Platform Updates
& Releases
Follow the evolution of NexCore Labs — features shipped, things polished, bugs squashed.
Current: v2.6.0
Updated: 19 Mar 2026
11 releases
v2.6.0
Latest
19 Mar 2026
Feature voting roadmap launch, guest suggestion flow, and global UX refinements across core pages.
New
- Launched the new Feature Requests & Roadmap board (roadmap.html) to suggest ideas and track implementation progress.
- Added anonymous suggestion submission and guest voting flows.
- Introduced admin review workflows for pending suggestions and inline comment moderation.
Improvements
- Global styling refactor with new assets/css/style.css and cleaner nav links across core pages.
- Smoother expand/collapse interactions in FAQ and Releases sections.
- Modal interactions refreshed with blur effects and more polished transitions.
- Navigation menus upgraded with Font Awesome visual cues.
Fixes
- Fixed suggestion deletion so it is applied in Supabase (no more delete-only-in-UI behavior after refresh).
- Fixed unstable delete flows that could get stuck, with confirmation modals now closing automatically after successful actions.
- Resolved comment-edit save issues by removing the unstable edit-comment path and keeping the comment flow stable.
- Authentication flow simplified to a dedicated login-only page.
Technical
- Integrated Vercel Speed Insights and standardized analytics placement across HTML pages.
- Initialized release history data in assets/data/releases.json.
- Updated service-worker.js cache strategy and precache manifest to avoid stale or missing asset cache entries.
- Added vercel package dependency and consolidated UI scripting in core pages.
Internal
- Accessibility polish: added PayPal link titles and normalized analytics snippet placement.
- Cleaned up blank-line noise in account settings files to keep diffs focused.
v2.5.0
14 Mar 2026
Major UI refresh, releases hub, and performance polish across the platform.
New
- Brand-new dark theme applied to the Hub and homepage.
- Project details upgraded with stats, social links, QR codes, and creator profiles.
- Dedicated Releases page for tracking platform history.
Improvements
- Category chips and filters with richer styling across the explorer experience.
- Polished project category badges and detail layouts for better readability.
- Faster page loads via minified core CSS and JS assets.
Fixes
- Removed stray BOM characters and fixed string interpolation glitches.
- Icon updates across the Releases page for consistent visual language.
Technical
- Custom-styled version dropdown replacing the native select.
- New cookie consent manager and authentication UI components.
- Added rel="noopener" on external links for improved security.
Internal
- Added Apple Touch icon and social meta tags for richer sharing.
- Core JS bootstrapping and layout styling refreshed across the site.
v2.4.1
7 Mar 2026
Fixing known problems and updating the service worker.
Fixes
- Fixed known issues reported in the latest release.
Technical
- Updated service-worker.js for better caching stability.
v2.4.0
7 Mar 2026
Project categories, contact information, and 16 color-coded category types with hub filtering.
New
- Contact Information section in account settings — set a public email and phone number displayed on your project page.
- 16 project categories with color-coded badges: Technology, Business, Education, Finance, Healthcare, Environment, and more.
- Category filtering on the Hub — browse all published projects by type in one tap.
- Category stats section at the bottom of the Hub showing project counts per category.
Improvements
- Enhanced tooltip styling with blur effect and shadow for better readability.
- Consistent input field colours and borders across the whole site.
- Task counter on the homepage bumped from 120+ to 360+.
- Data export now includes your contact email and phone number.
- Cleaned up footer links across multiple pages.
Technical
- New project-categories.js module — normalisation, slug aliases, badge rendering, SVG icon map for all 16 categories.
- New assets/css/project-categories.css with CSS variables per category and badge component styles.
- Dropdown functionality extracted into reusable initPortalSelect() — panels portalled to document.body to eliminate z-index stacking issues.
- Cookie icons converted from emoji to inline SVG for consistent cross-platform rendering.
Database
- Added contact_email and phone_number columns to the users table.
- Projects now carry a category field with normalisation and legacy alias support.
Internal
- Updated version.js to v2.4.0.
- Added sql/ to .gitignore.
- Removed legacy cookie-consent.css — fully migrated to Cookie Manager v2.
v2.3.0
7 Mar 2026
User profiles, AI project insights, creator sections on project pages, QR downloads, and view counters.
New
- Your display name (full name, username, or email prefix) shown everywhere instead of the raw email address.
- Project pages now feature a Creator section with your avatar, name, and public contact links.
- AI Project Insights — generate a smart summary on any project page with one click.
- QR codes can now be downloaded as PNG directly from project pages.
- View count and creation date badges added to every project page.
- Social sharing buttons for X, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp on all project pages.
Improvements
- Navbar now shows your avatar and display name when signed in.
- Project cards on the Hub redesigned with creation date and view count metadata.
- Hub now loads newest projects first (descending order).
Technical
- Added getUserDisplayName() and getUserAvatar() helpers across all pages.
- New project_insights action in /api/ai — returns { summary, insights[] }.
- Owner-check in project.html tightened with .eq('owner_user_id', session.user.id).
Database
- Added creator_name and creator_avatar_url to the projects table.
- Auto-backfill logic for legacy projects missing creator metadata on next dashboard load.
- User profile sync on login now stores avatar URL in the users table.
v2.2.0
6 Mar 2026
Cookie Consent v2 rollout, moderation UI in dashboard, improved modals, and AI loading animations.
Improvements
- Upgraded to Cookie Consent Manager v2 — granular control over analytics, external media, and AI cookies with a polished modal.
- Redesigned Delete Account modal — animated, accessible, with proper focus trapping and ARIA attributes.
