CHIPOS CHANGELOG
Track the evolution of the first agentic OS for semiconductor design.
ChipChat Sign-In Reliability + Knowledge Expansion
ChipOS 2026.01.05 strengthens Chat Mode reliability and expands knowledge workflows with repository ingestion, a Knowledge Inspector, and provider status dashboards.
Major Features
- ChipChat Sign-In Reliability: Smoother sign-in and session continuity for Chat Mode.
- Repository Ingestion: GitHub tarball ingestion with code-aware chunking for better code retrieval.
- Knowledge Inspector: Browse and debug ingested chunks directly in the dashboard.
- Agent Work Orders: New AWO UI with streaming logs and repository tracking (capabilities-gated).
Chat & Agents
- Chat Commands: New commands to open, toggle, and exit fullscreen chat.
- Claude Code Packs: Command packs and 14 bundled slash commands auto-install in .claude/commands.
- Chip AI Status: The in-IDE assistant remains disabled by default.
Providers & RAG
- Provider Status: Health checks for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter, and Grok.
- Ollama Panel: Validate instances, discover models, and monitor health for local deployments.
- RAG Upgrades: Hybrid search, reranking, context expansion, and pagination fixes for large sources.
Claude Commands & AI Chatbot
This release introduces automatic installation of ChipOS slash commands when you open a workspace, plus a sophisticated AI chatbot with syntax highlighting for hardware discussions.
New Features
- Auto-Install Claude Commands: ChipOS slash commands (/deploy, /run, /bench, /new-pipeline, etc.) are automatically installed to your workspace's .claude/commands/ directory on activation.
- AI Chatbot with Syntax Highlighting: Sophisticated ChatWindow component with code highlighting for SystemVerilog, Python, and YAML discussions.
- 13 Built-in Commands: /chipos-help, /new-pipeline, /deploy, /run, /bench, /new-app, /build, /test, /debug, /add-model, /list-models, /init-chipos.
- UI Defaults: Activity bar at top, secondary sidebar hidden, chat panel hidden by default for cleaner workspace.
- Cross-Platform Support: Commands work identically on macOS, Linux, and Windows using Node.js fs/path modules.
Fixes
- Fixed CORS issues for embedded webview support.
- Improved file-based context handling for Gemini RAG queries.
- Fixed chat API route prefix handling.
Unified Platform Experience
This release brings parity between macOS and Linux environments, introducing a unified settings interface and consistent theming. We've also integrated direct access to the knowledge base from the sidebar.
Improvements
- Knowledge Base Sidebar: Browse and search indexed documentation directly from the sidebar without leaving the editor.
- AI Provider Quick-Connect: One-click setup for Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf MCP integration.
- Redesigned Controls Panel: Modern glassmorphism UI with improved navigation and accessibility.
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where SystemVerilog syntax highlighting would break on large files.
- Resolved a race condition in the UVM testbench generator.
RAG Optimization
Major performance improvements to the Retrieval-Augmented Generation engine, resulting in 40% faster query responses for large hardware specifications.
Improvements
- Smart Context: The AI now better understands the context of multi-module designs.
- PDF Parsing: Improved extraction of tables and timing diagrams from datasheets.
Initial Release
The first public release of ChipOS, the AI Operating System for Hardware Design.