HelloThisWorld · HelloThisWorld · Aug 3, 2026 · Aug 3, 2026
@@ -38,7 +38,13 @@ jobs:
 
   validate:
     name: Generate and validate manifests from a public Release
-    if: github.event_name == 'release' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+    # WinGet distributes stable versions only. A prerelease Release (alpha or
+    # beta) must never generate a WinGet manifest, so it is skipped here rather
+    # than failing later on a version string WinGet cannot express. A manual
+    # dispatch still works for republishing an existing stable Release.
+    if: >-
+      (github.event_name == 'release' && !github.event.release.prerelease)
+      || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: windows-2022
     timeout-minutes: 30
     steps:

@@ -1,5 +1,42 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 1.3.0-alpha1 - 2026-08-04
+
+First public prerelease of the Command Timeline. This is an alpha for local
+testing, not a stable release: GitHub Latest and the winTerm website continue
+to point at v1.2.0, and this version is not submitted to WinGet.
+
+### Added
+
+- Promoted the Command Timeline to a testable prerelease, combining engineering
+  checkpoints v1.2.1 through v1.2.4: the pane-owned OSC 133 index, the overlay
+  and deterministic navigation, load/copy/jump entry actions, and pane-local
+  search with the two public settings.
+- Published `commandTimeline.enabled` (default `true`) and
+  `commandTimeline.historyLimit` (default `500`, range 50–5000) under
+  Settings → Appearance → Command timeline.
+
+### Changed
+
+- Advanced the release channel to `alpha` with application version
+  `1.3.0-alpha1`, package/file version `1.3.0.0`, and PowerShell module version
+  `1.3.0` plus prerelease suffix `alpha1`. The release workflow marks any
+  non-stable channel as a GitHub prerelease with `--latest=false`, so the
+  public Latest download remains v1.2.0.
+- Relaxed `verify-version.ps1` from a stable-only gate to a channel-aware one.
+  It now accepts `stable`, `alpha`, and `beta`, and additionally enforces that
+  the channel, the module prerelease suffix, and the application-version suffix
+  agree, that the package version stays four-part numeric, and that the module
+  version stays numeric.
+- Added a prerelease guard to the WinGet workflow so an alpha or beta Release
+  never generates a WinGet manifest.
+
+### Checkpoint status
+
+- Workspace schema, docking model, shell protocol, theme schema, update
+  manifest schema, package identity, and signing policy are unchanged from
+  v1.2.0. The Setup EXE remains unsigned; see the release notes.
+
 ## 1.2.4 - 2026-08-04
 
 ### Added

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
     <XesUseOneStoreVersioning>true</XesUseOneStoreVersioning>
     <XesBaseYearForStoreVersion>2026</XesBaseYearForStoreVersion>
     <VersionMajor>1</VersionMajor>
-    <VersionMinor>2</VersionMinor>
+    <VersionMinor>3</VersionMinor>
     <VersionInfoProductName Condition="'$(WindowsTerminalBranding)'=='WinTerm'">winTerm</VersionInfoProductName>
     <VersionInfoProductName Condition="'$(VersionInfoProductName)'==''">Windows Terminal</VersionInfoProductName>
     <VersionInfoCulture>1033</VersionInfoCulture>

@@ -4,68 +4,63 @@ Last updated: 2026-08-04
 
 ## Repository state
 
-- Branch: `feature/command-timeline-v1.3.0-phase4`
-- Base branch: `main`. Command Timeline Phase 3 (tag `v1.2.3`) was squash-merged
-  to `main` as `5fd2172` through pull request #29.
+- Branch: `release/v1.3.0-alpha1`
+- Base branch: `main` at `ac760eab` (Command Timeline Phase 4, pull request #30)
 - Microsoft Terminal upstream revision:
   `1cea42d433253d95c4487a3037db48197b5e72f4`
-- Engineering application and PowerShell module version: `1.2.4`
-- Engineering package version: `1.2.4.0`
-- Intended checkpoint tag: `v1.2.4`
-- Final Command Timeline release target: `v1.3.0`
-- Current public Latest: `v1.2.0`
+- Application version: `1.3.0-alpha1`
+- Package/file version: `1.3.0.0`
+- PowerShell module version: `1.3.0` with prerelease suffix `alpha1`
+- Release channel: `alpha`
+- Release tag: `v1.3.0-alpha1`
+- Current public Latest: `v1.2.0`, the stable Visual Progress release
 - Supported target: Windows 11 x64
 
