Sasha Studio Release Notes: v1.0.122 to v1.0.293

Release Period: October 2025 - January 2026
Version Range: 1.0.122 → 1.0.293
Total Commits: 324

TL;DR - Business Summary

What's New in Plain English:

This release gives you three game-changing capabilities:

Multi-Client Management Dashboard - Deploy and manage multiple Sasha instances for different customers through a simple web interface. No more command-line tools or manual configuration files.
Google Drive Integration - Your team can now access Google Drive files directly within Sasha, including shared drives. Files appear in the file browser just like local files - no downloading or manual syncing required.
User Administration - Administrators can now create and manage user accounts, set permissions, and streamline onboarding for new team members.

Business Value:

Scale Faster: Deploy new client instances in minutes instead of hours
Work Seamlessly: Access cloud files without leaving Sasha or managing downloads
Reduce Friction: Onboard new team members with pre-configured accounts
Improve Security: Centralized secret management with encryption for all sensitive credentials
Better Visibility: Real-time deployment status and health monitoring

Executive Summary

This release introduces Sasha Control Panel, a production-ready web-based administration console for managing multi-client Sasha deployments. The release also delivers major cloud storage integration capabilities through rclone, enhanced user management features, and significant improvements to file handling and system reliability. Teams now have comprehensive tools for deploying and managing multiple Sasha instances, connecting cloud storage providers, and administering user accounts—all through intuitive web interfaces.

Key themes include enterprise deployment management, Google Drive integration via OAuth, administrative user management, and comprehensive system reliability improvements across file handling, session management, and cloud storage operations.

Major Features & Improvements

Sasha Control Panel - MVP Launch

Production admin console for managing Sasha client deployments across Sliplane infrastructure
Global environment variable management with secret encryption and per-client overrides
Deployment orchestration with real-time status tracking and GHCR tag resolution
Client lifecycle management: Create, configure, deploy, update, and delete client instances
Sliplane service auto-linking with automatic service discovery and reconciliation
Danger zone controls with deployment reset and client data deletion
CLI migration tooling to import existing client configurations
Deployment debugging with comprehensive logging when DEPLOY_DEBUG=true
Region-aware DOCSIDECAR defaults with automatic US/EU URL injection
GitHub releases fallback for image tag resolution when GHCR API unavailable

Cloud Drive Integration (rclone)

OAuth flow for secure Google Drive authentication and authorization
Virtual cloud mounts created automatically after OAuth completion
API-mode operations using rclone RC (Remote Control) for reliable cloud access
Auto-synchronized remote config ensuring rclone configuration stays current with credentials
Shared drives grouped at top of file tree for easy access
Download start notifications with toast feedback in file browser
Persistent rclone config under home volume for reliability
RC server auto-initialization on startup with health monitoring
Dynamic port selection to avoid conflicts and ensure availability
Mount endpoint detection with fallback support for different rclone versions

User Management & Account Features

Admin user management panel for creating and managing user accounts
Auto-complete onboarding for admin-created users with streamlined setup
My Account sub-tabs with enhanced profile and settings organization
Multi-user support with proper permissions and access controls

File Handling Improvements

Sub-byte file size display with proper formatting for very small files
File tree grouping restoration with improved rendering consistency
Cloud drive metadata handling with rclone size coercion and normalization
Local backend support for rclone RC operations
Remote root path computation for API-mode cloud mounts

Security & Infrastructure

Proxy trust configuration for secure session cookies in production
Encryption helper embedding for control panel secret management
Base schema migration ordering ensuring cloud drive tables load correctly
GitHub releases integration for version checking and tag resolution

Stability & Reliability

Control Panel Resilience

404 handling for Sliplane API treating eventual consistency as success
Deployment error logging with detailed diagnostics for troubleshooting
GHCR tag lookup degradation gracefully handling API failures
Route precedence fixes ensuring /deployments/recent resolves before param routes
Dry-run deployment plans surfaced with deployment success guards

rclone Integration Stability

RC probe reliability using CLI to match bind addresses correctly
Port collision handling with automated retry and port selection
Lock file takeover with robust retry logic for stale locks
Environment variable isolation preventing duplicate RC address configuration
Startup sequencing ensuring Express waits for rclone readiness
Mount endpoint fallbacks supporting different rclone build configurations
Config regeneration when rclone RC environment becomes stale

File System Reliability

Base schema loading with proper async/await before cloud drive migrations
File size metadata coercion handling non-standard rclone size formats
Group heading restoration fixing file tree rendering after cloud integration
Remote mode cleanup removing deprecated mount flow UI elements

Developer Experience & Docs

Documentation Updates

AI cost transparency guide with comprehensive pricing breakdowns
HTML styling guidance for markdown readability in doc-builder conversion
rclone integration notes covering OAuth setup and RC configuration
GHCR mount test image documentation for development workflows
Support email updates to context-is-everything.com across all documentation
Competitive comparison removal streamlining product documentation

Development Tools

rclone RC sandbox with dedicated GitHub Actions workflow
Duration logging in Docker build scripts for performance tracking
Debug instrumentation for Express startup and rclone initialization
Mount check triggers with scoped CI/CD pipeline updates

Documentation Improvements

Color contrast improvements in AI costs documentation (WCAG compliance)
Cost Control Features removal simplifying documentation structure
HTML rendering fixes with explicit color styles for dark backgrounds

