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Release Notes

Updated by Jonathan Clepkens

In this article


November 2026

November 2, 2026

  • Research profile and onboarding:

    • Refine your research profile, topics and collaborators for more relevant recommendations.

    • Use Google Scholar, OpenAlex, ORCID and arXiv author links to help Theo suggest research topics.

    • Find and confirm your publication profile through clearer research-source fields.

    • Follow updated sign-up guidance and help documentation.

  • GitHub integration:

    • Connect and manage GitHub from Customize on deployments where the integration is enabled.

    • Choose which repositories Theo can access and disconnect your account when needed.

    • Ask Theo about repository code, files, issues and pull requests, with references to the source.

    • Keep GitHub access read-only: Theo cannot push changes, post comments or open issues through the connector.

  • Zotero and source imports:

    • Connect and manage your Zotero account directly from Customize.

    • Sync your Zotero library and search its papers from the source-import dialog.

    • Import publicly linked Zotero papers into a research session for processing.

  • Customization and model selection:

    • More model choices: Alongside OpenAI, Gemini and Anthropic models, choose from:

      • Moonshot AI: Kimi K3

      • Z.ai: GLM 5.3 and GLM 5.3 Flash

      • DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash

      • NVIDIA: Nemotron 3.5 Super VL and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning

      • Inception: Mercury 3

      • Mistral AI: Mistral Large 4

      • Cohere: Command A+

      • Reflection AI: Beam 1.0

      • Meta: Muse Spark Open

      • xAI: Grok 4.7

    • Personalize your available models, connectors and computation settings in Customize.

    • Choose which available models appear in your model picker.

    • Find models more easily with clearer provider grouping and logos.

    • Navigate a simpler model picker with the old Theo fine-tuned-model section removed.

  • Session management:

    • Browse personal and team sessions in a redesigned session explorer.

    • Search and sort sessions, with dates displayed in your local time zone.

    • Star frequently used sessions and find them quickly in Favorites.

    • Preview a session’s chats, sources, artifacts and completed research steps.

    • Rename sessions directly in the list and access session actions from each row.

    • Open Customize without favorite stars appearing over the panel.

  • Chat and workspace:

    • Resize and collapse workspace panels, with your layout remembered between visits.

    • See the active chat’s title and export its DRO directly from the chat header.

    • Copy artifact citations from cleaner, less cluttered sidebar rows.

    • Find information more easily with consistent search fields and clearer search icons.

  • Research guidance and verification:

    • Theo is now instructed to explain demonstrably false claims in an artifact and ask about correcting them before starting dependent work.

    • Get clearer explanations with abbreviations defined on first use and less unnecessary jargon in research questions.

    • Select SageMath or Mathematica as your preferred computation engine, where supported.

    • Benefit from improved automatic math verification and review results alongside successful computations.

  • Credits and payments:

    • Users can use the Stripe payment portal to top-up credits as needed.

    • Eligible accounts can restart credit purchases, select saved payment methods and see clearer currency information.

October 2026

October 26, 2026

  • Open sign-up: Anyone can now create a Theo account and start with 1,500 free credits, no invitation needed.

  • Sign in with Google: Create an account or sign in with your Google account.

  • New frontier models: Choose from 12 new models, including ultra-fast.

  • Shareable research objects: Share any Dynamic Research Object (DRO) with a link that anyone can open.

  • DROs from chat: Ask Theo to create a DRO right in the conversation.

  • Share sources with your team: Share the sources from your session with your teammates.

  • Phase notifications: Theo tells you in chat when a phase finishes running.

  • Phase improvements:

    • Math phase: Tuned behaviour, with better handling when a math engine fails or returns an incomplete answer.

    • Literature search: Theo is more precise about when and how it searches for papers.

    • Summary phase: Clearer specs and a more consistent workflow.

  • UX improvements:

    • New design system: The entire platform now shares one consistent look.

    • Resizable sidebar: Drag the sidebar to the width you want, like in a code editor.

  • Bug fixes: General bug fixes and improvements.

September 2026

September 25, 2026

  • Derivation verification: Math results are checked automatically, and you can see each verification run.

  • Claude models: Anthropic Claude Opus 5 and Claude Sonnet 5 models are available in the model dropdown and in Council Mode.

  • Automatic model selection: Theo picks the best model for each request. The advanced model dropdown is hidden by default.

  • Credit Usage: See how your credits are being used, and request more when you need them.

  • Session export and import: Save a session as a .theo file and import it again later. Share with colleagues. The Explore page offers three ways to begin a session: new, resume, and import.

