The Elephant Observatory

Updated with each meaningful deploy

A record of what has been built, fixed, and changed. In plain language, for anyone curious about how this place is taking shape.

Current — v0.9.41-beta · May 3, 2026
v0.9.41-betaMay 3, 2026The Atrium

The front door of TEO has been rebuilt. /observatory is no longer a flat dashboard — it opens into a layered foyer that braids time of day, the editorial week, and your personal arrival. A threshold ribbon greets you with the current phase, the centerpiece becomes a live Constellation Altar during Observatory Hours (and the Telescope otherwise), and a Hall of Doors leads to every other room of the site. Underneath, an AI Reception Note welcomes you in TEO voice, the Hall Ledger speaks the week aloud, and Recents tiles surface the latest nodes, lectures, and lectios.

  • New/observatory rebuilt as The Atrium — an illuminated bento foyer with a threshold band, a centerpiece, a Hall of Doors, a Ledger, a Reception Note, and Recents tiles.
  • NewTime-aware threshold ribbon — the page shifts its glyph, greeting, and tone with the phase of the day.
  • NewLive Constellation Altar — during Observatory Hours, the centerpiece becomes that weekend's constellation; outside Hours it falls back to the Telescope.
  • NewReception Note — a personal arrival paragraph written in TEO voice by your concierge, cached per visitor per day.
  • NewHall Ledger — a voiced weekly paragraph with a drop-cap and a gentle fade-in, narrating the observatory's current week.
  • ImprovedRecent Nodes, Recent Videos, and Recent Lectios tiles surface the latest observatory activity at a glance.
  • ImprovedOrnament pass across the atrium — sepia dot dividers, observer avatars, refined TagBadges, and stronger contrast in daylight.
  • FixedRecents now respect publish status, the Reception Note no longer flickers on first paint, and channel names render again on video tiles.
v0.9.40-betaMay 3, 2026Day Is Home

First paint now favors the illuminated manuscript: visitors see vellum cream unless their operating system explicitly asks for dark mode, or they have already chosen Night in the nav. Captions, metadata, and footnotes across public rooms use a higher minimum text alpha so nothing disappears into the cream. Admin dashboards stay on the old scale behind the Night-lock.

  • ImprovedDefault mode — Day for light or no OS preference; Night only when the OS reports prefers-dark. Your saved toggle choice still wins forever.
  • ImprovedReadable tertiary text — shared UI and public routes lift low-opacity sepia, gold, and ink utilities to at least /55 so fine print stays legible in daylight.
  • ImprovedDesign docs and designer rules updated for the new default and the admin contrast carve-out.
v0.9.39-betaMay 2, 2026Day Mode Arrives

TEO now ships in two palettes. Night (the original scriptorium — warm indigo, cream ink) remains the default; Day is its illuminated daylight twin — vellum cream substrate, ink-on-paper text, burnished gold accents. The toggle is the small sun/moon icon in the top nav; until you choose, your mode follows your operating system preference. Admin tooling and the knowledge graph viewport stay Night-locked regardless, because they're tuned for that substrate.

  • NewDay mode — TEO now reads as an illuminated daylight manuscript (vellum cream, ink text). Toggle via the sun/moon icon in the top nav, or let your OS preference decide.
  • ImprovedEvery public surface tuned across both modes — landing, feed, archive, node detail, oracle, grimoire, study desk, quests / gymnasium, pricing, observatory — gold accents, ornament weight, shadows, and gradient washes all adapt.
  • ImprovedKnowledge graph and constellation maps now sit in a telescope-eyepiece frame: the surrounding chrome flips with your mode choice but the canvas itself stays Night, so observer colors and edge density read at full contrast.
  • FixedArchive, observer profiles, constellations, the welcome flow, invite pages, and the Grimoire study desk were silently rendering empty after a recent schema change — every node now correctly attributes to its observer again.
  • ImprovedAuth and onboarding pages now use the unified top nav instead of bespoke headers; /auth no longer scrolls.
  • FixedFooter text opacity bumped for legibility on the new light substrate.
v0.9.38-betaMay 1, 2026Orbis Pictus Navigation

The Observatory's top navigation has been completely rebuilt. A unified mega-menu now guides you through all rooms — Archive, Atlas, Instruments, Gymnasium, Personal, About — with live constellation cards appearing in the menu when Observatory Hours are active. The Gymnasium's internal sidebar is gone; navigation happens through the global menu and URL hash links.

  • ImprovedNew mega-menu navigation with icons, descriptions, and live constellation highlights per room
  • ImprovedOracle renamed to Instruments and moved to a more logical position in the nav
  • ImprovedGymnasium navigation removed from the page itself — the global nav and deep-links (#free-play, #riddle, #alchemy) take you directly to each mode
  • NewPractice cards on the Gymnasium dashboard — quick-launch buttons for Free Play, Rosetta Riddle, and Alchemist's Table
  • ImprovedOracle voice tier (Apprentice / Adept / Magus) is now a styled dropdown instead of radio buttons
  • ImprovedYour profile portrait now appears in the top-right navigation when signed in
  • ImprovedAll pages capped at 1440 px wide — content now aligns with the nav chrome on wide monitors
  • FixedGymnasium dashboard was blank on some screen sizes after the sidebar removal — resolved
v0.9.37-betaApril 27, 2026Polar Payments

TEO's payment processing has moved from LemonSqueezy to Polar as Merchant of Record. All checkout buttons on the pricing page now route through Polar's hosted checkout — same products, same prices, same access logic.

