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources are shown. Helper message now clearly states the limitation to manage user expectations about image availability.

Renamed "Explore" button to "Learn" for better user understanding. The new name more clearly reflects the educational and investigative features it provides (summaries, quizzes, flashcards, deep dive, bias check, timeline, historiography).

"Is Homer's Odyssey Real? What Primary Sources Can (and Can't) Prove." A source-first guide to separating what the text says from what history can support.

Unified 5-button action row on every card: Find Source (blue), Images (purple), Fact Check (red), Explore (green), and Resources (amber). All buttons now consistent in size and styling with color-coded shadows and hover effects.

Images tab now displays actual image thumbnails in a 2-column grid instead of just text links. Added hover effects, error handling with fallback icons, and clickable cards that open full images in new tabs.

Enhanced /api/image-links to fetch optimized 800px thumbnails from Wikimedia Commons API. Prioritizes Wikimedia thumbnails over direct URLs for better quality and faster loading. Supports multi-language Wikipedia pages.

Increased relevance percentage font size from 11px to 18px for better readability at a glance.

Added colons after all metadata field labels (Relevance:, Context:, Author:, Date:, Type:, Location:, Descrip:) for clearer visual separation.

Reduced search button and dropdown button sizes for a more compact, balanced appearance. Mobile: h-8/w-8, Desktop: h-7/w-7.

Increased mobile search textarea right padding to prevent query text overflow when "Secondary" is selected from dropdown.

Added "-- Select a workspace --" empty option to dropdown. Smart field interaction: selecting a workspace clears "create new" input, and typing in "create new" deselects any chosen workspace.

Updated "Add to workspace" modal close button to match app-wide style with SVG X icon and pink hover effect.

Replaced <img> tags with Next.js <Image /> component for better LCP, automatic optimization, and lazy loading of image thumbnails.

Upload PDF, DOCX, or TXT files directly to Sofia for analysis. DOCX and TXT files are extracted automatically. Complements the ADD to Chat button for sources that can't be read from a URL.

Redesigned with inline layout: + button for attachments on left, textarea in center, mic/send buttons on right. All in a unified border with focus-within ring effect. Attached documents persist across conversation turns with a removable badge.

Added icons and detailed tooltips to all Find Resources buttons (Source Links, Peer Reviewed, Citations, Books/PDFs, Blog/Articles, Related Sources, YouTube, Images) and all Explore buttons (Deep Dive, Bias Check, Timeline, Historiography, Summarize, Simplify, Key Points, Podcast, Story Mode, Quiz, Flashcards, Course). Organized Find Resources into Academic Research and Broader Context categories. Added icons to dropdown buttons for better visual clarity.

Added file type detection with color-coded badges showing TXT, HTML, PDF, or DOCX for each result. Green badges indicate Sofia-readable content (TXT/HTML), orange badges indicate downloadable files (PDF/DOCX). Added helpful info box explaining what Sofia can and cannot read from URLs, with guidance to use the + button for PDFs and DOCX files.

Excluded 30+ paywalled domains including bookstores (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), commercial publishers (Elsevier, Springer), and subscription sites (Scribd, Academia.edu, ResearchGate). Implemented balanced categorization returning up to 5 results each of TXT, HTML, PDF, and DOCX files, prioritizing Sofia-readable content first. Results now focus exclusively on genuinely accessible open-access sources.

Credit offer now leads the messaging. Added "Need more credits for testing/researching" as the first dropdown option. Selecting it reveals a card to book a 15-minute Google Meet call for 1,000 credits. Submit row now surfaces the 200 credit reward for written feedback with a note that credits are available within 24 hours and a link to the profile page.

"Why Primary Sources Matter More Than Ever in the AI Era." Covers how AI invents citations, why going back to primary sources is the fix, and how to verify any historical claim.

Rebuilt with a gradient hero, dot-grid background, and card-based feature and differentiator sections matching the homepage. Copy now reflects the actual product (Sofia, Notetaker, workspaces, learning modes, fact-check, podcast, story, quiz, flashcards) with a personal "Why I built it" section in first-person voice.

Sharpened the introductions for the search bar and Sofia so the difference is clear: search bar for finding sources, Sofia for asking questions.

Fully redesigned blog page with a cleaner reading experience, featured post, and a post grid. Built for weekly publishing with practical guides on primary source research, fact-checking history, and using AI in research workflows.