-`v1.2.4` is a development checkpoint, not a distributable release. The README
-and GitHub Latest continue to identify v1.2.0 as the public Visual Progress
-release. Checkpoint tags v1.2.1 through v1.2.4 run quick validation only and are
-explicitly excluded from full build, installer packaging, asset publication,
-and GitHub Release jobs.
+`v1.3.0-alpha1` is a published GitHub **prerelease**, not a stable release. The
+release workflow marks any non-stable channel with `--prerelease` and
+`--latest=false`, so `/releases/latest` keeps resolving to v1.2.0. The alpha is
+deliberately not listed on the winTerm website and is skipped by the WinGet
+workflow.
 
-## Implemented in the working tree
+## Command Timeline status
 
-- Retained the Phase 1 index, the Phase 2 overlay and navigation model, and the
-  Phase 3 load/copy/jump entry actions unchanged in behavior.
-- Added pane-local search over each pane's bounded in-memory command text. The
-  match is a literal case-insensitive substring search; there is no regex, no
-  fuzzy matching, no output search, and no terminal-buffer rescan.
-- Added a 256 UTF-16 code-unit query cap that truncates without leaving a lone
-  surrogate, enforced in the model and mirrored by `MaxLength` on the filter box.
-- Reworked the navigation model to walk a filtered projection while keeping
-  stable `CommandId` identity. A still-matching command stays selected, a command
-  that stops matching hands selection to the nearest surviving match, and a new
-  command only takes the selection when it matches and the view was already
-  following the latest command.
-- Added `/` and Tab to focus the filter box. Both are consumed before the PTY,
-  and filter-box text never reaches the shell. Escape now clears a non-empty
-  query before it closes the overlay.
-- Added the `commandTimeline.enabled` and `commandTimeline.historyLimit` global
-  settings with defaults `true` and `500`, a 50–5000 clamped range, JSON schema
-  entries, and a Settings UI section under Appearance. An absent setting is not
-  serialized back, so existing settings files need no migration.
-- Added bounded per-pane history with oldest-first eviction that applies to
-  panes that already exist and to new panes. Raising the limit never resurrects
-  an evicted command and sequence IDs are never reused.
-- Added four distinct empty states so an unsupported shell is never reported as
-  simply having run no commands.
-- Made list item position and set size reflect the filtered result count, and
-  kept localized accessible names, non-color status, High Contrast theme
-  resources, and the Reduced Motion-safe no-animation path.
-- Advanced authoritative engineering version surfaces to `1.2.4`/`1.2.4.0` and
-  added the v1.2.4 root changelog entry.
-- Kept `v1.3.0-alpha` out of scope: no persistent history, no output cache, no
-  telemetry, and no public release work.
+The Command Timeline is feature-complete for its in-memory surface. Engineering
+checkpoints v1.2.1 through v1.2.4 are all merged to `main`:
 
-## Validation state
+| Checkpoint | Scope |
+| --- | --- |
+| `v1.2.1` | Pane-owned OSC 133 index, stable command IDs, bounded command-text cache |
+| `v1.2.2` | Overlay, deterministic navigation, wheel accumulation, accessibility |
+| `v1.2.3` | Load without executing, copy command/output, jump to output, context menu |
+| `v1.2.4` | Pane-local search, public settings, shell degradation, bounded history |
+
+There is no persistent history, no output cache, no output search, and no
+telemetry.
+
+## Release channel handling
+
+`verify-version.ps1` is now channel-aware rather than stable-only. It accepts
+`stable`, `alpha`, and `beta`, and enforces that the channel, the module
+prerelease suffix, and the application-version suffix agree with each other, so
+a prerelease can never publish as Latest and a stable release can never carry a
+prerelease suffix. The package version stays four-part numeric for MSIX and the
+Win32 resource fields, and the PowerShell module version stays numeric with the
+suffix carried in `PrivateData.PSData.Prerelease`.
 