  • ImprovedCheckout buttons on the pricing page now work — all 8 products (Candle, Lantern, Expedition, Resident, Patron) route to Polar's hosted checkout
  • ImprovedPolar handles all payment processing and tax compliance globally as Merchant of Record
  • ImprovedPrivacy Policy and Terms of Service updated to reference Polar instead of Lemon Squeezy
v0.9.36-betaApril 23, 2026MCP Data Hygiene
  • FixedDimension scores and similarity values are no longer returned by MCP tools — both are internal pipeline signals that AI clients were misreading as node quality rankings
v0.9.35-betaApril 23, 2026The Telescope Protocol

TEO's knowledge graph is now available as a remote MCP server. Connect any MCP-compatible AI tool — Claude Desktop, Cursor, or anything else — to the Observatory with a single URL. No install, no API keys, no configuration files. Six tools: semantic search, node lookup, glossary, observer profiles, graph traversal, and constellations.

  • NewTelescope Protocol — TEO's knowledge graph as a hosted remote MCP server at theelephantobservatory.org/api/mcp
  • NewSix MCP tools: search_nodes, get_node, lookup_glossary, get_observer, explore_neighborhood, get_constellation
  • NewClaude Desktop integration — connect via Settings → Connectors → paste the URL, no credentials needed
  • NewCursor integration — one-line mcp.json entry with just the URL
  • NewTelescope Protocol landing page at /mcp with setup instructions for every client
  • ImprovedField Guide and About page updated to surface the MCP server
v0.9.34-betaApril 23, 2026Design System Reference + Onboarding Motto

A comprehensive design system reference page now lives at /admin/ui-reference — every color, font, surface, ornament, button, input, badge, tag, card, and animation TEO uses, on one scrollable surface with copy-to-clipboard tokens. The onboarding Welcome slide also got a new site motto and softer framing.

  • NewAdmin UI Reference — exhaustive design system page covering palette, typography, surfaces, ornaments, buttons, inputs, badges, tags, cards, tables, skeletons, dialogs, and animations
  • NewOnboarding Welcome slide now carries the site motto: 'It's Elephant, all the way down'
  • ImprovedAdmin channels page shows 'Last synced' and 'Last video' columns for quicker pipeline oversight
  • ImprovedTEO description on the Welcome slide softened to 'an attempt at such a map' — more honest framing
v0.9.33-betaApril 19, 2026Seeker Atelier + Donation Link

You can now create your own AI-generated portrait from your profile page. Head to Profile → Atelier, write a short personal twist describing how you'd like to appear, and the Observatory generates a gold-toned portrait in TEO's visual style. Previous portraits are saved so you can browse and restore earlier versions. Also: the pricing page now has a simple donation option for readers who just want to keep the lamps lit.

  • NewSeeker Atelier — self-service AI portrait generation from your profile page, with a personal twist prompt you control
  • NewPortrait history — browse and restore any of your previous portraits
  • NewPortrait lightbox — click your avatar anywhere in the shell to see it full-size
  • NewYour avatar now appears in the header bar, Thoth chat, Oracle, Passages, and the Observatory dashboard
  • NewPricing page: 'A Gift to the Observatory' — a direct donation link via Wise, no account needed
  • ImprovedPortrait prompt assembly moved server-side for security — your personal twist is sanitized before reaching the AI
v0.9.32-betaApril 19, 2026Archive Redesign + Unified Tags + Thoth Links

The Archive has been rebuilt from scratch as a full-width discovery surface — a random featured node at the top, cluster-grouped horizontal rails below, and inline filters for taxonomy clusters, observers, and free-text search. Tags across the entire site now use a single unified badge shape (pill on three corners, sharp manuscript-corner cut on the lower-left) with cluster-derived color. And Thoth now renders markdown in its responses and can link directly to nodes in your Grimoire.

  • ImprovedArchive page completely redesigned — featured node hero, cluster-grouped horizontal rails, and inline filter toolbar replacing the old grid + sidebar layout
  • ImprovedTag badges unified across all surfaces — single shape with cluster-derived color instead of three different variants (plain/sm/illuminated)
  • ImprovedThoth sidebar chat now renders markdown — bold, lists, links, and code blocks instead of raw text
  • NewThoth can link directly to nodes in your Grimoire — click a node title in a response to open it
  • FixedOpening a node detail overlay from the Archive no longer tears down and remounts the page behind it
  • ImprovedFull-bleed pages (Map, Gymnasium) now get the full viewport height without footer subtraction
  • ImprovedSidebar icons refreshed — Feed and Lectio use more distinctive icons
v0.9.31-betaApril 19, 2026The Illuminated Band + Admin Health Dashboard

The header has been completely rebuilt. Every page now flows through a unified 'Illuminated Band' — a scrollable, responsive top bar that shows where you are, what you can do, and adapts gracefully on mobile. Behind the scenes, a new admin health dashboard gives a single-screen overview of platform vitals.

