Changelog

Google Gemini Code Assist Support

Multi-Agent Integration Expansion - Added comprehensive support for Google Gemini Code Assist as the fifth supported AI coding assistant:

• GEMINI.md Instruction File: Created Markdown-formatted instruction file with complete Stride integration guidelines
• Hierarchical Context Support: Supports project-scoped, global (~/.gemini/GEMINI.md), and component-level context files
• Impact: Gemini Code Assist users can now leverage Stride's workflow enforcement with agent/chat mode context files

Supported AI Assistants (Now 5 Total):

1. Claude Code (Skills-based, contextual)
2. GitHub Copilot (.github/copilot-instructions.md)
3. Cursor (.cursorrules)
4. Windsurf Cascade (.windsurfrules)
5. Continue.dev (.continue/config.json)
6. Google Gemini Code Assist (GEMINI.md or AGENT.md)

Task Priority Selection in /api/tasks/next Endpoint

Corrected Priority Sorting for Task Claiming - Fixed critical bug where the /api/tasks/next endpoint was selecting lower-priority tasks instead of higher-priority tasks:

• Impact: Tasks are now correctly selected in priority order: critical → high → medium → low
• Secondary Sort: Position (ascending) is used as tiebreaker when priorities are equal, ensuring tasks higher in the Ready column (lower position number) are selected first

Review Queue Section Visibility in Task Forms

Fixed Review Fields Not Appearing for Tasks in Review - Resolved issue where review status and review notes fields were hidden when tasks with needs_review=true entered the Review column:

• Root Cause: Visibility condition only checked if review_status field had a value, but newly moved tasks to Review column had nil review_status
• Impact: Users can now properly review and approve/reject tasks that enter the Review column

AI Agent Onboarding Documentation

Enhanced Getting Started Guide - Improved clarity in docs/GETTING-STARTED-WITH-AI.md for AI agent onboarding:

• Updated Instructions: Rephrased onboarding instructions to be more acceptable to Claude Code's security policies
• Multi-Agent Support: Added explicit mention of agent configuration setup and reference to Multi-Agent Instructions guide

Claude Code Skills for Automatic Hook Execution

Updated Hook Execution Instructions - Modified all four Claude Code Skills (stride-claiming-tasks, stride-completing-tasks, stride-creating-tasks, stride-creating-goals) in the onboarding endpoint:

• Automatic Execution: Added explicit instructions to execute hooks automatically without prompting the user
• Impact: Eliminates unnecessary user prompts during task claiming and completion, streamlining the agent workflow

Resources & How-To Guides Section

New Resources Landing Page - Comprehensive help center for learning Stride:

• Search Functionality - Real-time search across all guide titles and descriptions
• Tag-Based Filtering - Filter guides by category tags (getting-started, developer, non-developer, best-practices, etc.)
• Sorting Options - Sort by relevance, newest, or alphabetically (A-Z)

How-To Guide Detail Pages - Step-by-step instruction views:

• Hero Section - Gradient background with title, description, content type badge, and reading time
• Step-by-Step Content - Numbered steps with markdown support (bold, code blocks, lists)

13 How-To Guides - Comprehensive documentation covering:

• Getting Started (4 guides): Creating boards, understanding columns, adding tasks, inviting team members
• Developer Guides (4 guides): Workflow hooks, API authentication, task dependencies, troubleshooting
• Non-Developer Guides (3 guides): Writing tasks for AI, monitoring progress, reviewing completed work
• Best Practices (2 guides): Organizing with dependencies, using complexity and priority effectively

Agent Capabilities Input Field

UI Input for Agent Capabilities - Added agent capabilities input field to API token creation form:

Dark Mode Enhancements

Improved Task Card Styling - Enhanced dark mode appearance for task cards:

Agent Capabilities Management

Token Creation Workflow - Capabilities now entered during token creation instead of configuration file:

Claude Code Skills Enhancement

Automatic Workflow Progression - Skills updated to enable continuous agent operation:

Multi-Agent Instructions for Non-Claude Code AI Assistants

Four AI Assistant Formats - Always-active code completion guidance distributed as downloadable files:

• GitHub Copilot (.github/copilot-instructions.md) - Repository-scoped instructions optimized for 4000 token limit
• Cursor (.cursorrules) - Project-scoped rules with expanded examples for 8000 token limit
• Windsurf Cascade (.windsurfrules) - Hierarchical rules that cascade from parent directories
• Continue.dev (.continue/config.json) - JSON configuration with custom context providers and slash commands