-Phase 4 validation requires the focused Command Timeline model/control tests,
-the Settings Model Command Timeline tests, the extended
-`test-command-timeline.ps1` source, search, settings, and privacy boundaries,
-version and branding verification, release/CI classification guards, repository
-Smoke validation, the smallest affected native projects, and GitHub quick PR
-validation. Record exact results in the Draft PR and final task report; do not
-treat this document as evidence for a command that did not run.
+## Next steps
+
+1. Install `v1.3.0-alpha1` locally and exercise the Command Timeline.
+2. Fix anything the alpha testing surfaces.
+3. Cut `v1.3.0-beta1` on channel `beta`. The beta may be listed on the winTerm
+   website alongside the stable v1.2.0 download.
+4. Promote to a stable `v1.3.0` only after beta testing, which is the point at
+   which Latest, WinGet, and the website stable slot move.
+
+## Validation state
 
-The annotated `v1.2.4` checkpoint tag must point to the final commit that passes
-those gates. Its tag workflow must run checkpoint quick validation only and
-must not create a GitHub Release or update Latest.
+Publication is gated by the tag-triggered release workflow: exact tag/version
+match, release absence, clean checkout, version and branding verification,
+static/security/privacy/workflow gates, an x64 Release build with compiled
+tests, artifact generation, Draft asset re-download testing, and only then
+publication. Record results from those actual runs; do not treat this document
+as evidence for a command that did not run.
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+# winTerm 1.3.0-alpha1
+
+**This is an alpha prerelease for local testing. It is not a stable release.**
+The current stable release remains
+[v1.2.0](https://github.com/HelloThisWorld/winTerm/releases/tag/v1.2.0), and
+`/releases/latest` continues to point there. This alpha is published only as a
+tagged GitHub prerelease; it is not listed on the winTerm website and is not
+submitted to WinGet.
+
+winTerm 1.3.0-alpha1 brings the Command Timeline feature to a testable state.
+It is the combined result of engineering checkpoints v1.2.1 through v1.2.4.
+
+## What is new: Command Timeline
+
+The Command Timeline is a per-pane, in-memory list of the commands that pane
+has run. Open it with `Ctrl+Tab`, or with the handle on the left edge of the
+terminal.
+
+- **Per-pane history.** Each pane keeps its own list, built from OSC 133 shell
+  integration only. winTerm never guesses where a prompt or output begins.
+- **Load without executing.** `Enter` or a single click puts the selected
+  command on the input line and stops there. No carriage return is ever sent,
+  the Windows clipboard is never read, and input broadcast never forwards the
+  load to another pane. You review the command and press Enter yourself.
+- **Filtering.** Press `/` or `Tab` and type to narrow the list. Matching is a
+  plain, case-insensitive substring match over command text only — no
+  wildcards, no regular expressions, no fuzzy matching, and command output is
+  never searched.
+- **Copy and jump.** Right-click an entry to copy the command, copy its output,
+  or scroll to where its output begins. Output is read from the terminal buffer
+  only at that moment and is never cached.
+- **Trustworthy status.** A command shows as succeeded or failed only when the
+  shell actually reported it. Incomplete shell integration reads as Unknown
+  rather than guessing, and status is never conveyed by color alone.
+
+## Keyboard
+
+| Shortcut | Behavior |
+| --- | --- |
+| `Ctrl+Tab` | Toggle the Command Timeline for the focused pane |
+| `Ctrl+T` | Next tab |
+| `Ctrl+Shift+T` | Previous tab |
+| `Ctrl+Alt+T` | Open new tab |
+
+While the Timeline is open:
+
+| Key | Behavior |
+| --- | --- |
+| `/` or `Tab` | Move focus to the filter box |
+| `Up` / `Down` | Move the selection by one command |
+| `Left` / `Right` | Select the first / last command on the current page |
+| `Enter` | Load the selected command; never runs it |
+| `Space` | Scroll the terminal to that command's output |
+| `Ctrl+C` | Copy the selected command text |
+| `Escape` | Clear the filter, or close the Timeline if the filter is empty |
+
+Your own key bindings take precedence over every default above. Keys the
+Timeline consumes are not sent to the shell, and filter text never reaches the
+shell.
+
+## Settings and defaults
+
+A new section lives under **Settings → Appearance → Command timeline**:
