PUBLIC ROADMAP · NO DATES, ON PURPOSE
What ships next.
What is done, what is being worked on, and what is deliberately never going to happen. Nothing here carries a date, because a date from a one-person project is a guess wearing a suit.
Quick answer
Hangly is at 2.1.2 on macOS and 2.1.2 on Windows, both released together since 2.1.0. The next work is code-signing the Windows installer so SmartScreen stops warning, finishing the connected artwork for six of the 11 collections, and giving each collection its own page. There is no paid tier planned, now or later.
Key takeaways
- macOS is at 2.1.2; Windows is at 2.1.2, released alongside it
- Next up: a code-signing certificate to silence SmartScreen on Windows
- Six of the 11 collections still need their connected artwork drawn
- No dates are published — items ship when ready and the changelog records when
- No paid tier, no accounts and no roaming characters, ever
Shipped in 2.0
Version 2.0 was the largest release so far and the first that could update itself. These are done and live.
Windows out of pre-release
Windows left 0.9.x with 2.1.0, released the same day as the Mac build. It is at 2.1.2; macOS is at 2.1.2.
Automatic updates
Hangly checks weekly through Sparkle and installs in the background. Before 2.0, a new version meant downloading it by hand.
Release notes on first launch
Shown once after an update, with a Check for Updates button on the About page for anyone who would rather ask.
A lighter download
The app ships the vector artwork it actually draws from rather than a compiled catalogue carrying a bitmap of every unused charm. The download went from 89 MB to 35 MB with no change to the artwork.
Five cords and up to three charms on one rope
Plus eleven additional catalogue charms that arrive on their own, and one Customize window in place of the three it used to take.
Native Windows ARM64 build
A separate native build for Snapdragon machines rather than running the x64 build under emulation. Almost nothing else in this category publishes one.
Connected artwork finished for every charm
All 81 charms now ship both renderings — the plain drawing and the connected one with the thread ending at that charm's own loop. Six collections shipped before their connected art did; none fall back any more.
Charm artwork optimised
Several SVGs carried over 500 KB of embedded raster each. Re-encoding took the artwork directory from 38.4 MB to 8.3 MB with verified visual parity.
Being worked on
Roughly in order. The Windows items come first because the gap between the two platforms is the thing people notice most.
Windows code signing
The Windows installer is unsigned, so SmartScreen shows a warning once on first run. A certificate removes it. This is the single biggest friction point in the Windows install today.
Per-collection pages
So each collection can rank on its own terms rather than as a section of one product page.
Surface the additional catalogue charms on the site
11 charms ship with complete artwork but belong to no collection on the product page — the additional and lucky set that the app surfaces on its own. They are real and installed; the website simply does not list them, which is why counting the collections understated the library by a quarter.
The charms the website does not list
Hangly ships 81 charms with complete artwork. Only 55 of them are named in the 14 collections on the product page. The other 11 are the additional and lucky set — the special catalogue, Diwali, winter, and luck charms from several cultures — which the app surfaces on its own as the year turns.
That gap is the reason the site understated its own library for a while. Counting the collections gives 55; counting what actually installs gives 81. Every figure published now comes from scripts/generate-stats.mjs, which counts the artwork directory at build time, so the two can no longer drift apart.
Giving the additional set a home on the product page is on the list above. It is the cheapest remaining content work and the only one that makes the published count and the installed count the same number.
Deliberately not planned
A roadmap that only lists additions is a wish list. These are the things Hangly is not going to do, so you can rely on that when deciding whether to install it.
A paid tier
There is no upgrade to sell and none is planned. Hangly is free because it was not built to be a business.
Accounts or sign-in
Nothing about a charm on a cord requires knowing who you are.
Roaming characters
The charm hangs from a fixed anchor and is click-through, on purpose. Making it wander would break the one property the whole design exists to guarantee: that it cannot interrupt you.
Advertising or analytics in the app
The privacy page lists everything that leaves your desktop. Adding to that list is not on the roadmap.
What can never change
Some things are fixed because software already installed on other people's machines depends on them. The Sparkle update feeds for both apps, and the stable download URLs, are compiled into copies of the app already running. Moving either would break updates for everyone who installed before the move — so they stay, whatever else changes around them.
This is also why the changelog on this site is generated from those feeds rather than written by hand. There is exactly one source of truth for what a release contains, and the website reads it rather than restating it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Windows version still a pre-release?
No. Windows left 0.9.x with 2.1.0, released alongside the Mac build, and is at 2.1.2 against 2.1.2 on macOS. What remains is code signing, so SmartScreen stops warning on first run.
How many charms does Hangly actually have?
81, each shipping both renderings — the plain drawing and the connected one with the hanging thread. 55 of them are named across the 14 collections on the product page; the other 11 are additional and lucky charms the app surfaces on its own. Every figure is counted from the artwork directory at build time rather than written by hand.
Can I request a charm or a collection?
Yes, and requests genuinely influence the order. Email is the route. A specific request — a named character, a cultural symbol, a team — is far more actionable than a category.
Will Hangly ever cost money?
No. There is no paid tier, no planned upgrade and no trial that expires. It is free on both platforms because it was not built to be a business.
Does the roadmap have dates?
No, and that is a choice rather than an oversight. This is one person's side project shipping alongside film work, and a date published here would be a guess presented as a commitment. Items ship when they are ready and the changelog records when that was.
Will the charm ever move around the screen like a desktop pet?
No. It hangs from a fixed anchor and is click-through so that it is structurally incapable of covering a window or intercepting a click. Making it roam would break the guarantee the product exists to make. If you want a character that moves, the guides on this site recommend other people's apps for exactly that.
In short
2.0 brought self-updating, a much smaller download, five cords and a native Windows ARM64 build. 2.1 brought Windows out of pre-release, released with the Mac build. Next is signing the Windows installer and finishing the connected artwork for six collections. No dates, no paid tier, and no plans to make the charm wander.