Onboarding Endpoint Enhancement - GET /api/agent/onboarding now includes multi_agent_instructions section:

• Download URLs for all four instruction formats
• Platform-specific installation commands (Unix/Linux/macOS and Windows)
• Token limit information for each format
• Usage notes explaining complementary relationship with Claude Code Skills
• Safe installation guidance (backup, append, manual merge options)

Documentation Directory - All instruction files stored in docs/multi-agent-instructions/:

• copilot-instructions.md (9KB) - Markdown format with code examples
• cursorrules.txt (15KB) - Plain text with detailed patterns
• windsurfrules.txt (15KB) - Plain text with cascading rules
• continue-config.json (4KB) - JSON with custom commands and context providers

Core Content Coverage - All formats include essential Stride integration guidance:

• Hook execution mandate (all four hooks and their requirements)
• Top 5 critical mistakes agents make
• Essential task field requirements
• Code patterns for claiming, completing, and creating tasks
• Batch creation examples
• Documentation links

Onboarding Endpoint Optimization

Multi-Agent Instructions Architecture - Complementary approach to Claude Code Skills:

• Claude Code Skills: Contextual workflow enforcement (1000+ lines per skill, embedded content)
• Multi-Agent Instructions: Always-active code completion (200-400 lines, downloadable files)

Claude Code Skills for AI Agent Workflow Enforcement

Four Workflow Enforcement Skills - Complete set of Claude Code skills distributed via the onboarding endpoint to enforce Stride workflow discipline:

• stride-claiming-tasks - Enforces proper task claiming workflow with hook execution before claiming
• stride-completing-tasks - Ensures both after_doing and before_review hooks are executed before marking tasks complete
• stride-creating-tasks - Requires comprehensive task specifications to prevent 3+ hour exploration failures
• stride-creating-goals - Enforces proper goal structure with nested tasks and correct batch format

Onboarding Endpoint Distribution - Skills automatically provided through GET /api/agent/onboarding:

• Complete skill content embedded in JSON response
• Step-by-step installation instructions with exact commands
• Usage guidance explaining when to invoke each skill
• Automatic discovery by Claude Code when installed

Task Archive System

Archive Functionality - Tasks can now be archived and later restored or permanently deleted:

• Archive Tasks - Archive button added to task card menus on board view
• Archived Tasks Page - Dedicated page (/boards/:id/archive) to view all archived tasks for a board
• Unarchive Tasks - Restore archived tasks back to their original column
• Permanent Delete - Delete archived tasks permanently from the database
• Archive Navigation - "Archived Tasks" link added to board header for easy access
• Empty State - Friendly empty state when no archived tasks exist

⚠️ BREAKING CHANGE: All Four Hooks Now Blocking with Mandatory API Validation

All hooks (before_doing, after_doing, before_review, after_review) are now blocking and require mandatory validation at the API level. Agents must execute hooks before calling endpoints and include execution results in their requests.

1. Execute before_doing hook (blocking, 60s) → Capture result
2. POST /api/tasks/claim WITH before_doing_result
3. [Do work]
4. Execute after_doing hook (blocking, 120s) → Capture result
5. Execute before_review hook (blocking, 60s) → Capture result
6. PATCH /api/tasks/:id/complete WITH after_doing_result AND before_review_result
7. IF needs_review=true: Wait for human approval
8. Execute after_review hook (blocking, 60s) → Capture result
9. PATCH /api/tasks/:id/mark_reviewed WITH after_review_result

WIP Limit Calculation - Goals Exclusion

• Goals No Longer Count Toward WIP Limits - Work In Progress (WIP) limits now correctly exclude goal tasks and only count work and defect tasks

Goal Positioning During Drag Operations

• Fixed Goal Display Order in LiveView - Goals now consistently appear above their child tasks during live drag-and-drop operations

Dependency Blocking Status in Bulk Upload

• Dependencies Now Properly Block Tasks in Bulk Upload - Tasks with dependencies are now correctly marked as blocked when created via bulk upload API endpoint (POST /api/tasks/batch)

API Enhancements - Agent Onboarding Endpoint

• Comprehensive Agent Memory System - The /api/agent/onboarding endpoint has been significantly enhanced to help AI agents remember how to work with Stride across sessions and platforms:
  • memory_strategy section - Platform-agnostic and platform-specific instructions for maintaining context across sessions
  • session_initialization section - Step-by-step checklist for starting new sessions
  • first_session_vs_returning section - Different workflows for experience levels
  • common_mistakes_agents_make section - Learning from collective experience
  • quick_reference_card section - Ultra-condensed essentials for experienced agents
• Enhanced Documentation:
  • docs/AGENT-MEMORY-SOLUTION.md - Detailed explanation of the multi-layered memory strategy

Why This Matters

This release solves the "agent memory problem" - where AI agents would forget how to work with Stride between sessions. The enhanced onboarding endpoint provides a universal, platform-agnostic solution that works for any AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Aider, Cline, etc.) in any project using Stride.