  • NewIlluminated Band — a unified, scroll-aware header that replaces the old page-by-page header zoo with a single responsive system
  • NewAdmin health dashboard at /admin/health — cross-domain platform vitals (nodes, observers, edges, orphans, recent activity) on one screen
  • NewObserver contact & profile enrichment — admin UI for adding contact details and professional context to observer profiles
  • ImprovedEvery page now uses ShellTitle for consistent, animatable page headers — no more bespoke header markup per route
  • ImprovedPipeline card layout tightened — stats sit inline with dates, less visual noise
  • ImprovedMobile navigation: the Band collapses cleanly, sidebar closes on link tap, and touch targets are properly sized
  • FixedFooter no longer scrolls horizontally on small viewports
v0.9.30-betaApril 18, 2026Auth Emails Reworked

Every Supabase auth email has been redesigned from scratch. A new tight-cropped gold hero lockup (down from 853 KB to 15 KB, no more dead black band), star-shape dividers that match the in-app ornament language, a three-star colophon at the end of each message, and proper preheader copy that earns its space in the inbox preview. Two previously missing templates — change-email and reauthentication-OTP — are now shipping too, so all six Supabase auth events have a TEO-native email.

  • NewChange-email confirmation template — fires when you update the email on your account
  • NewReauthentication template — a 6-digit verification code for sensitive actions like changing your password while logged in
  • ImprovedAll six auth emails now use the same tight hero lockup, star fleuron divider, and three-star colophon as the in-app ornamentation framework
  • ImprovedEmail hero image regenerated at 15 KB (down from 853 KB) so Gmail stops clipping long emails, and the black dead-space above and below the wordmark is gone
  • ImprovedPreheader text (what you see next to the subject line in your inbox) now carries real copy instead of placeholder padding
v0.9.29-betaApril 18, 2026Star Map Redesign

The knowledge graph now looks like a genuine star chart. Every node is a six-pointed star sized by how many connections it has — a few faint pinpoints for isolated ideas, bright luminous stars for the most-connected hubs. Taxonomy clusters have gentle gravitational pull, so intellectually related ideas drift into visible neighborhoods without forcing a rigid layout.

  • ImprovedGraph nodes are now six-pointed stars instead of circles — size and glow intensity reflect how connected each idea is
  • ImprovedStars bloom with a two-layer glow, each with a bright white core, giving the map a genuine star-chart appearance
  • ImprovedEach star is subtly rotated based on its ID, so the field looks organic rather than uniform
  • ImprovedTaxonomy clusters now have gravitational pull — related ideas drift into visible neighborhoods on the Celestial Map
  • ImprovedEdge connection points sit at the star spike tips and rotate with each star
  • ImprovedThe onboarding map preview now shows a 3-hop neighborhood for a richer first impression of the graph
v0.9.28-betaApril 18, 2026Map Node Highlighting
  • FixedClicking a node no longer makes most of the map disappear — edges stay visible and the graph stays readable
  • ImprovedSelecting a node now gently pans to center it instead of aggressively zooming in on its neighborhood
  • ImprovedSelected node and its 1-hop connections glow brighter; everything else stays at normal opacity
v0.9.27-betaApril 18, 2026Map Interaction Overhaul

A complete rethink of how you interact with the knowledge map. Nodes are no longer draggable — click to explore. The full map highlights your node's connections and zooms to fit without disturbing the organic layout. Neighborhood graphs keep their sector fan-out for focused inspection.

  • ImprovedClicking a node on the Celestial Map highlights 1-hop connections and zooms to fit — without rearranging the surrounding graph
  • ImprovedNeighborhood graphs (in archive, grimoire, and quest sidebars) still fan neighbors into readable relationship sectors on click
  • ImprovedNodes are no longer draggable on any map — interaction is now click-to-select, which is faster and more stable
v0.9.26-betaApril 18, 2026Night Sky Map + Edge Routing
  • ImprovedThe Celestial Map now reads like a night sky — nodes breathe with generous spacing instead of clumping into a dense ball
  • ImprovedMap edges now fan out around each node by relationship type instead of all converging on a single point
v0.9.25-betaApril 18, 2026Knowledge Map Stability + Bezier Edges
  • FixedKnowledge map no longer collapses when dragging nodes — the force simulation works correctly with React Flow again
  • FixedNodes now spread out properly with visible spacing and clusters instead of piling on top of each other
  • ImprovedAll map edges now render as smooth bezier curves instead of straight lines
  • ImprovedForce simulation settles twice as fast, matching the original convergence rate
v0.9.24-betaApril 17, 2026Ornamentation Framework + Invite Integrity

A sweeping visual overhaul lands across every major surface — archive, oracle, onboarding, constellation, map, grimoire, auth, and pricing — using a new three-tier ornamentation system of ornamental rules, framed blocks, and illuminated initials. The invite flow is also rebuilt from the ground up: every non-observer visitor now walks the full welcome tour before claiming access, and the invite closing slide shows exactly what they're about to receive.

