Back to home

Changelog

What changed in each release of Return.

  1. 1.3.1

    PDF preview, files Return cannot open, and search on documents not indexed yet.

    Changed

    • Typing three backticks on an empty line now opens a closed code block, so the rest of the document stays as it was.
    • Inside a code block, Tab indents the line instead of moving focus out of the editor.

    Fixed

    • PDF preview works in the installed app again.
    • Files Return cannot open, such as Pages documents, videos or archives, now say so and offer to reveal them in Finder.
    • Long descriptions in Settings stay inside their cards on macOS 15.
    • Asking about a document that is not indexed yet now searches its text directly and says so.
    • Blanks the AI leaves for you use the placeholder format Return recognizes.
    • The Full content width fills the window edge to edge, without sideways scrolling.

  2. 1.3.0

    Formulas, images and diagrams in your documents, a complete menu bar, and a hardened local AI engine.

    Added

    • Formulas: start a line with $ to define a value ($rate = 11,5%) or calculate in place ($ $principal * $rate). Results show beside your text, update as you type, work inside tables, and are never written into the file. The AI assistant knows the syntax too.
    • Images display in the editor: put ![](assets/photo.png) on its own line and the picture appears in place. Paste a screenshot or drop an image file and Return saves it next to your document. Image files open as a preview from the explorer.
    • Diagrams render in your documents: a mermaid code block draws itself as a flowchart, sequence or other diagram, in light and dark mode. Double-click a diagram to edit its source.
    • Attach screenshots to chat messages (paste with cmd+V, up to 8) and ask Cloud AI about them. Cloud AI can also read images embedded in your documents when your question depends on them. The local model cannot see images yet.
    • The menu bar is complete: File, Edit, View, Window and Help hold every app command, and a Returns menu runs any Return on the current document. Save As (cmd+shift+S) saves a copy and switches to it.
    • Table columns can be resized: drag the edge of a column header, double-click it to reset. Widths are remembered per document and never written into the file.
    • Right-click a chat message to copy its text or check when it was sent; Return results also show how long they took.
    • The local model unloads itself after 30 minutes without a question, freeing memory for other apps. Change or switch this off under Settings → AI → Advanced.

    Changed

    • The local AI engine is hardened: only Return can talk to it, its memory needs are read from the model file itself, and Settings show when a model is starting or why it failed.
    • Return requires macOS 14 or newer; the built-in AI engine starts on Sonoma and Sequoia.
    • Return writes files only to places you have pointed it at: your workspace folders, or a location you chose in a dialog this session.
    • Typing a bracket or quote with text selected wraps the selection instead of replacing it. Works with ( [ { and quotes, and with * _ or backticks on regular text.
    • Result cards in chat are simpler: Open as Document sits next to Insert, and the buttons behave like ordinary buttons.
    • The status bar now says in plain words what the local engine is doing: warming up a model, a model asleep after a quiet spell (it wakes on the next question), an engine error with the reason a hover away, and how many documents are being indexed for search. When two things happen at once the line alternates between them, so nothing is missed.

    Fixed

    • The insert menu (+ or /) is fully keyboard-driven, and pasting a whole markdown file folds its metadata block into the document details instead of showing it as text.
    • Placeholders inside code blocks and diagrams are left alone, and filling placeholders in an unsaved draft proposes the draft title as the file name.
    • Right-clicking an empty line no longer offers AI actions for it, and explorer errors show as an in-app notice instead of a system dialog.

  3. 1.2.2

    The explorer follows you, changes made in Finder are noticed, and damaged settings can be restored.

    Added

    • If your settings file gets damaged, Return tells you and offers to bring your folders back from its backup, on this launch or the next.
    • Open Files shows a small dot on documents semantic search cannot see, with the reason on hover.

    Changed

    • With the Open Files list collapsed, the explorer opens the folder your document lives in and scrolls to the section your cursor is in.
    • Code files (JSON, YAML, TypeScript) use the full width and scroll sideways like a code editor. Prefer wrapping? Turn on "Wrap long lines in code" in Settings → Appearance.
    • Workspace search gives every folder a fair share of the results, and dropping a file onto empty sidebar space asks which folder when you have more than one.

    Fixed

    • Files renamed, moved, deleted or created in Finder are picked up right away: the sidebar and the search index follow them.
    • Dragging a folder from Finder anywhere into the window adds it to your workspace, hidden folders no longer appear as empty, and code projects with node_modules no longer freeze the sidebar.
    • Right-clicking in the Find bar or the line gutter gives the field its own menu, and workspace folders with similar names ("Notes", "Notes2") no longer affect each other.

  4. 1.2.1

    Right-click menus everywhere, clearer AI buttons, and steadier scrolling.

    Added

    • Right-click text in the editor for cut, copy, paste, Ask about this, AI rewrite, any Return, or Find in document. Chat selections, Quick Action buttons and chat messages have their own menus too.