Goal Movement Behavior Enhancement

• Improved Goal Auto-Positioning - When a task triggers its parent goal to move to a new column, the goal now positions itself directly above the task that caused the movement (instead of above the earliest child in the target column)

UI Improvements - Conditional Field Visibility

• Conditional Visibility for Status & Agent Tracking Section - The "Status & Agent Tracking" section in task forms now intelligently shows/hides based on agent interaction:
  • Status - Task status (Open, In Progress, Completed, Blocked)
  • Created By Agent - Name of AI agent that created the task
  • Completed By Agent - Name of AI agent that completed the task
  • Completion Summary - Summary provided by agent upon completion
• Conditional Visibility for Review Queue Section - The "Review Queue" section in task forms now only appears when a task has a review status:
  • Review Status - Pending, Approved, Changes Requested, or Rejected
  • Review Notes - Notes from the reviewer about the task
• Conditional Visibility for Actual Metrics Section - The "Actual Metrics" section in task forms now only appears when actual metrics data exists:
  • Actual Complexity - Actual complexity level (Small, Medium, Large)
  • Actual Files Changed - Number of files actually modified
  • Time Spent (minutes) - Actual time spent on the task

Documentation

• TASK-FORM-FIELD-VISIBILITY.md - New comprehensive guide explaining task form field visibility
  • Board-level field visibility settings and configurable fields
  • Always-visible fields vs. conditionally visible fields
  • Detailed explanation of conditional visibility for Status & Agent Tracking, Review Queue, and Actual Metrics
  • API behavior vs. UI form behavior
  • Best practices for board owners, AI agents, and human users
  • Examples and scenarios demonstrating visibility logic

Drag and Drop Improvements

• Smoother Animation - Enhanced drag and drop feel with improved visual feedback
• More Precise Positioning - Improved accuracy when dropping tasks
• Better Scroll Behavior - Enhanced dragging near column edges
• Prevented Premature DOM Updates - Fixed jarring updates during drag operations
• Enhanced Touch Support - Better mobile drag experience
• Position Index Bug Fix - Resolved issue where tasks would return to wrong position

Enhanced New User Experience

• Automatic Login After Registration - New users are now automatically logged in after creating their account
  • Eliminates the redundant step of requiring users to log in immediately after registration
  • Improved onboarding flow reduces friction for new users

• AI Optimized Board Quick Start - Added prominent call-to-action for new users without boards
  • Displays helpful message: "You don't have any boards yet. Create your first board to get started!"
  • Large, centered "Create AI Optimized Board" button with orange gradient styling

UI/UX Improvements

• Enhanced Task Review Checkbox Visibility - Made the \"Needs Review\" checkbox more obvious in task forms
  • Changed from subtle gray label to prominent blue gradient styling
  • Added blue checkmark icon when enabled for better visual feedback
  • Increased text size and weight for better readability
  • Improved accessibility with clearer visual distinction

Agent Onboarding Endpoint

• GET /api/agent/onboarding - Comprehensive onboarding endpoint for AI agents starting work with Stride
  • Critical first steps - Immediate guidance on creating .stride_auth.md and .stride.md configuration files
  • File templates - Complete templates for both configuration files included in response
  • Workflow overview - Clear explanation of the Ready → Doing → Review → Done workflow
  • Hook execution guide - Complete documentation of all four hook points with environment variables
  • API reference - Full endpoint listing with categorization (discovery, management, creation)
  • Documentation links - Direct URLs to all agent-facing documentation guides
  • Quick start guide - Step-by-step instructions for getting started immediately
  • Returns all information needed for an agent to begin working without external documentation lookup