  • NewOrnamentation framework: ornamental rules, framed blocks (Tier I–III), and illuminated-initial drop caps now applied across all major pages
  • ImprovedInvite closing slide now shows a gold pill with the exact access tier being granted (e.g. 'Patron membership — for life')
  • FixedNon-observer invite links now correctly require visitors to walk the welcome tour before signing up — no more bypassing onboarding
  • FixedEmail confirmation after invite signup now lands on the redemption step, not back at slide one of the welcome tour
  • FixedAdmin invite counter now correctly shows 1/1 used after a successful redemption
  • NewKnowledge map runs its force simulation in a background worker — the map stays interactive during layout without blocking the page
  • NewObserver hover cards appear on portrait chips across the platform, showing observer bio and node count on hover
v0.9.23-betaApril 17, 2026Liminal Feed Streaming Catalog

The Liminal Feed now behaves like a proper source-video browse surface: a featured transmission at the top, horizontal shelves below, and search/filter controls integrated directly into the page instead of parked in a side rail.

  • ImprovedLiminal Feed redesigned as a source-first streaming catalog with a featured transmission hero and horizontal shelves of talks
  • ImprovedSearch, sort, and observer/channel filters now live inline inside the feed itself — no more permanent right-side filter pane
  • ImprovedSource cards now show observer portraits, stronger title hierarchy, and smoother loading as more transmissions appear
  • ImprovedFeatured transmission card is visually clearer, with stronger gold framing and faster paths into playback and extracted ideas
v0.9.22-betaApril 16, 2026Observer Transmutation — Woodcut Portraits

Observers now have AI-generated woodcut portraits in the Orbis Pictus style. A new admin Transmutation page lets you upload reference photos and generate portraits via Gemini, with a 4-variant picker and circular crop editor. Portraits appear across the entire platform — node cards, observer profiles, onboarding slides, constellation pages, and more.

  • NewTransmutation admin page — upload reference photos, generate 4 portrait variants via Gemini, pick a favorite, crop to circle, and save
  • NewClick-to-enlarge portrait popover on observer detail pages and node sidebars
  • NewObserver portraits now appear on every node card, constellation tile, observatory telescope, and onboarding slide
  • ImprovedOnboarding slides upgraded from text-only name pills to portrait chips — The Constellation, The Company You're In, and Connected Observers
  • ImprovedObserver avatar borders standardized to gold/30 across all surfaces for visual consistency
  • ImprovedShared image generation utility extracted from pipeline — eliminates duplicated Gemini REST and Storage logic
v0.9.21-betaApril 16, 2026Platform Health Dashboard

New admin page that shows at-a-glance status across every domain — content quality gaps, observer completeness, user metrics, pipeline health, AI costs, and editorial queues. Every metric links to the page where you fix it.

  • NewPlatform Health page — single view of everything that needs attention across all 7 domains (content, observers, users, engagement, pipeline, AI, editorial)
  • NewObserver completeness table with gap filters and minimum-node threshold — instantly see which observers are missing bio, image, codex, or authority context
  • NewColor-coded gap indicators — green when healthy, amber when attention needed, red when action required
  • ImprovedEvery metric and gap indicator links directly to the admin page where you can remedy the issue
v0.9.20-betaApril 15, 2026Lectio Cards — Composite Woodcut Heroes
  • NewLectio cards now show stacked vertical slices of the first five referenced node illustrations — each slice framed with a gold border like manuscript pages fanned on a desk
  • ImprovedLectio index cards instantly communicate what's inside a reading route without needing a dedicated cover image
v0.9.19-betaApril 14, 2026Onboarding Oracle — First Contact Quality

The Oracle on the welcome slides now matches the full Oracle experience. Answers are no longer truncated, citations render as proper chips, and relational queries actually find the right nodes.

  • FixedOracle responses on the onboarding slides no longer cut off mid-sentence — token budget raised from 600 to 4,096
  • FixedCitation markers like [1] now render as styled chips with tooltips instead of raw text
  • FixedFollow-up questions ('tell me more about that') now retrieve relevant nodes instead of random ones — query rewriting enabled
  • ImprovedRelational questions naming two thinkers now guarantee context from both — observer-name anchoring added
  • ImprovedOracle on onboarding now has full graph awareness — corpus summary and edge neighbor context injected into the system prompt
  • ImprovedSource list shows all returned sources with numbered references and links to the archive, replacing the old capped thumbnail list
v0.9.18-betaApril 14, 2026Admin Portal v2

Complete internal tooling overhaul — shared UI kit, consistent tables and dialogs, collapsible navigation, and Cmd+K command palette across all 42 admin pages.

