changelog
all notable changes to Tau will be documented here
v2.10.0
video storage
- new video storage option records straight into a video file, using far less disk space for long or unattended recordings
- hover the info icon next to it to see how it works
recording
- choose a frame quality: high, balanced or small files
- pick a resolution for screen recordings
- the setup preview now shows the shape of your export and fills the free space
overlays
- new fisheye text overlay
- overlays now work in camera + screen mode
camera + screen
- 9:16 exports stack the camera above the screen
- the picture-in-picture stays in frame at 9:16 and 1:1
fixes
- the camera preview no longer fails with "device in use"
- the setup and import screens no longer cut off their title and buttons in small windows
v2.9.0
watermarks
- three new watermark designs with the new tau logo
- the tau wordmark is now the default watermark
- watermarks now scale with your video, so exports match the preview at any resolution
- the trytau.app watermarks are larger so the address is easy to read
fixes
- cropped cameras in picture-in-picture are no longer stretched
- a 16:9 camera crop no longer fails the export on 4:3 webcams
v2.8.4
recording
- capturing is smoother at high resolutions and short intervals
- long recordings at short intervals put less load on your computer
fixes
- pausing no longer cuts a timed recording short
- frames are no longer lost at short intervals or high resolutions
- a full disk now pauses the recording and tells you, instead of silently dropping frames
- a crash while recording can no longer leave the project unable to open
- leaving the capture screen early no longer keeps your screen being captured
- activation errors point to the right button and to support@trytau.app
v2.8.3
home
- select projects on the home screen and delete them, one or several at a time
fixes
- flip camera now applies to the captured timelapse, not just the preview
- the countdown no longer dims a box around the camera preview
- the recording pill no longer has dark corners
- quitting no longer asks to stop capturing after a capture has finished or been cancelled
v2.8.2
fixes
- imported videos keep their full quality instead of looking soft
- imported projects now use the video's real resolution
- exported videos are titled with your project name instead of "Tau_Timelapse"
v2.8.1
fixes
- quitting no longer warns about unsaved changes when your project is already saved
- overlay moves, trim and audio changes are now kept when you save
- the setup preview shows the screen in screen mode, and both in both mode
- the screen selection outline no longer looks cut off along the taskbar
v2.8.0
fonts
- overlays can now use any font installed on your computer, not just the three tau ships with
- search your fonts in the editor instead of scrolling a list
- the message bubble can use your fonts too
- if a project uses a font you don't have, tau tells you when you open it and uses its default instead
v2.7.0
loading ring overlay
- new loading ring overlay that fills up as your timelapse plays, closing on the last frame
- have it as a large ring in the centre or a small one in any corner
- choose a ring or a filled circle, pick the colour, and set how thick it is
- or set it to spin instead of tracking progress
message overlay
- the message bubble's text is now yours to write, with {time} anywhere you want the duration
- pick how the time reads: 1h 23m, 01:23:45, 01:23, or 23:45
fixes
- changing a timer's format no longer switches off centiseconds
v2.6.1
fixes
- the tau icon in the macOS menu bar is now a proper menu bar icon, instead of a squashed app icon
- dropdown menus now open in tau's colours instead of system blue
v2.6.0
interface sounds
- tau now has sound effects for actions like starting a capture, pausing, finishing, and exporting
- turn them on or off and set the volume in settings
navigation
- the sidebar now has home and setup, with editor and export appearing once you have frames to work with
- navigation is locked while a capture is running
capture screen
- the preview is now the shape you picked in setup, instead of always 16:9 with bars
- the camera feed keeps its size when space is tight
app icon
- new app icon, with light and dark versions that follow your theme
onboarding
- refreshed the welcome screens with new icons and up to date info
v2.5.0
the frame timeline
- new timeline ui
- trimmed frames stay on screen but go grey and flat, so you can see what you cut without mistaking it for what you kept
- the trim handles and the playhead no longer look alike
- left/right arrow keys step one frame at a time
- dragging a trim handle now shows the frame number it's on
- fixed the trim handles being almost invisible in light mode
buttons and panels
- new buttons throughout tau, with a proper press to them. on the home screen, the setup screen, import, export and settings
- deactivate is styled as a destructive action without shouting about it
the tau mark
- new logo, and it now shows correctly in both light and dark mode. the site and the app share one file, so they can no longer drift apart
v2.4.0
activate by signing in
- you no longer need your licence key to activate tau. choose "sign in to activate", open the link in your browser, and enter the short code tau shows you
- your licence is tied to the google account you sign in with, and works on as many of your devices as you like
- lost your key? it's on your account at trytau.app/account, and signing in on a new machine finds it for you automatically
- if you bought tau before this update, signing in with the email address you purchased with picks up your licence with nothing to do
- typing a licence key still works, under "enter a licence key instead"
downloads
- you can now download tau without a licence key. try it first, activate when you buy
- the download buttons on the site lead with whichever platform you're on
v2.3.0
recording pill
- tau now hides itself when a recording starts, and a small pill takes over as the recording indicator
- the pill shows elapsed time, time remaining, frame count, and a thumbnail of the last frame captured
- pause, stop, and reopen tau from the pill itself
- the pill never appears in your recording, and stays out of the way on the screen you're capturing
- reopening tau hides the pill, so there's only ever one set of controls
dropped frames
- fixed capture slowing down when another app covered tau. windows could throttle the capture timer to roughly once a minute, so long sessions recorded far fewer frames than they should have
- this affected recording a working session with tau behind your editor, which is the normal case
fonts
- new typefaces throughout: jost for headings, figtree for everything else
- fixed overlay text exporting in the wrong font. the fonts tau ships were never registered, so exports fell back to whatever your system had rather than the font you picked
- existing projects will now export with the font they were set to, which may look different from earlier exports of the same project
window sizing
- tau can no longer be resized smaller than the size it opens at, so nothing gets cut off
- on smaller laptops the layouts switch to a compact form — list views instead of grids, tighter spacing — so everything still fits without scrolling
screen selection
- the outline marking which screen you're about to record is now tau red instead of blue, and dashed, so it doesn't read as "recording"
v2.2.0
licensing
- one licence now works on unlimited devices.