• Comprehensive Agent Documentation - Created complete documentation set for AI agents
  • AUTHENTICATION.md - Bearer token authentication with .stride_auth.md format
  • AGENT-CAPABILITIES.md - Capability matching system with 12 standard capabilities
  • AGENT-HOOK-EXECUTION-GUIDE.md - Client-side hook execution with complete examples
  • TASK-WRITING-GUIDE.md - Task creation guide with structured JSON format rationale
  • REVIEW-WORKFLOW.md - Review workflow patterns and continuous work loop
  • ESTIMATION-FEEDBACK.md - Providing estimation feedback on task completion
  • UNCLAIM-TASKS.md - When and how to release tasks agents can't complete
  • AI-WORKFLOW.md - Complete agent workflow from authentication to task completion

Homepage Redesign

• Human-AI Collaboration Focus - Completely redesigned the homepage to showcase Stride as a Human-AI collaboration platform
  • Hero section - Updated badge to "Human-AI Collaboration Platform" and headline to emphasize AI agents working alongside humans
  • Value proposition - Rewritten to highlight workflow hooks, task delegation to AI, and human review control
  • Feature cards - Replaced generic kanban features with collaboration-focused features
    • AI Agent Integration - REST API with capability matching and workflow hooks
    • Automated Task Claiming - Atomic claiming with optimistic locking and dependency handling
    • Human Review Workflow - Optional human review and approval process
    • Client-Side Workflow Hooks - Custom code execution at four key workflow moments

About Page Enhancement

• Human-AI Collaboration Platform Section - Added new section explaining Stride's collaborative features
  • Overview - Describes how AI agents and humans work together through REST API and review workflows
  • Five key features - Capability matching, atomic task claiming, client-side hooks, human review, and API documentation
  • Use case description - Explains how teams delegate repetitive tasks to AI while humans focus on architecture and review

Workflow Hooks System for AI Agent Integration

Bulk Task Creation with Nested Goals

Automatic Goal Deletion

Goal → Task Hierarchy System

Hierarchical Task Tree API Endpoint

Intelligent Review Workflow with mark_reviewed Endpoint

AI Agent Metadata Tracking

Task Dependencies and Blocking Logic

Review Status Update

Fixed issue preventing review status updates on tasks:

• Added automatic population of reviewed_at and reviewed_by_id when review status changes
• Added missing handle_info handler for :task_reviewed PubSub events
• Form component now properly receives user context for review metadata

Task Completion API Endpoint

Task Mark Done API Endpoint

Task Claiming API Endpoints

Task CRU API Endpoints

API Token Authentication for AI Agents

AI Context Fields for Enhanced Task Intelligence

• Three New Task Fields - Added specialized fields to capture AI-relevant context for task execution:

AI Optimized Boards

• New Board Type - Introduced AI Optimized Boards with predefined, immutable structure:

• Automatically creates 5 standard columns: Backlog, Ready, Doing, Review, Done
• Columns are locked and cannot be added, edited, deleted, or reordered
• Designed for AI-driven workflows with consistent, predictable structure
• Board owners retain full control over tasks, but column structure is fixed
• Clear visual distinction from regular boards throughout the interface

Rich Task Metadata System

• Extended Task Schema - Added 18+ new fields to support AI-optimized task management:

• Planning & Context: complexity (small/medium/large), estimated_files, why, what, where_context
• Implementation Guidance: patterns_to_follow, database_changes, validation_rules, required_capabilities
• Observability: telemetry_event, metrics_to_track, logging_requirements
• Error Handling: error_user_message, error_on_failure
• Collections: key_files (JSONB), verification_steps (JSONB), technology_requirements (JSONB), pitfalls (JSONB), out_of_scope (JSONB)
• Metadata Tracking: created_by, creator_name, completed_at, completed_by, completer_name, completion_summary
• Assignment Tracking: claimed_at, claimed_by, claimer_name
• Review System: needs_review (boolean), review_status (pending/approved/changes_requested), review_notes
• Dependencies: dependencies (JSONB array) to track task relationships

Board-Level Field Visibility System

• Field Visibility Toggles - Board owners can control which task fields are visible to all users:

• 12 toggleable fields: acceptance_criteria, complexity, context, key_files, verification_steps, technical_notes, observability, error_handling, technology_requirements, pitfalls, out_of_scope, required_capabilities
• Stored in boards table as JSONB (field_visibility column)
• Real-time PubSub broadcasts synchronize visibility changes across all connected clients
• Owner-only access control - only board owners can modify field visibility settings
• Default visibility: acceptance_criteria shown, all others hidden
• Settings persist in database and apply to all users viewing the board

