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What's New

Every tweak, fix, and feature — shipped with love.

April 23, 2026·v2.2.0Improvement

Emails sound like Steven, point at what the app actually has

Nine automated emails got a voice and CTA pass. Every link now points at a live surface (Discover, Build, on-demand course, Community). Nine stale templates retired.

  • ⚡Welcome email walks you through the real 6-step onboarding (Find your use case → Build → Copy → Import → Test → Keep growing) instead of an out-of-date 5-step list
  • ⚡Weekly Digest and Winback emails stop pushing a "daily challenge" and "CLEAR sandbox" that were phased out, and instead send you to Discover, Community, and the on-demand course
  • ⚡Rank Up email now shows three concrete next steps under the reveal, so the moment turns into action
  • ⚡Retired streak-reminder, badge, multi-badge, and six pre-homework drip emails. Badges still award XP and show on /profile — we just stopped emailing about them. Pre-cohort comms are now admin-sent from the cohort command center
  • ⚡Added an "Email Previews" card on /team so you can click through every surviving template in one place before broadcasting
March 27, 2026·v2.1.0New Feature

Cohort 3 is Live & Learning Just Got Better

Your Cohort 3 hub is ready with everything you need before Monday. Plus better practice tracks, smarter hints, and a new way to pick your cohort.

  • ✨Your Cohort 3 hub is live — calendar invites, Zoom link, and three ways to get a head start before Monday
  • ✨New sandbox walkthrough — stuck getting into Opal? An interactive step-by-step guide walks you through it
  • ✨Pick your own cohort — if you're prioritized or enrolled, you can switch to a different upcoming cohort yourself
  • ✨Practice tracks redesigned — "Your First Agent", "Build Smarter", and "Ship It" now show what real people built after completing each one
  • ✨Better feedback when you don't pass — you'll see exactly which areas to improve, not just "try again"
  • ✨Hints feel like coaching — "Start here", "Going deeper", "This should do it" instead of generic numbered hints
  • ✨"Next Challenge" button — finish a lesson and jump straight to the next one instead of going back to the menu
  • ✨Instruction Generator fixed — if it got stuck generating, it now retries automatically
  • ✨New landing page at /landing-page — share it with anyone who wants to know what Opal University is about
March 26, 2026·v2.0.0New Feature

Choose Your Cohort, Smarter Practice & Session Uploads

Pick which cohort you want to join, a completely redesigned practice experience with real achievement stories, and admins can now paste Zoom data directly to set up sessions.

  • ✨Choose your cohort — if you're prioritized or enrolled, you can now switch to a different upcoming cohort right from your waitlist page
  • ✨Redesigned practice tracks — "Your First Agent", "Build Smarter", and "Ship It" with real stories from people who've done it
  • ✨Achievement pills on each track — see what others built after completing (like "FAQ agent in 8 minutes" and "Board prep: 3hrs → 30min")
  • ✨Logo marquee — see which companies are learning alongside you (Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn, Wells Fargo, and more)
  • ✨Smarter completion modal — "Next Challenge" button takes you straight to the next lesson instead of going back to the menu
  • ✨Warmer feedback — when you don't quite pass, you now see exactly which areas to improve with encouraging guidance
  • ✨Hints feel like coaching — "Start here →", "Going deeper...", "This should do it!" instead of generic "Hint 1, 2, 3"
  • ✨Session uploads simplified — paste your Zoom transcript, chat log, and attendee list directly (no file conversion needed)
  • ✨Attendee matching — paste a Zoom participant list and names get matched to accounts automatically, even without emails
  • ✨Cohort 3 hub page live with pre-launch experience, calendar downloads, and Zoom link
  • ✨All calendar invites now include the full 5-day schedule, Zoom link, and cohort hub URL
  • ✨Waitlist link always visible in your profile menu
March 18, 2026·v1.9.0New Feature

Agent Studio: Test, Improve & Ship Faster

Your agents now have a dedicated studio where you can test with real inputs, see formatted output, and improve with a single prompt — all on one page.

  • ✨New Agent Studio — test and improve your agent without leaving the page
  • ✨Run Agent gives you instant output with a single click (5x faster responses)
  • ✨See your output beautifully formatted — JSON is auto-pretty-printed, text renders as clean markdown
  • ✨"Want to improve?" — describe a change in plain English and the AI updates your prompt for you
  • ✨Prompt template now renders with proper headings, lists, and formatting
  • ✨Agents now include Instruction References — connect your agent to project-level context like brand voice and style guides
  • ✨New Discover page — tell us what you do, get AI-suggested agents tailored to your role
  • ✨Cohort leaderboard now shows the top 5 (you know who you are)
March 15, 2026·v1.8.1Design

Fresh Look for the Changelog

The changelog got a makeover — colorful filters, emoji bullets, and a rainbow timeline to make it fun to see what's new.