  • NewCmd+K command palette — fuzzy search to jump to any admin page instantly
  • NewCollapsible sidebar nav groups with persistent state — collapse sections you're not using
  • NewShared admin UI kit — AdminPageShell, AdminDataTable, AdminConfirmDialog, AdminStatusBadge, AdminSearchInput, AdminMetricCard, and skeleton loading
  • NewuseAdminFetch hook — eliminates repetitive auth and fetch boilerplate across all admin pages
  • ImprovedAll admin tables now use consistent styling, sort controls, and skeleton loading states
  • ImprovedAll destructive actions use proper confirmation dialogs instead of browser confirm()/alert()
  • ImprovedSidebar regrouped into 5 logical sections — quests, lectio, and graph-preview now discoverable in the nav
  • FixedAdmin notifications page now shows the sidebar and Thoth panel (was missing the admin layout)
v0.9.17-betaApril 14, 2026Observatory Header & Carousel
  • ImprovedObservatory stats strip redesigned — node count, connections, and trending topic now displayed as structured items with clear visual hierarchy instead of a cramped dot-separated line
  • ImprovedRecently Added section converted to a horizontal carousel with smooth scrolling, snap points, and navigation arrows
  • ImprovedObserver and artifact presence combined into a single ambient line with a pulsing heartbeat indicator
v0.9.16-betaApril 14, 2026Oracle Multi-Observer Queries
  • FixedOracle now correctly retrieves nodes from all thinkers named in a question — asking about two people (e.g. 'What connects Schmachtenberger and Vervaeke?') previously returned context biased toward only one of them
  • ImprovedRemoved stale Lectio link from the footer
v0.9.15-betaApril 14, 2026Field Guide — Content Update & Contextual Popovers

The Field Guide catches up with everything that shipped since the Communal Layer, and every major page now has an ℹ button that explains what you're looking at without leaving the page.

  • NewContextual Field Guide popovers — a small ℹ button on every major page opens a summary with a deep-link to the full documentation
  • NewConstellations section added to the Field Guide — weekend editorial themes now documented
  • NewSearch & Shortcuts section — ⌘K palette, sidebar toggle, and keyboard navigation documented
  • ImprovedGrimoire section rewritten — now covers Thoth, saved Graph Views, Study Desk, highlights, and Oracle conversation history
  • ImprovedGymnasium section rewritten — reflects quest-first redesign, Free Play, Epistemic Ledger, and Illuminations
  • ImprovedLectio section updated from three types to four (editorial, observer, constellation, generated)
  • ImprovedQuick Glossary expanded from 14 to 22 terms — Sentinel, Thoth, Codex, Quest, and more
v0.9.14-betaApril 13, 2026Chapter Narrative Prose

Quest chapters now tell stories, not just present encyclopedia entries. Each chapter generates two slides — a faithful summary and a chapter-type-shaped narrative — giving quests a real narrative arc from first encounter through revelation.

  • NewAI-generated chapter prose — each chapter produces a condensed summary and a narrative reframing shaped by chapter type (encounter, tension, reflection, synthesis, threshold, revelation)
  • NewTwo-slide reading flow — summary and prose are separate pages with their own transitions, pacing the reader through ground truth then interpretation
  • NewSource attribution on every chapter — transparent disclaimer that narrative prose is AI-generated, with links to the original nodes
  • ImprovedSentinel now receives both the narrative the reader saw and the original source material, grading for conceptual understanding rather than word-matching
  • ImprovedAdmin quest composer shows editable Summary and Chapter Prose fields per node in each chapter card
  • ImprovedQuest generation prompt expanded with per-chapter-type voice directions and full node descriptions for richer output
v0.9.13-betaApril 13, 2026Lectio — Guided Readings Through the Knowledge Graph

A new contemplative reading experience. Curated sequences of nodes presented as full-screen slide decks — the lightest-weight guided journey in the Observatory, free and open to everyone.

  • NewLectio — guided reading routes with intro, per-node slides (tier toggle, observer attribution), and outro
  • NewThree editorial lectiones seeded: New to TEO, The Meaning Crisis Thread, From Thermodynamics to Religion
  • NewAuto-generate lectiones from Codex Personalium reading paths and Constellation featured nodes
  • NewLectio added to sidebar navigation, footer, and Field Guide
  • NewCross-links from Constellation and Observer pages when a published lectio exists
  • NewAdmin page for creating, editing, publishing, and previewing lectiones
  • ImprovedCodex Personalium reading path now shows a 'Begin this Reading Path' button when a lectio is available
v0.9.12-betaApril 13, 2026The Gymnasium — Quests, Free Play & Illuminations

A substantial overhaul of the Gymnasium: a full chapter-based quest system, a Free Play mode for practicing any unmastered node, and a new Illuminations panel in the Epistemic Ledger that silently marks meaningful milestones in your journey.

  • NewChapter-based quest system — curated narrative arcs with per-chapter Sentinel challenges and XP bonuses
  • NewFree Play mode — pick a random unmastered node, read it, then face the Sentinel at Apprentice, Adept, or Magus tier
  • NewAttempt next tier from the Ledger — each mastered node shows an Attempt Adept/Magus button that launches Free Play pre-loaded
  • NewLedger Illuminations — 12 silent milestone markers (First Light, Magus Attained, Polymathic Range…) discovered as you grow, never chased
  • ImprovedFree Play result screen shows the full XP ledger with per-dimension deltas and level-up indicators
  • ImprovedGymnasium navigation redesigned — Dashboard, Quests catalog, Epistemic Ledger, and Practice screens in a clean rail
v0.9.11-betaApril 12, 2026Unified Overlays & Popover Polish
  • ImprovedNode detail overlay is now a centered panel with visible backdrop — no longer takes over the full screen
  • FixedClosing the node detail overlay no longer reloads the page behind it — active filters and searches are preserved
  • ImprovedConsistent backdrop treatment (subtle blur + darken) across all popups, modals, and overlays
  • ImprovedNode detail overlay shows the header image at full prominence with Back and Close buttons in the title bar
v0.9.10-betaApril 12, 2026Artifacts — The Communal Layer

TEO is no longer solo. Leave reflections, see what others thought, watch the graph warm up. Collectivity through shared traces, not conversation.

