What’s new in ZLI

This release turns the Changes panel into a place you can actually work from — pick branches, stage and stash, open and merge pull requests, and manage projects — and it also makes chat and non-Git folders smoother.

Highlights

Git actions in Changes
Compare against and merge into real branches with pickers (including origin/…). Fetch, pull (fast-forward only), and push from the toolbar, with clear messages when a branch has diverged or isn't on the remote yet.

Pull requests from Changes
See open PR status on the branch you're on, leave review comments, and merge from ZLI (squash, merge commit, or rebase). Auto-merge is available when GitHub allows it.

Stage, discard, and stash
Stage or discard whole files or hunks, and stash your work without leaving the panel.

Branch management
Create, switch, rename, and delete branches from Changes, including cleaner handling of worktree paths on Windows.

A simpler Changes panel
Refresh and “merge into another branch” live in the header. The commit field shows only when there's something to commit. Menus and the pull-request row take less space so the file list stays the focus.

More new features

• Reasoning picker. Agents that report reasoning levels (Droid, Codex, Claude Code, ACP) get a per-turn level control in the composer.
• Folders without Git. Open a plain folder and still browse files, search, and run agents. Review shows a clear no-Git state; worktree and PR flows that need Git stay off.
• Smoother chat. Clearer working state while an agent runs, and easier edit rows when you change a message.
• Remove a project. Settings lists your project folders; removing one asks first and won't proceed while agents or terminals are still using it.

Upgrading

• ZLI updates itself. Choose Restart to update when it appears, or go to Settings → Updates.
• On macOS: the app isn't signed yet. The first time you open it, right-click ZLI and choose Open.

This is our biggest release yet. You can now connect the services you already use, add skills and plugins, and run agents under more than one account, all from one place. Everything you set up works across every agent ZLI starts.

Highlights

Integrations, all in one place
Connectors, MCP servers, and plugins now live together in Settings > Integrations. Browse searches connectors and plugins at once, Installed shows everything you've added, and Custom is where you add or import your own servers and install or share plugins. Every catalog entry has its brand logo.

Connectors with built-in sign-in
Pick a service, such as GitHub, Vercel, Supabase, Stripe, Sentry, Linear, Notion, or Figma, click Connect, and sign in in your browser. There are no tokens to copy and no config files to edit. ZLI saves your login, renews it when it expires, and makes the service available to every agent. If a login runs out, ZLI asks you to sign in again. Agents can also ask you to connect a service while they work: a card appears in the chat that takes you straight to the right sign-in.

Remote MCP servers you can see and control
Add MCP servers that run locally or remotely by URL, with headers or sign-in. Each server shows whether it's working, and Test starts it and lists its tools. You can turn off single tools, choose which projects a server is used in, and import servers you already set up in Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf in one click.

Plugins
Install plugins from a curated gallery, the plugin directory, GitHub, or a folder on your computer. ZLI reads ZLI, Claude Code, and Codex plugin formats, and shows what a plugin adds before you install it. Plugin prompts appear in the composer's / menu, plugin actions run from the command palette, and an Update badge appears when a newer version is available. You can also share your own setup as a plugin that others can install.

Skills manager
Manage your agent skills in Settings > Skills. ZLI keeps them in sync with ~/.agents/skills and ~/.claude/skills, so most agents and Claude Code pick them up. It never touches a skill you already had with the same name. You can install skills straight from GitHub.

More new features

• Start from an issue. Choose Start from issue in the top bar or command palette to begin from a GitHub or Linear issue. ZLI fills in the branch name and first message for you, and the pull request links back to the issue.
• Design mode. In the browser panel, use Pick element to select up to 8 parts of a page, with screenshots, and send them to an agent.
• Review notes. Send pull request review comments to an agent. Notes you leave in the Files editor or on turn changes collect in a "notes" pill in the top bar and go to the agent together.
• Multiple accounts. Add more than one sign-in or API key per agent in Settings > Accounts. Pick an account when you start an agent, see which one a tile uses, and track usage per account.

Improvements

• The ZLI icon, everywhere. On Windows, the running app now stays on your pinned taskbar icon instead of opening a second button with Electron's icon. On macOS, the dock shows the ZLI icon as soon as the app opens, and on Linux, window managers match ZLI to its own icon.
• Clearer sidebar. The project list in the sidebar now has a Projects label.
• More stable runtime. Fixed a crash that could happen when a terminal closed.
• A friendlier README. The project README now opens with what ZLI does and has clearer install and development steps.

Changes

• Connectors, MCP servers, and Plugins are no longer separate Settings sections. You'll find all three under Settings > Integrations, and messages that pointed to the old sections now point there.

Security & reliability

• Logins, API keys, and account details are saved in files that only your user account can read.
• Sensitive plugin settings are masked and never sent back to the app's interface.
• The first time a plugin action wants to run a command, ZLI shows you the exact command and asks first.
• Installing skills from GitHub downloads files only and runs nothing. Plugin hooks and subagents are not run.

Upgrading

• ZLI updates itself. Choose Restart to update when it appears, or go to Settings > Updates.
• On Windows with ZLI 0.1.2 or older: if the update says ZLI is still running, close ZLI in Task Manager once and run the update again.
• On Windows: if you pinned the extra Electron taskbar button in the past, unpin it and pin ZLI again once.
• On macOS: the app isn't signed yet. The first time you open it, right-click ZLI and choose Open.

This release makes agent work visible as it happens. You can follow each step live in the chat, see the images your agents produce right where they mention them, and stop a turn with one click.

