Changelog

What's new in BuddyBar — the big stuff, in plain English.

Version 6.2 — Connect Your AI Tools, Quiet Mode & a Windows Shortcut

August 2026 Latest
  • Mac Connect Your AI Tools - Let your AI coding assistants read your palette so you stop pasting hex codes into prompts. Just ask your AI what your brand colors are, or tell it to use them, and it automatically knows based on what you have set up in BuddyBar. It reads only — nothing can change your colors, and they never leave your Mac.
  • Mac Colors that come with instructions - Alongside each color, BuddyBar passes on which combinations are readable as text, so what your AI tool builds respects your contrast rules without being asked.
  • Mac Only show when I open it - The same quiet mode as Chrome: the bar stays out of sight until you ask for it.
  • Mac Sync problems now say so - If a sync fails, the status line tells you instead of failing quietly.
  • Chrome Only show when I open it - Turn this on and every page starts without the bar, so it appears only when you actually ask for it. Handy if you move through a lot of decks you're not editing.
  • Chrome A welcome page on first install - A short introduction the first time you add BuddyBar, including the list of design tools it works with.
  • Chrome Clicking the icon on an unsupported site now helps - Instead of doing nothing, it opens the welcome page at the section explaining where BuddyBar works.
  • Chrome A closed bar stays closed - Moving between decks in the same tab no longer brings back a bar you'd already dismissed.
  • Chrome Settings shows the version you're actually running - It had been reporting v6.0 regardless of the installed version.
  • Windows Global keyboard shortcut - Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+B anywhere to show or hide the bar. If another app has already claimed it, BuddyBar falls back to Ctrl+Alt+B, and the tray menu always shows which combination is active.

Version 6.1 — Color-Blindness Preview, Dark Versions & Recent Colors

June 2026
  • Mac Windows See how others see it - Color-blindness preview shows how your palette looks to people with different types of color vision, with plain-English warnings for look-alike pairs.
  • Mac Windows Make a dark version - Generate a dark-background counterpart of any template, with readability automatically fixed so every color still reads.
  • Mac Windows Recent colors - Your last 8 copied colors appear in the overflow popover. Click any one to copy it again.
  • Chrome Eyedropper - Pick a color straight from any web page using the browser's built-in picker, right from the toolbar or the color editor.
  • Chrome Grab this page's colors - One click extracts the current page's main colors into a new template. Great for capturing a site's palette instantly.
  • Windows Panel and window fixes - Stability and layout fixes for panels and windows, plus general reliability improvements.

Version 6.0 — Color Locking, Palette Audit & Harmony

March 2026
  • All Color locking - Lock individual colors to prevent accidental edits, deletion, or reordering. A small lock icon appears on locked swatches.
  • All Template locking - Lock entire palettes to protect all colors at once. Locked templates only allow copying, nothing else.
  • All Shade ladders - 10-stop tonal scale from light to dark for any color. Click any shade to copy it. Replaces the old Variations view.
  • All Copy format presets - Choose how colors are copied: HEX, HEX (no #), RGB, HSL, or CSS variable. Set your default in settings.
  • All Make This Usable (wand) - One-click palette audit that finds near-duplicate colors, checks contrast, analyzes color harmony, and suggests roles for each color.
  • All Color harmony analysis - Checks whether your colors work together based on hue spread, saturation consistency, and lightness balance.
  • All Role ideas - Suggests roles like Primary, Accent, Background, and Muted for each color. Click to rename, or apply all at once.
  • All Readability auto-fix - Double-click any failing contrast cell to automatically adjust the color for better readability. Changes happen in place without closing the panel.
  • All Toolbar reorganized - Buttons grouped by function with visual separators. Editing tools, analysis tools, and utility tools are now clearly separated.
  • All Info buttons - Contextual help popovers on Shades, Text Preview, Readability, and the Wand panel explain what each feature does in plain English.
  • All Improved dark mode - Full dark mode support across every panel, popover, and menu. Follows your system preference.
  • All Cross-platform sync fixes - Resolved duplicate template issues, ordering inconsistencies, and sync loop problems between Mac, Windows, and Chrome.
  • Chrome Chameleon Creator support - BuddyBar now works with Chameleon Creator, the eLearning authoring tool. Auto-positions on the page.

Version 5.0 — Image Extraction, Accessibility & Windows

February 2026
  • All Image color extraction - Drag and drop any image onto the bar to extract its dominant colors. Save them as a new template instantly.
  • All Color scheme generator - Generate warm, cool, or neutral 6-color schemes from any starting color. Auto-fixes contrast for readability so every combination works.
  • All Readability checker - Visual matrix showing WCAG contrast for all your text and background color pairs. One-click "Make Readable" fix for colors that don't pass.
  • All Redesigned settings - Cleaner layout with categorized help sections and a "What's New" overview for quick feature discovery.
  • Mac Rebuilt from the ground up - The Mac app has been significantly rewritten with a modular architecture, optimized native messaging, and a dedicated helper process for faster Chrome sync.
  • Windows New Windows desktop app - BuddyBar is now available on Windows with system tray integration, native messaging sync with Chrome, and cloud folder sync with Mac.
  • All Under-the-hood improvements - Performance and efficiency optimizations across all platforms for a smoother experience.
Older versions v1.5 – v4.3.1 · Sep 2025 – Jan 2026

Version 4.3.1 — Bug Fix

January 2026
  • Chrome Fixed settings menu dark mode - Settings menu now displays correctly when using dark mode.