  • NewArtifact system — reflections, highlights, notes, and more leave anonymous traces on the knowledge graph
  • NewReflect button on every node — prompted micro-responses with reciprocity gate (share yours to see others')
  • NewChorus — AI synthesis of collective reflections, generated when a node accumulates enough voices
  • NewHeat map layer on the Celestial Map — nodes glow warmer where seekers have been
  • NewArtifact presence on the Observatory — live weekend activity alongside co-presence counts
  • ImprovedUnified sidebar actions — Reflect, Grimoire, Tollbridge, and Report in a consistent chamfered grid
  • ImprovedTollbridge moved from inline article to popup dialog — cleaner reading experience
  • NewField Guide section on Artifacts — what we don't do (no notifications, no ranking, no vanity metrics) and slippery slopes we're watching
v0.9.9-betaApril 12, 2026Codex Personalium — Observer Field Guides

Every Observer with enough published ideas now gets a Codex — an AI-generated intellectual portrait synthesised from their work. Explore their core themes, key concepts, connections to other thinkers, and a suggested reading path.

  • NewCodex Personalium: AI-generated field guide for each Observer, accessible from their profile
  • NewGitBook-style codex reader with sticky table of contents, themed sections, and reading path
  • NewAdmin dashboard at /admin/codex-personalium for generating, previewing, and managing codices
  • NewEmbedding-based diversity sampling ensures large observers (100+ nodes) generate without timeout
  • ImprovedField Guide updated with Codex Personalium documentation and faithfulness guarantees
  • ImprovedCodex generation prompt published on /transparency for full accountability
v0.9.8-betaApril 11, 2026Global Search + Command Palette (D6)

Press Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K) anywhere in TEO to search across nodes, observers, glossary terms, and your Grimoire — all in one place.

  • NewGlobal search with Cmd+K command palette — search nodes, observers, glossary, and pages from anywhere
  • NewGrimoire personal search — your saved nodes are included in search results
  • NewDedicated /search results page with categorised tabs
  • ImprovedReading scale control: smoother interaction and visual refinements
v0.9.7-betaApril 11, 2026Graph + Onboarding Polish
  • ImprovedGraph edge rendering: cleaner typed edges with smoother curves
  • ImprovedFull map view: layout and interaction refinements
  • ImprovedOnboarding map slides: simplified and more responsive
v0.9.6-betaApril 11, 2026Readable by Default + Text Size Preference

TEO now ships at a larger, more comfortable reading scale. A new Text Size control in the sidebar and profile settings lets you choose Small, Normal, or Large — your preference is remembered across sessions.

  • ImprovedDefault text size increased to 125% for improved readability across the site
  • NewText Size control in the sidebar — choose Small, Normal, or Large to adjust all text and spacing
  • NewText Size selector in profile Preferences for easy discoverability
  • ImprovedYour text size choice is saved and remembered across sessions and page reloads
v0.9.5-betaApril 11, 2026Graph Unification + Source Accordion + Thoth Save
  • ImprovedKnowledge graph maps unified — FullMapView and EmbedMapView share a single rendering engine
  • NewSource video accordion on node detail — expand to see the original video metadata and link
  • ImprovedThoth save button: richer UX with confirmation, error states, and save-to-Grimoire flow
  • ImprovedGraph nodes: visual polish on ManuscriptNode rendering and prep hooks
  • ImprovedOrder II candidate panel in admin: expanded filters and display
  • FixedEmbed map view: layout and interaction fixes
v0.9.4-betaApril 10, 2026Observatory Dashboard + Node Overlay

The Observatory home page was redesigned with live data widgets. Clicking a node anywhere on the site now opens a polished overlay instead of a full page navigation — read, explore neighbors, and return where you were.

  • ImprovedObservatory dashboard redesigned with live pulse, activity log, and telescope widgets
  • NewNode detail overlay — click any node card to open a rich preview without leaving the current page
  • ImprovedNode detail content: expanded layout with better typography and section structure
  • ImprovedEdge recalculation: smarter bridge edge generation and batch recalculation in admin
  • NewAPI routes: random node endpoint, observatory log, pulse, and telescope data feeds
  • FixedDuplicate logbook entry removed; deploy skill now deduplicates against previous entries
v0.9.3-betaApril 10, 2026Constellation-Aware Oracle + Navigation Polish

The Oracle and Passages now know about the current weekend's constellation. If you visit a constellation page and then ask the Oracle a question, it draws from those featured nodes. Navigation gets descriptive tooltips on hover.