  • 🎨New "ooh! what's new" header with animated sparkle stars
  • 🎨Colorful filter pills — each update type gets its own color
  • 🎨Emoji bullets so you can scan updates at a glance
  • 🎨Rainbow timeline connecting all entries
March 13, 2026·v1.8.0New Feature

Weekly Progress Emails & Cohort Tools

Your weekly email now shows exactly which agents you built, personalized next steps, and a "What's New" section. Plus easier cohort nominations.

  • ✨Weekly email redesigned — see your Agents Built, Time Saved, and Challenges at a glance
  • ✨Your agent names listed in the email — not just a count, see exactly what you built
  • ✨"What's New" section highlights recent features so you never miss an update
  • ✨"What To Do Next" personalized based on your streak, agents, and leaderboard rank
  • ✨Nominating someone for a cohort is now one step instead of two
  • ✨Certificate Builder preview for admins
March 12, 2026·v1.7.0New Feature

Certificates & Cohort Waitlist

Design and download personalized Opal U certificates for LinkedIn. Plus a new internal waitlist system to manage cohort signups.

  • ✨Certificate Builder — pick a preset, customize colors and layout, download as PNG for LinkedIn
  • ✨Unique verification codes — anyone can verify your certificate is real
  • ✨Cohort waitlist with priority system for upcoming sessions
March 11, 2026·v1.6.0New Feature

Instruction Builder & Learning Pods

Upload a PDF, Word doc, or URL and auto-generate agent instructions. Plus learning pods for social accountability.

  • ✨Instruction Builder — drag and drop a file, get structured agent instructions automatically
  • ✨Paste a URL and pull in context for your agent
  • ✨Instructions follow the CLEAR framework so your agents are well-structured from the start
  • ✨Learning Pods — small groups of 3-5 matched by role and learning goal
  • ✨Pod nudges — teammates can send friendly reminders to keep each other on track
  • ✨Pod activity feed showing what your group has been working on
March 10, 2026·v1.5.0New Feature

Choose Your AI Model & New Sandbox

Switch between Gemini and Claude when building agents. Plus a dedicated sandbox page and the Day 2 cohort lesson.

  • ✨Model toggle — switch between Gemini 3.1 Pro and Claude Opus 4.6 when building agents
  • ✨Your model preference saves automatically
  • ✨Standalone Sandbox page — practice the CLEAR framework in its own dedicated space
  • ✨Day 2 cohort lesson live: Instructions & Context with video, slides, and homework
  • ✨Community creators page rebuilt as a showcase
March 9, 2026·v1.4.0New Feature

Cohort Lesson Hub & Smoother Onboarding

The cohort welcome page is now a full lesson hub with video, slides, and homework. Plus smarter login prompts and one-click agent templates in emails.

  • ✨Cohort Lesson Hub with embedded video, slides, and homework links
  • ✨Day 1 fully unlocked; Days 2-5 preview what's coming
  • ✨Completing a challenge now prompts you to sign in so your XP is saved
  • ✨5 clickable agent templates in emails — one click to start building
  • ✨Share links that pre-fill the builder so you can send ideas to teammates
March 6, 2026·v1.3.0New Feature

Daily Challenges, Smarter Nav & Email Reminders

A dedicated Daily Challenge page, cleaner navigation, and email reminders to keep your streak alive.

  • ✨Dedicated Daily Challenge page — streak stats, AI coach, and personalized learning path all in one place
  • ✨Navigation simplified — easy to find what you need without scrolling through menus
  • ✨Smart pricing banner that hides once you're signed in
  • ✨My Agents / All Agents toggle so you can quickly find your work
  • ✨Email reminders: streak alerts, weekly digests, badge notifications, and more
  • ✨Daily reminder before your streak breaks — we've got your back
  • ✨One-click unsubscribe — no login needed
  • ✨Choose which emails you want: streaks, digests, badges, or all of them
March 2, 2026·v1.2.0Improvement

Share, Polish & Better Onboarding

Share your agents with a link, get guided onboarding as a new user, and enjoy a more polished experience everywhere.