Added a How It Works link in both the desktop sidebar and the mobile menu, so you can jump back to the walkthrough anytime.

The suggested questions on the search page no longer auto-rotate every few seconds. Use the new "Shuffle questions" button to get a fresh batch when you want one. Clicking a suggestion only fills the search box now; the rest of the pills stay put.

The message input and send button no longer hide behind the bottom tab bar. The chat panel now sizes itself to leave room for the Search/Notetaker/Library nav.

Full redesign explaining the app step by step: search bar with query examples, source cards with button explainers, Sofia capabilities at every stage, Notetaker with mock editor, and a "Who it's for" section targeting students, history enthusiasts, teachers, and content creators.

Added to desktop header after Blog (all users) and to the Learn More card on the profile page (signed-in users).

YouTube links no longer produce a generic "the query references a YouTube video" overview. The system now understands the video's actual content and generates accurate, topic-specific summaries.

To reduce AI hallucinations, a new verification step now cross-references every source against the live web before showing results. Verified sources appear first, so you can trust what you see.

Send any source card directly to the Notetaker from the + menu. Sofia automatically gets context about the source so you can ask her to write, summarize, or analyze without copy-pasting.

Quick navigation between Search, Notetaker, and Library on mobile. No more digging through the hamburger menu.

Links shared on X, LinkedIn, and other platforms now show a branded preview image with the app name and features.

Cleaner layout with Learn more and Help cards side by side. Blog, About, and FAQ are now accessible after login.

Google Search Console verified, structured data added for rich snippets, unique metadata on every page, and sitemap updated.

The Ask Sofia bubble no longer hides behind the bottom tab bar on Search, Notetaker, and Workspace pages.

Claude now scores every source 0-100 on query relevance, scholarly importance, and historical significance. No more position-based percentages.

Merged Investigate and Guided Learning into a single Explore dropdown. Renamed Find to Find Resources. Removed Ask Sofia button, now a chat icon on every card header.

Vivid dark mode icons with glow effects on all buttons. Section headers in dropdowns for easier navigation. Consistent button sizing across mobile and desktop.

Pressing back on mobile now closes Sofia chat instead of navigating away from the page.

Source links are now resolved on demand via the Find Source Online button instead of upfront on every search. Results load noticeably faster.

Find Source Online and Fact Check Source are now prominent buttons on every card. Removed duplicates from the Investigate and Find dropdowns. Clear, direct actions instead of buried menus.

Source link results now return snippet previews and domain badges. Numbered results list with helper text for easier scanning.

Replaced the confusing + icon with a clear "ADD to Chat" text button so users know how to feed source content to Sofia.

New headline, 5-step pipeline overview, focused use cases, improved FAQ section, and a closing call-to-action.

Added Tawk.to live chat button on the profile Help card. Talk to the founder directly.

Removed unused packages (axios, LangChain) and replaced with native fetch for a lighter, faster build.

Fixed dark mode hover styles across source cards, save/load buttons, workspace dropdowns, and the overview panel.

Responsive editor height for mobile and desktop. Sofia AI can now find live web sources and insert them as cited links in your notes.

Save your entire search results to a workspace directly from the search page. Overview persists to localStorage and restores on refresh.

Notetaker is now its own page. Create and save notes without needing a workspace. Sessions persist across visits.

Ask Sofia for help while writing. She can outline essays, improve clarity, suggest search queries, and help with citations.

AI assistant dialog fits better on small screens. Send button placed inside the prompt input for a cleaner look.

Credits are now ready the moment you sign up. No more edge cases where the first search failed before your balance was set.

Create multiple documents within a single Notetaker session. Switch between them with the Docs dropdown.

Export your notes as .docx files for use in Word, Google Docs, or any word processor.

Collection cards now show document count and names from your workspace notes.

Built a full rich text editor powered by Jodit with formatting toolbar, speech recognition, and print/preview modes.

22 AI commands available from the editor toolbar. Write intros, improve writing, change tone, translate, summarize, and more.

Jodit editor fully styled for dark mode with brighter text, icons, and scrollable toolbar on mobile.

Save sources into collections, organize your research, and access everything from the Library page. All stored locally in your browser.

Every analysis feature (summary, deep dive, fact check, bias check, timeline, historiography, key takeaways) now works inside workspace source cards.

Find source links, peer-reviewed articles, citations, books/PDFs, related sources, YouTube, images, and blog articles from workspace source cards.