  • NewOracle is constellation-aware — when launched from a constellation page, it prioritises those featured nodes in its answers
  • NewPassages can be started from a constellation CTA — Chiron acknowledges the constellation theme in the opening
  • NewNavigation tooltips — hovering over sidebar links shows a brief description of each section
  • NewConstellation graph visualization on the constellation landing page
  • ImprovedSidebar: cleaner layout with tooltip descriptions for collapsed and expanded states
  • ImprovedGymnasium and Scriptorium: smoother screen transitions and layout refinements
  • ImprovedConstellation admin: feature prompts field for editorial guidance
v0.9.2-betaApril 10, 2026Gymnasium, Field Guide Redesign + Observer Profiles

The Scholar's Ledger is now the Gymnasium — a better name for the interactive learning space. The Field Guide got a full redesign, and observer profiles now show topic distribution as visual bars.

  • ImprovedScholar's Ledger renamed to Gymnasium — clearer identity for the RPG and interactive learning space
  • ImprovedField Guide fully redesigned with new layout and navigation
  • ImprovedObserver profiles: topic distribution shown as horizontal bars instead of a tag cloud
  • ImprovedTransparency page: system prompts now organised in a tabbed interface
  • ImprovedPricing page: First Light callout only shown to new users; Early Access notice moved above the tiers
  • FixedLanding page observer count now reflects only observers with published content
  • NewRemotion video generation scaffold — templates for Node Explainers and Constellation Teasers
v0.9.1-betaApril 10, 2026Logbook, Beta Branding + Deploy Skill

First deploy using the new logbook system. TEO now tracks every production release in a public changelog, declares its Early Access status, and has a one-command deploy workflow.

  • NewThe Architect's Logbook — public changelog at /logbook with 11 retrospective entries from v0.1.0 to present
  • NewEarly Access notice on the pricing page — honest about rough edges, inviting feedback
  • NewBeta badge in the site footer, visible on every page
  • NewDeploy-to-production skill — automatic logbook generation, version bumping, and safe merge workflow
  • ImprovedPassages encounter layout: two-column design and clearer blank threshold display
  • ImprovedNode components unified — one canonical NodeCard with multiple display variants
v0.9.0-betaApril 9, 2026Early Access + Versioning

TEO enters named Early Access. The product has nine completed milestones behind it — it works — but we're honest that rough edges remain. This entry marks the start of the public logbook.

  • NewLogbook — this page
  • NewEarly Access notice on the pricing page
  • NewBeta badge in the site footer
  • ImprovedPassages encounter layout: two-column design and blank threshold display
  • ImprovedNode component architecture unified — one canonical NodeCard, multiple display variants
  • Known issueGrimoire export can time out on collections larger than ~200 nodes
v0.8.4April 7–8, 2026Oracle Intelligence + Welcome Flow

The Oracle got smarter in two directions at once: it now understands the shape of the whole graph, and it adapts its register to the reader.

  • NewOracle Voice Tiers — Apprentice, Adept, and Magus registers; the Oracle modulates its vocabulary to your level
  • NewOracle graph awareness — the Oracle now knows how the Observatory's nodes are connected when it answers
  • ImprovedOracle follow-up queries are now rewritten in context, so asking 'why?' actually means something
  • NewWelcome onboarding: anonymous tour, thin hero landing page, observer routing
  • ImprovedQuest page: bento grid redesign
  • FixedWelcome flow layout and responsive issues; Oracle multi-turn in onboarding
v0.8.3April 5–6, 2026Grimoire Scriptorium Upgrade (D5) + Observer Role
  • NewThoth sidebar in Grimoire — an AI assistant that can query your saved nodes, answer questions about the graph, and export your collection
  • NewStudy Desk — a dedicated reading surface for saved nodes with translation support
  • NewSaved graph views in Grimoire
  • NewGrimoire export through Thoth
  • NewScratchpad notes on the Thoth widget
  • NewObserver role — invited observers receive automatic Patron-level access without a subscription
  • ImprovedThoth AI responses stream in real time
  • FixedGrimoire: removed deprecated Whisper, Thread, and Weave surfaces replaced by public Thoth
  • FixedAuth: email confirmation now routes correctly through /auth/callback; expired OTP messages are human-readable
v0.8.2April 2–4, 2026Knowledge Graph Overhaul (D4) + Constellation Authoring

The knowledge graph was rebuilt from the ground up. The old renderer couldn't keep up with the scale — zooming and panning stuttered at ~160 nodes. The new version runs on React Flow and d3-force, with DOM-rendered nodes that can actually be styled in the manuscript palette.