Highlights

Live agent steps in chat
Agent steps now show up inside the reply, right where they happened: "Explored 3 files, 1 search", "Edit 5 lines" with the file and its +/- counts, and commands with a plain description and their output. A live status line shows what the agent is doing right now, such as "Thinking" or "Reading routes.ts", with a running timer.

Images in chat, and notes in the Files panel
Images in agent replies, and image files the agent mentions, now appear inline. Click one to open a full-size viewer that shows the name, size and dimensions; press Escape to close it. In the changed files list, Markdown files now open in the Files panel and images open in the viewer.

One-click stop
While an agent is working or waiting for you, a red stop button sits in the message box and ends the current turn. The Stop button on each agent is now a clear red "Stop", and the sidebar stop icon is red too.

Improvements

• Dark menus everywhere. Every dropdown now uses ZLI's dark picker, including Settings, New agent, the Usage filter, "Message another agent", the browser device picker and the update channel. No more white system menus on Windows.
• Markdown opens in Preview. Markdown files open in Preview by default, and switching to Code only changes that tab. The toolbar is simpler, and Save only shows when you have unsaved edits.
• Steadier Cursor sessions. ZLI now stops Cursor's background updater from replacing files during a turn, which caused crashes. If the crash still happens, you get a clear message telling you to run agent update instead of a stack trace.
• Windows taskbar icon. The installer now refreshes Windows' icon cache after an install or update, so the ZLI icon replaces the leftover Electron icon.

Changes

• The Split view for Markdown files is gone. Preview and Code are still there.
• The Interrupt button on each agent is replaced by the red stop button in the message box.

Security & reliability

• Chat images only load from your project folder. Paths outside it are refused, including paths that go through links.
• Images from the web aren't loaded, and SVG image data is blocked.

Upgrading

• ZLI updates itself. Choose Restart to update when it appears, or go to Settings > Updates.
• On Windows with ZLI 0.1.2 or older: if the update says ZLI is still running, close ZLI in Task Manager once and run the update again.
• On macOS: the app isn't signed yet. The first time you open it, right-click ZLI and choose Open.

What's Changed

• Show the ZLI icon on the window and the macOS dock by @RosMengHeang in #32
• Stop every ZLI process when the app quits by @RosMengHeang in #33
• Make Terminal or Chat a one-time choice per agent by @RosMengHeang in #34

Full Changelog: v0.1.2...v0.1.3

What's Changed

• Add the ZLI logo to the app icon and sidebar by @RosMengHeang in #31

Full Changelog: v0.1.1...v0.1.2

What's Changed

• UI redesign: floating shell, new dialogs, dark pickers with model logos, three permission levels by @RosMengHeang in #29

Full Changelog: v0.1.0...v0.1.1

What's Changed

• fix(server): scrub daemon token from PTY env by @RosMengHeang in #1
• fix(server): pin terminal cwd to worktree by @RosMengHeang in #2
• fix(desktop): revalidate browser recovery navigations by @RosMengHeang in #3
• fix(desktop): redact auth headers in CDP diagnostics by @RosMengHeang in #4
• fix(server): write daemon endpoint file as 0o600 by @RosMengHeang in #5
• fix(desktop): constrain support-bundle destinationPath by @RosMengHeang in #6
• feat(providers): discover Claude Code and Cursor CLIs by @RosMengHeang in #7
• feat(providers): add Claude Code adapter by @RosMengHeang in #8
• feat(providers): add Cursor agent adapter by @RosMengHeang in #9
• feat(providers): bind Claude/Cursor sessions to worktrees by @RosMengHeang in #10
• feat(orchestration): agent-to-agent project messages by @RosMengHeang in #11
• feat(orchestration): shared project context projection by @RosMengHeang in #12
• feat(worktrees): default one worktree per agent by @RosMengHeang in #13
• Clean up the repo, speed up the runtime, and redesign the v2 UI by @RosMengHeang in #14
• Add notifications, Create PR, zli.json setup, review comments, saved prompts, best-of-N, and dev server detection by @RosMengHeang in #15
• Add MIT license and ignore local secrets by @RosMengHeang in #27
• Add project button, compact New agent dialog, and official provider marks by @RosMengHeang in #16
• Add a Settings screen with launch defaults, branch names, and shortcuts by @RosMengHeang in #17
• Add an MCP server manager that every agent uses by @RosMengHeang in #18
• Add zli agent tools: MCP server and command for agents to work together by @RosMengHeang in #19
• Show approvals and questions in plain words, and switch permission mode mid-chat by @RosMengHeang in #20
• Queue messages while an agent works, and steer with Send now by @RosMengHeang in #21
• Track turn usage and cost per agent, with a Usage page and context meter by @RosMengHeang in #22
• Show pull request checks in the sidebar and send failed CI to an agent by @RosMengHeang in #23
• Show each turn's file changes in chat and restore files to before a turn by @RosMengHeang in #24
• Attach long pastes, fold file reads, preview HTML replies, and find in diffs by @RosMengHeang in #25
• Hand chats to another agent, start scratch chats, and attach window pictures by @RosMengHeang in #26
• Files pane: code left and tree right, rendered Markdown, diffs, and Ask agent by @RosMengHeang in #28
• Auto-update from GitHub Releases, with a new version on every merge by @RosMengHeang in #30

New Contributors

• @RosMengHeang made their first contribution in #1

Full Changelog: https://github.com/RosMengHeang/ZLI/commits/v0.1.0