  • ⚡Share button on every agent — generate a public link and copy it with one click
  • ⚡"What's Next?" banner after completing all practice challenges — never wonder what to do next
  • ⚡Getting Started checklist for new users — set your name, complete a challenge, create an agent
  • ⚡Name prompt for users who haven't set a display name yet
  • ⚡Redesigned notifications — cleaner toasts when you earn XP or unlock a badge
  • ⚡XP awarded for creating agents, sharing, running evals, and improving prompts
  • ⚡Richer social sharing previews when you post links to LinkedIn or Slack
March 2, 2026·v1.1.0Improvement

Everything Connected

Every feature now works together — sign in to save your work, earn XP for everything you do, and pick up right where you left off.

  • ⚡Sign-in prompt before saving an agent — no more lost work
  • ⚡XP earned for creating agents, sharing, running evals, and improving prompts
  • ⚡Edit your name, LinkedIn URL, and avatar from your profile
  • ⚡Agent list refreshes automatically when you return
  • ⚡"My Agents" filter shows only your agents
  • ⚡Practice sandbox loads instantly — no waiting for the page to warm up
  • ⚡"View your badges & XP" links after completing challenges
March 1, 2026·v1.0.1Bug Fix

Speed & Polish

Faster page loads, visual fixes, and small improvements that make the whole app feel snappier.

  • 🐛Sandbox highlight overlay stays perfectly aligned when you scroll
  • 🐛Generate Agent button no longer covers your text on the homepage
  • 🐛Cleaner practice page with descriptive section headings
  • 🐛Faster page loads with image compression and lazy loading
  • 🐛More vibrant background gradients
February 28, 2026·v1.0.0New Feature

Badges, XP & Social — The Engagement Engine

The biggest update yet. Sign in with your email, earn 17 collectible badges, track your XP rank, maintain daily streaks, and share your progress on LinkedIn.

  • ✨Sign in with just your email — no passwords needed
  • ✨17 collectible badges across 5 rarities (common to mythic) earned through your actions
  • ✨Badge collection on your profile with filtering and rarity sorting
  • ✨XP rank progression: Newcomer → Apprentice → Builder → Architect → Grandmaster
  • ✨Daily streak tracking with fire indicator and bonus XP
  • ✨Creator profiles — featured builders with bios, specialties, and curated agents
  • ✨Cohorts — join timed groups and earn exclusive badges based on your position
  • ✨Challenge leaderboards — see if you were #1 to complete a challenge
  • ✨Share your scores on LinkedIn with beautiful preview cards
  • ✨Global and weekly leaderboard with podium for the top 3
February 21, 2026·v0.9.5Improvement

Speed & Visual Refresh

Faster loads and more vibrant colors across the entire app.

  • ⚡Faster initial page load with compressed images
  • ⚡More screen space — navigation no longer sticks to the top
  • ⚡Refreshed gradient backgrounds with more vibrant colors
  • ⚡Smoother page transitions
February 19, 2026·v0.9.4Design

Pre-Launch Cleanup

Final polish pass — streamlined navigation, cleaner agent gallery, and small fixes across the board.

  • 🎨Navigation simplified — Tools, Knowledge, and Changelog grouped under Resources
  • 🎨Agent gallery cleaned up — Copy to Clipboard replaces Download on cards
  • 🎨Homepage prompt input no longer gets covered by the Generate button
  • 🎨Agent preview reorganized — Original Prompt shown first, action buttons in the header
  • 🎨Practice challenges: completed ones show a cleaner view without extra metadata
February 19, 2026·v0.9.3Design

Practice Studio Gets Fun

Celebrations, coaching feedback, and smoother animations make practicing feel rewarding.

  • 🎨Confetti explosion and animated score counter when you pass a step
  • 🎨Typewriter effect on simulation output — feels like a real terminal
  • 🎨Smooth slide-in transitions between challenge steps
  • 🎨Enhanced completion screen: animated checkmark, confetti, and a summary of what you built
  • 🎨Score rings on challenge cards so you can see your progress at a glance
  • 🎨Key Concept callout cards with lightbulb icons in challenge instructions
  • 🎨Live word counter for rewrite challenges (green/amber/red)
  • 🎨Friendly error messages with automatic retry if something goes wrong
  • 🎨Unsaved work warning — no more accidentally losing your progress
February 19, 2026·v0.9.2Improvement

Reliable Agent Building

Agent generation is now rock solid — better error handling, smarter retries, and your work is never lost.

  • ⚡Agent generation no longer crashes on unusual responses — much more reliable
  • ⚡Longer, more detailed agents are now fully supported
  • ⚡If something goes wrong, your plan is saved — just retry without starting over
  • ⚡Progress indicators show what's happening during planning and generation
  • ⚡Celebration animation when your agent is created
  • ⚡Beautiful error pages that match the app design
February 18, 2026·v0.9.1Improvement

Faster Agent Generation

Agents now generate in seconds instead of minutes, plus small navigation and scroll improvements.