Version 4.3 — Text Preview & Cloud Sync

January 2026
  • Both Text preview with contrast checking - See how your color looks as text on different backgrounds. Shows whether the contrast is readable, low, or poor so you know if text will be easy to read.
  • Both Smarter color names - Colors now display intelligent, human-readable names instead of just hex codes. Makes it easier to identify and communicate colors.
  • Mac Cloud sync for multiple Macs - Keep your palettes in sync across multiple Macs using iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any folder you choose.
  • Both Improved cross-device sync - Enhanced sync reliability between Chrome extension and Mac app.
  • Both RGB & HSL paste support - Paste colors in rgb(), rgba(), hsl(), or hsla() format and they'll automatically convert to hex.
  • Both Include # when copying setting - Choose whether to include the hash symbol when copying hex codes. Some tools prefer colors without the #.
  • Both Expand text preview by default - Option to automatically show the text preview section when editing colors.

Version 4.2 — Appearance Settings & Improved Visibility

December 2025
  • Chrome Dark mode support - Dark mode now available in Chrome extension, matching the Mac app. UI adapts to your chosen appearance setting.
  • Both Appearance setting - Choose between System, Light, or Dark mode. Find it in the menu bar dropdown on Mac or the settings menu on Chrome.
  • Mac Fully opaque background - Improved visibility with solid background colors for better readability against any desktop.
  • Both Bug fixes and improvements - Various stability and performance improvements.

Version 4.1 — Dark Mode Support

December 2025
  • Mac Dark mode support - UI automatically adapts to system appearance settings.
  • Mac Code cleanup and improvements - Internal code improvements for better maintainability.

Version 4.0 — Native Mac App & Cross-Platform Sync

December 2025
  • Mac Native macOS app - A dedicated Mac app that lives in your menu bar. Access your color palette from any application, not just the browser.
  • Mac Works in any app - Unlike the Chrome extension, the Mac app works system-wide in Sketch, Affinity, Photoshop, Illustrator, and anywhere you need colors.
  • Both Automatic local sync - Colors sync automatically between Chrome and the Mac app on your computer via native messaging. No cloud account needed.
  • Mac Menu bar integration - Custom menu bar icon with quick access to templates, show/hide toggle, and launch at login option.
  • Both Keyboard shortcuts - Ctrl+Shift+B (⌃⇧B on Mac) across all platforms. Chrome, Mac, and Windows all use the same shortcut.
  • Both Drag-and-drop reordering - Swatches swap positions smoothly with visual feedback. No more manual repositioning.
  • Both Hover effects - Subtle visual feedback when mousing over swatches with scale and border animations.
  • Mac Accessibility permission onboarding - Friendly setup flow to enable the global keyboard shortcut on first launch with clear explanations.
  • Mac Launch at login - Option to start BuddyBar automatically when you log in to your Mac using SMAppService.
  • Mac Automatic updates - Built-in update system keeps your app current with new features and improvements automatically.
  • Chrome Native color picker - Click the preview swatch in the Edit Color popup to open your system's color picker with real-time updates.
  • Chrome Template search - Quickly find templates by name with the new search field in the template dropdown.
  • Mac Improved color picker - Uses native macOS NSColorPanel with reliable real-time color updates and all system color pickers.
  • Both Template file import/export - Share .buddybar template files with your team. Drag and drop to import on both platforms.

Version 3.0 — Universal Design Tool Support

November 2025
  • Chrome Multi-platform support - Now works in Figma, Canva, Adobe Express, Spline, Framer, Webflow, Penpot, Miro, Notion, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Articulate Rise.
  • Chrome Universal adapter system - Automatically detects which design tool you're using and positions the bar optimally for that platform.
  • Chrome Real-time sync across tabs - Changes you make in one browser tab instantly appear in all other tabs on the same device. Perfect for multi-window workflows.

Version 2.0 — Unlimited Swatch Support

October 2025
  • Chrome Unlimited colors per template - No longer limited to 3 colors. Add as many as you need for complex brand guidelines.
  • Chrome Drag-and-drop reordering - Rearrange your colors by dragging them. A ghost preview shows exactly where they'll land.
  • Chrome Overflow panel - Clean interface that shows your first 6 colors, with a button to expand and see the rest.
  • Chrome Individual color naming - Give each color a custom name instead of generic labels like "Primary" or "Secondary".
  • Chrome Import/export templates - Download templates as .buddybar files to share with your team. Import by dragging files onto the bar.
  • Chrome Enhanced color editor - Click color names to rename them inline. Delete button for removing unwanted colors.
  • Chrome Mini color previews in dropdown - See the first 3 colors of each template at a glance when switching.
  • Chrome Confirmation dialogs - Prompts before deleting colors or templates to prevent accidental data loss.
  • Chrome Better state management - Faster loading and more reliable syncing across browser sessions.

Version 1.5 — Initial Release

September 2025
  • Chrome 3 color swatches - Primary, Secondary, and Accent colors for instant hex code copying in Articulate Rise.
  • Chrome Template management - Create and switch between multiple color schemes for different projects.
  • Chrome Drag-and-drop positioning - Position the color bar anywhere on screen that works for your workflow.
  • Chrome Keyboard shortcut - Toggle visibility with a quick keyboard shortcut to keep your workspace clean.
  • Chrome Color editor - Right-click any swatch to edit with live preview of changes.
  • Chrome Rise integration - Seamless integration with Articulate Rise authoring environment.