Version v0.5.0 focuses on quality of life upgrades to the terminal and rootIRC chat. You can now manage terminal packages with apt-get, install and use a vim-style editor, and see clearer unread indicators in chat.
New in This Release
The terminal now supports an apt-get style package system. You can install, remove, list, and manage user-specific packages using the new apt-get command and its apt alias, with available packages documented in the built-in registry.
A new vim modal editor is available as a package. After installing vim via apt-get install vim, you can open files with vim or vi, use normal, insert, visual, and command modes, and save or quit with familiar commands like :w, :q, and :wq. The help command now highlights this workflow and suggests trying apt-get install vim for a modal editor experience.
The terminal gains a dedicated vim mode that tracks vim editor state and routes keypresses through the vim engine. When you exit vim, the terminal returns to command mode and restores the cursor, so you can continue using other commands smoothly.
New Capabilities
Root dir is now installable as a Progressive Web App. You can add it to your home screen, launch it in a standalone window, and benefit from basic offline support for core assets.
Quality of Life Updates
rootIRC chat now supports unread channel tracking. Channels with unread messages are stored in state, styled differently in the chat UI, and updated as you read or switch channels, with a polling based API to fetch unread status and a command to mark channels as read.
The chat text UI adds command name autocompletion support by exposing all chat command names, and uses new tab completion state to improve how you complete commands while typing. Unread channels are visually emphasized with bold names and a small unread indicator so it is easier to see where new activity is.
The ASCII art save command now updates existing files if they already exist instead of failing, so you can overwrite previous art without manual cleanup. The rm command also protects your public directory path, allowing you to delete files inside it while preventing accidental removal of the directory itself.
The terminal now allows common browser hotkeys to pass through, including F11 for fullscreen, F5 for refresh, and F12 for developer tools. This keeps the web terminal responsive while still letting you use familiar browser shortcuts.
Database and Chat Enhancements
Unread tracking for rootIRC is backed by a new per user, per channel read status table and helper functions to query unread channels and mark channels as read. This supports the new unread indicators in the chat UI and keeps your read state consistent.
A new user packages table tracks installed packages per user with row level security, which powers the apt-get system and ensures each user has their own package set. This enables installing tools like vim and other terminal modules on a per account basis.