light mode
- light mode is now properly built
- fixed ui bugs
v2.1.0
updates
- checking for updates now works on the first click
- macOS users will now be properly notified of new updates (was failing silently)
- download progress will show size and speed. uses dock/taskbar on macOS/windows respectively
safely quit
- frames will be saved mid capture before closing
- captures are checkpointed to disk as they run, so random shutdowns wont risk full session
- quitting during session will give a prompt, cancels cleanly, and removes the half finished timelapse
- warns before any unsaved edits are discarded
- on macOS, quit actually closes the process instead of closing the window and leaving Tau running
exporting
- fixed portrait mode (9:16) exports failing to produce a valid output
diagnostics
- log window now shows all important info/errors - user can copy/send bug reports
big wins
- now much faster and more responsive during long captures
- identical overlay -> export rendering
v2.0.3
- fixed issue where users were having licenses revoked due to extended periods offline
- explicit error handling added for license activations
v2.0.2
- fixed screen-only captures showing/exporting no frames
v2.0.1
- fixed issue with multi-source captures counting frames incorrectly
v2.0.0
- screen recording introduced!!!
- choose to your screen, camera, or both
v1.4.0
new features
- added new IMPORT feature
- edit existing video timelapses
- get accurate edits using the video duration, fps, and interval
other
- ux improvements
v1.3.3
- added a new watermark option
- ux improvements
v1.3.2
new features
- added aspect ratio support
- in addition to 16:9, Tau now supports recording and export for 1:1, 4:3, and 9:16
- audio fade-in/out
- added frame rate selection to setup screen
- new overlay: camera HUD 📹
bug fixes
- reduced export failure rate
v1.3.1
new features
- introduced a home screen to access recent projects
- users now have the option to delete frames from permanent projects after export to save storage
bug fixes
- fixed issue with consistency between overlays in preview and reposition mode
- issues with keyboard shortcuts resolved
v1.3.0
new features
- trim feature in the editor
- audio attachment in the editor
- more customizability with overlays in the editor 🎨
changes
- ui: using better/more accurate icons to represent different functions
- changed rendering method to be more accurate
bug fixes
- fixed bug where dragging to reposition overlays didnt work
- fixed bug where x, y positioning of overlays was misrepresented in the preview
v1.2.2
changes
- updates to timelapse setup ui
- added a 3 second countdown before recording begins
bug fixes
- only a camera's supported resolutions will be shown in timelapse setup
- watermark preview now uses frames from the timelapse and not a placeholder
- fixed bug where camera would not work after switching cameras
v1.2.1
- fixed issue with auto-download flow on both mac/windows
- fixed watermark causing export to break
v1.2.0
new features
- multi-overlay select
- drag to reposition overlay items
- toggle snap for draggable items
bug fixes
- fixed watermark breaking export on windows
- fixed progress bar overlay not appearing correctly
- fixed a critical error that stopped timelapses being exported on all devices
v1.1.1
- fixed an issue with macOS auto-update
- the wrong update artifact was being used
- improved UX by adding a progress bar in-app for updates
v1.1.0
- unlimited duration option added
v1.0.9
- fixed issue with iMessage overlay export
v1.0.8
- update system rework (better UI/UX)
- assets missing are now found
v1.0.7
- improvements made to update flow
v1.0.6
- fixed a critical issue with timelapse capture
- we all good 🫡
v1.0.5
- performance updates
v1.0.4
- fixed an issue with camera access on macOS
- happy st patrick's day 🍀
v1.0.3
- check for updates option added
v1.0.2
- fixed issue with missing image assets
v1.0.1
- fixed issues with macOS build
- added the changelog 🙏🏾
v1.0.0
- initial release of Tau