- New Delete Project confirmation modal — replaces browser confirm() dialogs site-wide.
- Dashboard now displays your project's moderation status via a colour-coded badge with a reason popup on tap.
- AI generate buttons animate with a shimmer sweep and burst sparkles while loading.
- Footer updated with proper PayPal logo across all pages.
Fixes
- Fixed z-index issue with AI style dropdown — panel now portals to document.body.
- Removed stale "BETA" badges from account, dashboard, and hub headings.
Technical
- New api/moderate-project.js — rule-based + Gemini-powered moderation, optional moderation_logs table, controls publish state.
- GET /api/ai?usage=1 added — fetch quota stats without consuming an action.
- Cookie HTML removed from all page bodies; injected by cookies.js (v2) with granular categories, focus trap, and a11y.
Database
- Added moderation_status, moderation_reason, last_moderated_at to projects.
- Created moderation_logs table for full audit trail of all moderation decisions.
v2.1.0
1 Mar 2026
AI Assist launched — enhance descriptions, generate card briefs, with 3-action daily limits.
New
- AI Assist in the dashboard — rewrite your page description in Professional, Shorter, Technical, or Inspiring tone.
- AI Card Brief generator — derive a concise hub card description from your full page description in one click.
- AI actions are limited to 3 per day — your remaining count is always visible in the dashboard.
- Copy Page Link button added to the dashboard for instant sharing.
- Slug preview updates live as you type the project name.
API
- New api/ai.js — Google Gemini via @google/genai, Bearer JWT required, enforces 3-per-day limit via Supabase RPC.
- Supported actions: improve_page, card_summary, project_insights.
- Debug endpoint api/models.js for listing available Gemini models (temporary).
Database
- New ai_usage table for per-user daily tracking with RLS.
- RPC consume_ai_use(max_uses) — atomic daily limit enforcement.
- RPC get_ai_usage(max_uses) — returns used/remaining counts.
- Separate card_description and page_description fields added to projects table.
Internal
- Added @google/genai ^1.43.0 to package.json.
- Gemini model configurable via GEMINI_MODEL env var (default: models/gemini-2.5-flash).
v2.0.0
Major Release
10 Feb 2026
Complete platform rebuild — Supabase auth, user dashboards, project management, dynamic hub.
Why this matters — v2.0.0 is the graduation from a static showcase to a fully dynamic platform. Any SQU student can now sign in, create a project, and publish it to the hub — zero technical setup required. This release is the foundation everything else was built on.
New
- Sign in with your SQU Google account — no password, no friction.
- New Dashboard — create, edit, and publish your project in minutes.
- New Account Settings — view your profile, export data, delete your account.
- Projects get dedicated public pages with QR codes and social sharing.
- Hub now loads projects live from the database — always up-to-date.
- Per-project page visit analytics tracking.
- Trustpilot review widget integrated on the hub.
Technical
- Integrated @supabase/supabase-js for full backend, auth, and database.
- New assets/js/supabase-client.js — shared client initialisation across all pages.
- New assets/js/auth-ui.js — global auth state, navbar injection, avatar support.
- Serverless functions: api/track-visit.js, api/delete-account.js.
- New lib/supabaseAdmin.js for service-role server-side operations.
Database
- Migrated from static data/projects.json to a live Supabase projects table.
- Created users, projects, page_visits_daily tables.
- Row Level Security (RLS) enabled on all user-facing tables.
v1.2.0
3 Feb 2026
Service Worker rewrite, cookie consent, offline support, and UI polish across all pages.
Improvements
- Added offline support — previously visited pages remain accessible without internet.
- Introduced the cookie consent banner — analytics only load with your explicit permission.
- Leader image replaced with an optimised WebP photo.
- Meta tags updated site-wide for better social sharing previews on all platforms.
- Oman badge added and navigation order improved for a more natural flow.
Fixes
- Fixed broken image paths in the Service Worker precache list.
- Hardened signup form validation against incomplete or malformed submissions.
Technical
- Full rewrite of service-worker.js — precaching, stale-while-revalidate runtime strategy, navigation preload, and offline.html fallback.
- Image cache capped at 60 entries with LRU eviction via recursive trimCache().
- Backdrop blur values reduced for improved performance on low-end devices.
- Full documentation suite added: implementation notes, quick reference, delivery summary, completion checklist.
v1.1.0
1 Nov 2025
Image compression to WebP, a new research page, UI polish, and Git version control introduced.
Improvements
- All images compressed and converted to WebP — pages load noticeably faster.
- New research page added for academic content.
- General UI improvements and visual polish throughout.
Internal
- Began using Git VCS — all changes tracked from this release onward.
- WebP image compression pipeline established.
- Deleted broken legacy file mobile-preview.html.
v1.0.0
Initial Launch
27 Oct 2025
NexCore Labs went live — the very first version of the platform.
The beginning — NexCore Labs launched as a static showcase for Sultan Qaboos University student projects. This version established the brand identity, design system, and core pages that every future release built upon.
New
- NexCore Labs website live at nexcorelabs.vercel.app.
- Homepage with hero, about, tools, team, and contact sections.
- Project Hub with static project card listings.
- PWA support — installable on mobile and desktop with offline caching.
Technical Foundation
- Pure HTML5 / CSS3 / vanilla JS — zero frameworks, zero dependencies.
- Custom CSS design system with --dark-base, --primary-accent, glass card components.
- Service Worker with basic precaching strategy.
- Google Analytics 4 with IP anonymisation.
- OpenGraph and Twitter Card meta tags site-wide for rich previews.
- Deployed on Vercel with automatic GitHub CI/CD integration.