+
+```json
+{
+  "commandTimeline.enabled": true,
+  "commandTimeline.historyLimit": 500
+}
+```
+
+- **Show command timeline** defaults on. Turning it off hides the handle,
+  closes an open overlay, and stops `Ctrl+Tab` from opening it.
+- **Commands remembered per pane** defaults to 500 and accepts 50 through 5000.
+  Lowering it discards the oldest commands immediately; raising it does not
+  bring them back.
+
+An existing settings file needs no migration. An out-of-range value is clamped
+into the supported range rather than failing the settings load.
+
+## Shell requirements
+
+The Timeline depends on OSC 133 shell integration.
+
+| Situation | What you see |
+| --- | --- |
+| Capability not yet determined | `Waiting for shell integration` |
+| Shell does not report complete command boundaries | `Command timeline unavailable` |
+| Shell integration works, no commands yet | `No commands yet` |
+| A filter is active and nothing matches | `No matching commands` |
+
+PowerShell with winTerm shell integration reports full boundaries. `cmd.exe`
+does not, and winTerm adds no prompt parser for it, so the Timeline stays
+unavailable there rather than showing untrustworthy results.
+
+## Privacy
+
+- Command text lives only in memory, only in the pane that ran it, and only
+  while that pane is open. Nothing is written to disk; there is no command
+  history file or database.
+- Command output is never cached, indexed, or searched.
+- Filter text is never saved and never leaves the pane.
+- No telemetry is written, and no command, output, path, or filter text is
+  logged.
+- The clipboard is written only by an explicit copy action, and is never read.
+
+See the [privacy policy](https://github.com/HelloThisWorld/winTerm/blob/main/PRIVACY.md).
+
+## Unchanged in this release
+
+Workspace schema (2), docking model (1), shell protocol (1), theme schema (1),
+update manifest schema (1), package identity, and signing policy are all
+unchanged from v1.2.0. Visual Progress behavior is unchanged.
+
+## Known limitations
+
+- The Timeline requires OSC 133 shell integration; it stays unavailable under
+  `cmd.exe`.
+- A multi-line command is refused when the shell has not enabled bracketed
+  paste, because unbracketed line breaks would be read as pressing Enter.
+- Loading a command longer than 1024 characters asks for a confirming `Enter`.
+- Command history does not survive closing a pane, and is intentionally never
+  persisted.
+
+## Installation
+
+The Setup EXE supports current-user and all-users installation; the Portable
+ZIP can be extracted to a writable directory and run without installation.
+
+Publisher: `helloThisWorld`. Tag: `v1.3.0-alpha1`.
+
+Because this is an alpha, install it alongside or after backing up your
+settings. Package identity stays separate from Microsoft Terminal, so it does
+not disturb an existing Windows Terminal installation.
+
+## Signing
+
+The winTerm 1.3.0-alpha1 Setup EXE is not Authenticode-signed. Windows may
+display Unknown Publisher or a SmartScreen warning. Download only from the
+official GitHub Release and verify the file against `SHA256SUMS.txt` before
+running it.
+
+## Policies
+
+- [Code signing policy](https://github.com/HelloThisWorld/winTerm/blob/main/CODE_SIGNING_POLICY.md)
+- [Privacy policy](https://github.com/HelloThisWorld/winTerm/blob/main/PRIVACY.md)
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ foreach ($relativePath in $sourceAssets)
 }
 
 $version = Get-Content -LiteralPath (Join-Path $repositoryRoot 'shell\shared\version.json') -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json
-if ($version.moduleVersion -ne '1.2.4' -or
-    $version.modulePrerelease -ne '' -or
-    $version.applicationVersion -ne '1.2.4' -or
+if ($version.moduleVersion -ne '1.3.0' -or
+    $version.modulePrerelease -ne 'alpha1' -or
+    $version.applicationVersion -ne '1.3.0-alpha1' -or
     $version.protocolVersion -ne 1)
 {
     throw 'The winTerm Shell asset version metadata is invalid.'

@@ -137,6 +137,10 @@ try
             throw "WinGet workflow is missing required boundary '$required'."
         }
     }
+    if (-not $wingetWorkflow.Contains("github.event_name == 'release' && !github.event.release.prerelease"))
+    {
+        throw 'WinGet workflow must skip prerelease Releases so alpha and beta never reach WinGet.'
+    }
     if ($wingetWorkflow.Contains('Repair-WinGetPackageManager -Latest') -or
         $wingetWorkflow -match '(?i)\.msix(bundle)?')
     {