    Changed

    • AI buttons explain what they need instead of failing quietly: no model, not signed in, or no Pro each point to the fix.
    • Settings → Account reads as one card when signed out.

    Fixed

    • Scrolling through very long documents is steady, and clicking back into the document places the cursor where you clicked.
    • Dragging a section from the explorer no longer sweeps a text selection along the way.
    • The browser's Reload and Inspect Element menu no longer appears anywhere in the app.

    Removed

    • The red warning tint on stray formatting characters (*, _, ~) is gone; it flagged ordinary text far too often.

  5. 1.2.0

    Tables you edit in place, AI at the cursor, and a chat that knows what you are looking at.

    Added

    • Insert at the cursor: type / on an empty line or click the + beside it to add a table, image or code block, or ask the AI to draft the passage from the surrounding section.
    • Run a Return from the cursor and have its result land there. Pick what it should read (this document, another one, or a single section) and see the cost before you start.
    • Chat knows what you are looking at: the AI sees your assessments, annotations and the section on screen, so "what is flagged red?" or "summarize this part" just work.
    • Run a Return on another result, regenerate a result and compare versions, or open any result as a new document you can edit and analyze further.
    • Drag to run: drop a document, a section or selected text onto a Quick Action. Text selected in a chat reply can be dragged into the document too.
    • Documents in the file explorer expand into their sections: click one to jump there, right-click to run a Return on that section alone.
    • Return remembers where you left off in every document, imported PDFs included, even after a restart.
    • Edit the system prompts behind the AI features in Settings → Prompts, and tell the AI who you are in Settings → AI → Personalization. Both survive app updates.
    • Make the layout yours: drag the edges of the explorer and chat panel, choose the document column width in Settings → Appearance, and Return remembers it.
    • A single click previews a file in a temporary tab that the next click reuses; double-click or start editing to keep it open.
    • The chat box keeps an unsent draft per document and brings back earlier prompts with the up and down keys.

    Changed

    • Tables are edited in place: click a cell and type, format with the toolbar, right-click for every table operation, and copy a block of cells straight into Excel or Word.
    • CSV files open as spreadsheets you can type into, and code blocks are edited in place with syntax colors. Opening a file never alters it.
    • The cursor moves predictably: arrow keys flow through tables and code blocks and never pause on the hidden markdown behind headings, bold text or links.
    • Annotations are easier to work with: edit a note in place, jump from the lists straight to the fragment, and hover a finding to light up its text.
    • The conversation stays easy to scan: long results open as a short preview, older results fold to one line, and the eye on a result hides its highlights.
    • AI output follows your language: chat replies in the language you write in, Returns answer in the language of the document.
    • AI edits leave fill-in placeholders like [CLIENT_NAME] untouched unless you ask, and writing into an empty document inserts right away.
    • Search is simpler: semantic search turns on with one click, and results show clean excerpts with matches in bold.
    • Lists read the way legal documents do: quiet markers, aligned numbers, roman numerals that continue on Enter, and Tab nesting 1. → a. → i.
    • A quieter interface: one sparkle signal wherever the AI is working, a smooth rounded text selection, dividers from three dashes, reorganized Settings navigation, and an explorer that always shows where you are.

    Fixed

    • Clicking back into a document simply puts the cursor there, popups stay attached to their text while you scroll, and typing stays smooth in very large documents with many highlights.

  6. 1.1.0

    Batch processing for large documents, a smarter model library, and PDF export fixes.

    Added

    • Analyze documents too large for a single pass - Return splits them, works through each part, and combines the results automatically.
    • Imported PDFs and files opened from outside your workspace are now searchable by meaning in chat.
    • The model library now highlights the best local model for your Mac.
    • The file explorer now highlights the file you are working on and expands its folders in the tree so you can see where it lives.
    • Documentation now includes screenshots, and inline UI icons - rendered both in the app and on the website.

    Changed

    • Refreshed the local model catalogue with newer models, each described by what it is good at.
    • The command palette (type "/") now runs a workspace search directly and lists only commands that do something.

    Fixed

    • AI features now always use the model you selected in Settings.
    • More accurate memory estimates for the latest models, so they are no longer flagged as too large for Macs that can run them.
    • Sharper assessment and annotation matching.
    • PDF export now wraps long lines, renders tables, keeps your editor line breaks, and large exports open correctly in Preview and other Apple apps.
    • Assessment highlights and chat history stay attached to your document when you reopen it - and even when you edit the file in another app.

  7. 1.0.0

    First public release of Return.

    Added

    • Local-first document analysis with two bundled llama.cpp engines - fully offline, your documents never leave your Mac.
    • Returns - reusable AI prompt templates with Traffic Light and inline annotation outputs.
    • Semantic search across your workspace, powered by on-device embeddings.
    • Cloud AI (Pro) via an Anthropic-backed proxy.