  • NewKnowledge graph migrated from WebGL reagraph to React Flow — DOM-based nodes, gold-on-dark manuscript styling
  • NewZoom-dependent labels: clusters and tag names at distance, node titles and images up close
  • NewGraph sidebar panel: click a node to see its neighbors, relationship types, and a direct link to the full page
  • NewApophatic Map: rectangular node variant showing what the Observatory doesn't yet cover
  • NewConstellation authoring workflow: multi-tag graph highlighting, admin tag selector
  • NewObservatory admin redesign: status lifecycle, list/detail UI, observer previews
  • ImprovedGraph physics: dragging a node now produces live force response from neighbors
  • FixedGraph edges and node tags were silently truncated at 1,000 rows — now paginated past PostgREST's limit
v0.8.1March 26, 2026AI Hygiene (H1–H3) + Embedding Upgrade

TEO exists partly in response to concerns about AI companions displacing human relationships. This batch formalised that position structurally — not just in copy but in the codebase itself.

  • NewBYOD page (Bring Your Own Discernment) — TEO's public AI ethics statement and design commitments
  • NewChiron engagement metrics — the mentorship guide now tracks epistemic health, not just interaction frequency
  • NewSystem prompts are now publicly visible on the Transparency page
  • ImprovedEmbeddings upgraded to gemini-embedding-2-preview (3072-dimensional vectors) — semantic search is noticeably more accurate
  • ImprovedOracle and Chiron responses are more source-first: ideas are attributed before they're synthesised
v0.8.0March 13–15, 2026AI Model Registry + Project Thoth Admin AI

Two backend projects that will never be visible to most users but make the Observatory significantly more operable. The model registry brings financial honesty to the cost dashboard; Thoth means the admin can query the whole Observatory by asking a question.

  • NewAI Model Registry (ELE-437) — all model IDs, pricing, and defaults in one place; cost tracking now includes Anthropic models
  • NewProject Thoth: conversational AI assistant in the admin panel — ask 'what's the pipeline failure rate?' or 'which nodes have no edges?' in plain English
  • NewThoth remembers operational context across sessions
  • ImprovedAdmin dashboard: summary metrics, recent activity, all section links on one screen
v0.7.0March 8, 2026Orbis Pictus Design System (D1–D2) + Pipeline v2

TEO Orbis Pictus is the active redesign: moving from 'dark sci-fi forum' toward 'illuminated manuscript meets modern web.' D1 and D2 landed the foundation — color palette, typography, textures — and rebuilt the navigation and hero.

  • NewOrbis Pictus design system: gold palette, Cinzel Decorative + EB Garamond typography, aged-paper and stardust textures
  • NewNavigation redesign: sticky top bar with meta-navigation and access tier badge
  • NewLanding page reimagined with immersive sections and animated entrance
  • NewContent Pipeline v2: multi-observer support, YouTube InnerTube API for transcripts, Gemini fallback on Vercel IP blocks
  • NewRetry button for failed pipeline jobs
  • ImprovedConfidence scoring reworked from epistemic to curatorial quality
v0.6.0March 3–5, 2026Complete Admin Portal + Hermes Feedback
  • NewFull admin portal (M1–M3): dashboard, role-based access, AI cost tracking, audit log, feedback log
  • NewHermes Feedback Psychopomp — AI-guided chat for bug reports and feature requests, accessible from anywhere
  • ImprovedHermes: rate limiting, empathetic copy, multi-issue support
v0.5.0March 3–4, 2026Epistemic RPG + Mini-Games + Three-Pane Layout

The Observatory's interactive layer: an Epistemic RPG where your mastery of ideas translates to a character sheet, and a Scriptorium with three daily games.

  • NewEpistemic RPG: character sheet, quest flow, Tollbridge (the Sentinel's question gate), completion modal
  • NewScriptorium mini-games: Rosetta Riddle (cross-domain translation), Alchemist's Table (concept recombination), Daily Illumination
  • NewTEO Triptych: three-column layout with list, detail, and sidebar panes
  • NewShell and standalone route groups for full-screen vs. navigated contexts
v0.4.0March 2, 2026Grimoire + Oracle + Knowledge Graph
  • NewGrimoire: personal knowledge collection with search, tag filters, sort, node images, personal notes, and markdown export
  • NewOracle: streaming AI responses with chat history, starter prompts, source attribution cards, rate limit meter, save to Grimoire
  • NewCelestial Map: knowledge graph with search, zoom controls, tag filters, sidebar, and node images
  • NewNode neighbor mini-map on the node detail page
  • ImprovedCodebase refactor (milestones A–D): shared types, components, hooks, utilities
v0.1.0February 28, 2026First Light

The Observatory opens. Nine milestones of foundation work land in the initial commit: the design system, the content pipeline, the knowledge graph, authentication, payments, and the first 114 nodes.

  • New114 published nodes, 503 edges, 224 glossary terms — the core knowledge graph
  • NewNode detail pages with woodcut images, tiered descriptions (Apprentice / Adept / Magus), and source portal
  • NewPolar billing: Candle, Lantern, Expedition passes and Resident/Patron subscriptions
  • NewSupabase authentication with magic link and email/password
  • NewFirst Light: 3 free Oracle queries and 2 Sentinel attempts for every new account
  • NewField Guide (glossary) with 224 terms
  • NewAbout, Terms, Privacy, Impressum, and Transparency pages
  • NewImage generation pipeline: woodcut-style illustrations for all nodes

Entries reflect user-facing changes. Internal refactors, pipeline fixes, and dependency updates are noted only when they affect observable behaviour.