Enhanced Task Forms

• Comprehensive Task Creation/Edit Form - Support for all rich task fields with dynamic sections:

• Dynamic key files editor with add/remove functionality
• Dynamic verification steps editor with add/remove functionality
• Embedded schema support for structured JSONB data
• Validation for all new fields with proper error handling
• Field visibility awareness - form fields show/hide based on board settings
• Reduced code complexity (Credo compliant) through helper function extraction

Task Detail View Enhancements

• Rich Task Display - All 18 TASK.md categories displayed in organized, scannable format:

• Planning context (Why/What/Where)
• Implementation guidance section
• Key files to read (with file paths and descriptions)
• Verification steps checklist
• Observability requirements
• Error handling guidelines
• Technology requirements
• Known pitfalls
• Out of scope clarifications
• Dependencies visualization
• Review status indicators
• Assignment and completion tracking

Real-Time Collaboration

• PubSub broadcasts for field visibility changes
• Instant synchronization of board settings across all connected clients

AI-Optimized Task Structure

Tasks now contain comprehensive information for AI agents to:

• Understand context and rationale (why/what/where)
• Follow project patterns and conventions
• Locate relevant code files
• Verify implementation success
• Handle errors appropriately
• Track dependencies and review status

Flexible Board Configuration

Teams can customize their workflow by:

• Showing only relevant fields for their process
• Reducing information overload on task cards
• Maintaining consistent views across all team members
• Adjusting visibility as workflow needs evolve

User Authentication & Management

• User registration with email and password
• Secure user login and logout with session management
• Password hashing and security using bcrypt
• Protected routes requiring authentication
• User profiles with customizable display names
• Multi-language support with language switcher (English and French)

Board Management

• Create, view, edit, and delete kanban boards
• Each board has a name and description
• Board-level access control with three permission levels:

• Owner: Full control over board, columns, and tasks
• Modify: Can edit and move tasks, but cannot modify board structure
• Read-only: Can only view the board

• Share boards with other users with granular permissions
• Beautiful board cards with responsive design
• Board listing with quick access to all user boards

Column Management

• Create, edit, and delete columns within boards
• Drag-and-drop column reordering
• Configurable Work-In-Progress (WIP) limits per column:

• Set to 0 for unlimited tasks
• Set to positive integer to enforce maximum tasks
• Visual indicators when approaching or exceeding WIP limits
• Prevents task creation/movement when limit is reached

• Visual task count display (e.g., \"3/5\" when limit is 5)
• Column deletion with cascade (removes all tasks in column)

Task Management

• Create, edit, and delete tasks within columns
• Rich task properties:

• Title: Required task name
• Description: Optional detailed description
• Acceptance Criteria: Optional criteria for task completion
• Type: Work or Defect
• Priority: Low, Medium, High, or Critical
• Assigned To: Assign tasks to specific users
• Identifier: Auto-generated unique identifier (e.g., W1, W2, D1)

• Drag-and-drop task movement:

• Move tasks within the same column (reorder)
• Move tasks between columns
• Respects WIP limits when moving
• Visual feedback during drag operations

• Task comments:

• Add comments to tasks for collaboration
• Timestamp and display for all comments
• View comment history

• Task history tracking:

• Automatic tracking of task lifecycle events
• Track creation, moves between columns, priority changes, and assignments
• Display full history with timestamps
• Visual icons for different event types

Real-Time Collaboration

• Phoenix PubSub integration for real-time updates
• Live synchronization across all connected browsers:

• Task creation, updates, and deletion
• Task movement between columns
• Automatic board refresh when changes occur

• Multiple users can view and interact with the same board simultaneously

User Experience

• Modern, responsive design using TailwindCSS
• Smooth animations and transitions
• Drag-and-drop interfaces for intuitive task management
• Loading states for asynchronous operations
• Flash messages for user feedback
• Confirmation dialogs for destructive actions
• Empty states with helpful guidance
• Accessibility improvements throughout the application
• Mobile-responsive layout

Error Tracking & Monitoring

• Built-in error tracking with ErrorTracker
• Error dashboard for administrators
• Automatic error capture and reporting
• Stack trace and context information for debugging

Internationalization

• Full Gettext integration
• English translations (default)
• French translations
• Spanish translations
• German translations
• Portugese translations
• Japanese translations
• Mandarin Chinese translations
• Easy addition of new languages
• Context-aware translations