  • ⚡Agent planning is ~3x faster
  • ⚡Agent generation completes in seconds instead of minutes
  • ⚡Improving and testing agents is also noticeably quicker
  • ⚡Pages scroll to the top when moving between creation steps
February 18, 2026·v0.9.0Under the Hood

Under the Hood: Cleaner Codebase

A major cleanup pass that makes everything run smoother and sets us up for faster feature development.

  • 🔧Agent builder is cleaner and more maintainable — faster updates coming soon
  • 🔧Agent editing and viewing pages streamlined for better performance
  • 🔧Shared utilities reduce inconsistencies across the app
February 18, 2026·v0.8.5Bug Fix

Practice Studio Fixes

Fixed a few bugs that were causing issues during practice challenges.

  • 🐛Fixed a bug where extra variables would appear in the practice sandbox
  • 🐛Fixed simulation crashes caused by special characters in inputs
  • 🐛Better spacing and layout for challenge pages
February 17, 2026·v0.8.0Design

Practice Studio: Guided Learning

The practice experience is now step-by-step with inline coaching, progressive hints, and a friendlier feel.

  • 🎨Redesigned step-by-step challenge flow with clear progress indicators
  • 🎨Up to 3 hints per step — revealed progressively when you need help
  • 🎨AI coach gives constructive feedback, not just pass/fail scores
  • 🎨Side-by-side before/after comparison for rewrite challenges
  • 🎨Auto-fill example data if you get stuck
  • 🎨Simulation preview with terminal-style output
February 15, 2026·v0.7.0New Feature

Test & Auto-Improve Your Agents

Add example inputs and expected outputs, run tests against your agent, and let the AI suggest improvements based on the results.

  • ✨Test panel built into the agent edit page — no separate workflow needed
  • ✨Add golden examples of what good output looks like
  • ✨Run tests and see exactly where your agent succeeds or falls short
  • ✨Auto-improve: the AI analyzes test failures and suggests prompt rewrites
  • ✨Custom criteria per test case for nuanced evaluation
February 12, 2026·v0.6.0New Feature

Planning Phase & CLEAR Framework

Agents are now planned before they're built. The AI creates a structured plan you can review and adjust before generation.

  • ✨New planning step — see what the AI will build before it builds it
  • ✨Review and edit the plan: name, description, phases, tools, and parameters
  • ✨CLEAR framework for prompt templates (Context, Layout, Examples, Action, Review)
  • ✨Plans draw from real-world agent examples for better quality
February 10, 2026·v0.5.0Design

The Glassmorphic Glow-Up

The entire app got a visual makeover with aurora backgrounds, frosted glass cards, and smooth animations.

  • 🎨Aurora gradient backgrounds with animated color shifts
  • 🎨Frosted glass cards throughout the app
  • 🎨Subtle grain texture for depth and personality
  • 🎨Smooth pill-style navigation with active state transitions
  • 🎨Staggered fade-in animations on page load
  • 🎨Indigo and purple accent color palette
February 7, 2026·v0.4.0New Feature

Knowledge Base & Web Scraping

Give your agents context by scraping URLs or uploading files. The AI uses this knowledge when generating instructions.

  • ✨Paste a URL and scrape its content for your agent to reference
  • ✨Upload files to give your agent additional context
  • ✨Knowledge references are attached to your agent config
  • ✨Manage references from the agent edit page
February 4, 2026·v0.3.0New Feature

Smart Follow-Up Questions

The AI now asks intelligent follow-up questions to understand your needs before building your agent.

  • ✨Dynamic questions generated based on what you type
  • ✨Show the AI what good output looks like with example file uploads
  • ✨Multiple-choice answers with an "Other" option for custom input
  • ✨Paste URLs to reference materials
  • ✨Skip or go back through questions at any time
February 1, 2026·v0.2.0New Feature

Agent Management & Export

Create, edit, and manage your agents. Export them in the exact format Optimizely Opal needs.

  • ✨Agent gallery with search and favorites
  • ✨Detailed agent view with status management
  • ✨Full editing with markdown-supported instructions
  • ✨One-click JSON export in Optimizely Opal format
  • ✨Import agents from JSON files
January 28, 2026·v0.1.0New Feature

Hello, Opal!

The very first version. Type a prompt, get an agent. Simple as that.

  • ✨Type what you want your agent to do and watch it come to life
  • ✨AI-powered generation with Google Gemini
  • ✨Automatic input variable detection — the AI figures out what your agent needs
  • ✨Choose from tools like web search, file search, and code interpreter
  • ✨Built on Next.js for a fast, responsive experience

More to comewe're just getting started.