Your past searches are saved and accessible from the sidebar. Quickly revisit previous research sessions.

Paste a YouTube URL to get AI-powered analysis. Uses Google Gemini for video context extraction and grounds responses with timecodes.

Animated three-dot typing indicator while Sofia generates her response.

Enter a YouTube URL directly in the search bar. The app extracts video context using Gemini and generates relevant source cards.

All AI-powered features now use the latest Claude Sonnet 4.6 model for better analysis, faster responses, and improved source identification.

Add any discovered source link directly to Sofia's chat or the writer for deeper analysis and citation.

Increased to 10 sources per search. Deduplicated URLs and improved online link coverage for better results.

Modern styling for the chat input with better dark mode support and improved readability on mobile.

When credits run low, a feedback modal asks what you'd like to see next. Helps us prioritize what to build.

New users select their persona (student, historian, researcher) and goal on first visit. Helps personalize the experience.

Reorganized actions into Learn and Investigate groups. Fact Check moved to a more prominent position. Buttons styled with consistent pink borders.

Improved how the app finds online copies of sources using a smarter search strategy for better open-access results.

Source cards now show a direct online link when available. Click to open the source in a new tab.

Sofia now receives online links and Wikipedia links as context, improving her ability to reference and discuss specific sources.

Upgraded content extraction to pull more relevant chunks from source URLs for deeper, more accurate analysis.

Every source card now has a dedicated Ask Sofia button to start a focused conversation about that specific source.

Toggle between Chat and Writer modes in Sofia. Writer mode helps draft evidence-based content with voice dictation support.

Search now lives at /search. Authenticated users are automatically redirected there. The homepage is now a landing page for new visitors.

Your last search session is restored when you navigate back to search. No more losing your results.

New, more varied search suggestions with different phrasing styles. Responsive count (18 on desktop, 9 on mobile).

Profile icon now shows your Google avatar or initials instead of a generic icon.

Reordered navigation items, added Blog to desktop nav, and improved sign out button styling in the sidebar.

Every feature now runs on a credit balance. You start with 200 free credits and can top up from the Profile page.

Sign in with Google on both login and signup pages. Session exchange and redirect handled automatically.

Refreshed signup and login pages with consistent theme styling and cleaner UI.

New Find action to discover blog posts and commentary articles related to your sources.

Repositioned context and relevance fields. Replaced relevance icon with a computed score. Added blog/articles to the Find menu.

Updated marketing copy and beta signup flow on the homepage.

Full dark mode support across the entire app. Theme persists across sessions. Every component updated for readability.

Updated quiz, flashcard, and course mode components with theme-aware colors for better dark mode readability.

Expanded use-case grid (Investigations, Researchers, General, Policy & Legal). New gradient-styled cards, improved CTAs, and better mobile layout.

Homepage now features a mock search bar with rotating placeholders and animated source card previews showing what the app does.

Add any discovered source link directly to Sofia's chat for deeper analysis. Works across all Find link lists.

Notes now include structured fields (purpose, connections) with speech-to-text dictation and improved export.

New layout with password update flow, forgot password link, and cleaner mobile experience.

Removed legacy features (PDF viewer, old chat, Cornell notes, old workspace system, contact page) to streamline the app and improve performance.

Added Read Aloud button to course steps. Improved Sofia's welcome message and mobile voice input stability.

New Fact Check feature that cross-references source claims using live web search. Added to source cards and course mode.

New brand color (#ED64E2), updated header with SVG hamburger menu, and aurora-style brand text.

Talk to Sofia using your microphone with continuous listening, voice send commands, and read-aloud responses.

Fresh logo design with unified pink brand color across all action buttons.

Chat with Sofia before searching. She can browse the web in real-time to help refine your research question with cited links.

New analysis feature exploring how scholarly interpretation of a source has evolved over time. Covers schools of thought and academic debates.

Rewrote prompts for all analysis features (summary, deep dive, bias check, timeline, key takeaways, story mode) with tighter formatting, consistent tone, and better outputs.

New metadata icons, collapsible overview card, gradient border buttons, auto-dismiss helper tips, and Read Aloud on source overviews.

Aligned section headers, button colors, and active states across Learn, Find, Quiz, Flashcards, Course Mode, and Exam components.

Fixed a regression where card flip and navigation stopped working after completing a session.