  • DRO export: Export your research as a Dynamic Research Object.

  • More source types: Add images, PDFs, CSVs, Python files, and URLs as sources, or turn text into a source. Tag sources, or delete ones you no longer need.

  • Help Center and Support menu: Guides, a glossary, and troubleshooting are in the Help Center. From the Support menu you can also launch a tutorial, email support, report a bug, and open the release notes.

  • New address: Theo Collaborator is now at theo.firstprinciples.com.

  • Phase improvements:

    • Chat with CiteVerify: Check citations directly from chat.

    • Web search: Theo can search the web as part of your workflow.

    • Mathematica: Run Mathematica from the Math phase or from chat.

    • Updates to Paper Radar: Recommendations cover the last 60 days by default, and can be adjusted between 14 and 100 days. You can use recommended papers as PDF sources.

    • Problem Identification references: Problem Identification results now include references.

  • UX Improvements:

    • Council Mode summary prioritized: Council Mode leads with one combined answer with the option to review the individual model responses.

    • Named phases: Phases have descriptive names that are included in the research history.

    • Easier uploads: Source upload opens in a pop-up that lists the supported file types.

    • Redesigned sidebars: The Artifacts and Sources sidebars work the same way: peek, dock, or collapse.

    • User memory: Theo remembers context about you across sessions.

    • Stop a response: Interrupt Theo while it's thinking.

    • Pinned chats: Pin and rename the conversations you use most.

    • Persistent Python output: Python results stay in your session.

    • Long conversations: Long chats are compressed so Theo keeps the context that matters, and a Jump to bottom button takes you back to the latest message.

    • Progress updates: Theo tells you when it's still working.

  • Bug fixes:

    • The model you choose stays set for each chat and no longer switches without notice.

    • PDF exports render LaTeX.

    • You can move from Methods to Implementation again.

    • Reruns keep their earlier context.

    • Theo no longer gets stuck in a loop after Problem Identification.

    • Literature Review works when it starts from a Paper Radar result.

    • Mathematica runs no longer time out or fail on special characters.

    • Inline plots render.

    • PDF uploads no longer get stuck on "processing."

    • Your prompt is kept when you switch views.

    • Source tags display correctly.

September 11, 2026

  • Plan preview: Theo shows its plan before it builds a workflow.

  • Split-screen sources: Open sources in tabs next to your chat.

  • Document priority: Files you upload outweigh web results when Theo picks sources.

  • Consistent math: Equations look the same in chat, phases, and exports.

  • In-app bug reporting: Report a problem without leaving Theo.

  • Response feedback: Rate any response with a thumbs up or down.

  • Improved routing: Theo routes requests to specialized tools where available.

August 2026

August 28, 2026

  • Expanded model selection: Choose from open-weight GLM 5.2 and Kimi K2, or OpenAI GPT 5.4 Nano, GPT 5.4 Thinking, and GPT 5.5 Max from the model dropdown.

  • Paper Radar: Get paper recommendations based on your profile and interests.

  • Session Memory: Theo keeps context from one conversation to the next.

  • Richer profiles: Add your research areas and your institution. Import from OpenAlex.

  • Council Mode redesign: Compare model answers side by side in Deck Mode.

  • Automatic chat names: New chats get a title automatically.

  • Improved literature search: Literature Review runs on a new search engine.

  • Bug fixes: Text is readable in dark mode, LaTeX renders correctly, long chats no longer lag, Council Mode calls every model, and the Python and Math phases return reliably.

August 11, 2026

  • Council Mode: Send a question to several models (GPT, GLM and Kimi) and get one combined answer.

  • Guided onboarding: Import your profile from external sources and set a goal for your session.

  • Improved conversational workflow: Phases launch from chat, and their results are returned via conversation. Theo states how it understood an unclear request before proceeding.

  • Simplified Implementation Phase: Evaluation is now a tool inside Implementation instead of a separate phase.

  • Bug fixes: Generated code quality is improved, repeated reply-and-edit no longer crashes the app.

July 2026

July 24, 2026

  • Chat-first interface: Every session begins with a conversation.

  • Source import: Bring in papers and files for Theo to work from.

  • Flexible workflows: Revisit and rerun Phases in any order.

  • Phase provenance: See which Phase each result came from.

  • Python and Sage: Both are available as tools in Implementation.

  • Bug fixes: Phase 1 results carry into Phase 2, Literature Review no longer comes back empty, and new artifacts appear without a page refresh.