Upgrade Notes

New Control Panel Features

Access Control Panel at dedicated admin URL (configured in Sliplane)
Environment Variables: Control Panel requires new environment setup:
- CONTROL_PANEL_API_TOKEN - Dedicated Sliplane API token
- MASTER_SECRET - For deterministic secret generation
- ENCRYPTION_KEY - For encrypting stored secrets
Migration Tool: Run CLI import script to migrate existing client configs
Global Env Defaults: DOCSIDECAR URLs auto-injected based on region

Cloud Drive Integration

OAuth Required: Users must complete OAuth flow in Settings → Cloud Drives
rclone RC Mode: All cloud operations now use RC API (no manual mounts)
Port Configuration: Default RC port is 5760 (auto-selects if unavailable)
Config Persistence: rclone config stored in /app/home/.config/rclone/

Breaking Changes

Removed remote mode from shared drives UI (API-only flow)
Deprecated mount workflow in favor of rclone RC operations
Base schema requirement: Cloud drive migrations depend on core tables

🧾 Changelog Summary (since v1.0.122)

Control Panel

Delivered MVP admin console for multi-client deployment management
Implemented global environment variable management with encryption
Added Sliplane service auto-linking and reconciliation
Created CLI migration script for importing existing configs
Added deployment debugging with DEPLOY_DEBUG flag
Implemented region-aware DOCSIDECAR URL defaults
Added GitHub releases fallback for tag resolution
Simplified global env management UI
Hidden reset deployment under danger zone
Treated Sliplane 404s as eventual success
Fixed route precedence for deployment endpoints
Improved deployment error logging

Cloud Drive Integration

Implemented OAuth flow for Google Drive authentication
Created virtual cloud mounts after OAuth completion
Switched to rclone RC API mode for all operations
Added auto-synchronization of gdrive remote config
Grouped shared drives at top of file tree
Added download start toast notifications
Persisted rclone config under home volume
Auto-initialized rclone RC server on startup
Implemented dynamic port selection for RC server
Added mount endpoint detection with fallbacks
Fixed RC probe to match bind addresses
Handled port collisions with retry logic
Improved lock file takeover robustness
Prevented duplicate RC address configuration
Sequenced startup to wait for rclone readiness

User Management

Added admin user management panel
Implemented auto-complete onboarding for admin-created users
Created My Account sub-tabs
Enhanced user profile and settings organization

File Handling

Fixed sub-byte file size display
Restored file tree grouping after cloud integration
Coerced rclone size metadata to standard formats
Added canonical local backend for rclone RC
Normalized remote root paths for API mode
Fixed group heading rendering

Documentation

Added comprehensive AI cost transparency guide
Improved color contrast in documentation
Updated support email to context-is-everything.com
Added HTML styling guidance for markdown
Documented rclone integration and OAuth setup
Removed competitive comparison section
Updated rclone RC configuration notes

Infrastructure

Configured proxy trust for secure session cookies
Embedded encryption helper in control panel
Fixed base schema migration ordering
Added version resolution via GitHub releases
Improved GHCR tag lookup with graceful degradation

🚦 Looking Ahead

Control Panel Enhancements: Real-time log streaming, bulk operations, webhook notifications
Cloud Storage Expansion: Additional providers (Dropbox, OneDrive, Box)
Advanced User Management: Role-based access control, team permissions
Deployment Templates: Pre-configured client templates for common use cases
Monitoring & Analytics: Deployment health dashboards, usage metrics
Multi-region Orchestration: Enhanced UI for cross-region deployment management

Jargon Buster - Technical Terms Explained

For those who want to understand the technical details:

rclone

Open-source command-line program for managing files on cloud storage
Think of it as a universal adapter that lets Sasha talk to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.
"RC" (Remote Control) mode means it runs as a background service that Sasha can communicate with

OAuth

Industry-standard security protocol for logging into services (like Google Drive)
The "Sign in with Google" flow you're familiar with
More secure than storing passwords because Sasha never sees your Google password

GHCR (GitHub Container Registry)

Where we store Sasha's installation packages (Docker images)
Like an app store, but for server software
Each version is "tagged" with a number (e.g., v1.0.293)

Sliplane

Cloud hosting platform where Sasha instances run
Manages servers, SSL certificates, and deployments automatically
Think of it as managed WordPress hosting, but for Sasha

Environment Variables

Configuration settings for each Sasha instance
Like preferences or settings, but for the server
Includes things like API keys, region settings, and feature flags

CLI (Command Line Interface)

Text-based interface for controlling software (opposite of graphical UI)
The old way of managing deployments before Control Panel
Still available for advanced users and automation

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

First working version with core features
Control Panel MVP means it has essential features, with more coming later
Focus is on functionality that solves real problems, not bells and whistles

API (Application Programming Interface)

How different software programs talk to each other
When we say "Sliplane API," it means the way Control Panel communicates with Sliplane
Like a waiter taking your order to the kitchen - you don't need to know how the kitchen works

Deployment

The process of installing or updating a Sasha instance
Making new code or features available to users
Includes pulling the latest version, configuring settings, and starting the service

Secret/Encryption

Sensitive information like passwords and API keys
"Encrypted" means scrambled so only authorized systems can read it
Keeps customer data secure even if someone gains access to the database

Virtual Mount

Makes cloud storage (like Google Drive) appear as a local folder
Files stay in the cloud, but Sasha treats them as if they're on the server
No need to download everything - files are fetched on-demand

Shared Drives

Google Drive's team collaboration feature (formerly Team Drives)
Belongs to the organization, not individual users
Now accessible directly in Sasha's file browser

Thanks for upgrading. This release delivers production-grade deployment management and cloud storage integration, enabling teams to efficiently manage multiple Sasha instances and seamlessly connect to cloud storage providers.