Changelog

Every shipped build, in reverse chronological order.

Makro ships often - typically weekly - with a public changelog entry for every release. If something in a recent build changed behaviour you were relying on, this is where to look first. Contact us if a release broke a workflow.

v1.8.18 Latest

Makro now catches duplicated expansions

New
  • If an expansion ever lands twice, Makro now spots it: in normal text fields the extra copy is removed automatically, and in rich-text editors you get a heads-up with a one-tap report so we can fix that site.
  • The uninstall survey is now translated into all 7 languages, and picking Other shows tappable reasons instead of a blank box.
Improved
  • The Report a bug email now starts with your version and browser already filled in.
v1.8.17

Find any setting by typing its name

New
  • Open Makro's search overlay, type > then a setting's name (theme, backups, blocklist...) and hit Enter - Settings opens scrolled to that exact option.
Improved
  • The macro editor stats line (Created, Uses, Time saved) now displays in your language in Simple mode too.
v1.8.16

A simpler rating prompt

Improved
  • We simplified the in-app prompt that asks you to rate Makro.
v1.8.15

Live page variables: reliability fixes

Beta
  • Reliability and accuracy fixes for live page variables and the "Test on active page" check.
v1.8.14

Live variables: more accurate page test

Beta
  • "Test on active page" is now more accurate for live variables, so it no longer reports a match from an unrelated frame.
v1.8.13

Live variables: clearer capture, better test

Beta
  • Capturing a value that changes from page to page now shows "Saved as Live", so you can see it will read the current value rather than a saved copy.
  • "Test on active page" now also checks values shown inside embedded panels and frames (like a helpdesk app panel), instead of only the main page.
v1.8.12

Live variables, easier to get right

Beta
  • Captured values that change from page to page - a ticket id, a date, a reference number - now switch on Live automatically, so they read the current value instead of pasting an older copy.
  • The Live switch on each variable now clearly shows whether it is on or off.
v1.8.11

Live variables read app panels

Beta
  • Live page variables can now read a value shown as plain text in a panel on the page (like a helpdesk app panel showing customer info) - not just values typed into form boxes - even when that panel sits in its own frame. The value is shown for you to confirm before it goes in.
Improved
  • The Settings tab now shows the app version, in line with the other tabs.
v1.8.10

Live variables read across frames

Beta
  • Live page variables can now read a value from a different frame on the same page - for example a value shown in a helpdesk app panel that sits in its own embedded frame, pulled into your reply. The value is shown for you to confirm before it goes in.
v1.8.9

Live variables: clearer feedback

Beta
  • Live page variables now tell you when a value cannot be read from the current page, instead of leaving the [%name] placeholder in your text with no explanation. When the field sits inside an embedded frame (like some helpdesk reply boxes), the message says so.
v1.8.8

Compare & diff text

New
  • Compare two blocks of text in an on-page overlay and see exactly what changed, with the differences highlighted. Open it with Ctrl+Shift+U (remappable in Settings) or from the right-click menu.
  • New [$DIFF] placeholder: show the difference between two values right inside a macro. Choose a customer-friendly view (changed words as before -> after, or two labeled blocks) or a developer view (unified +/- lines) in the built-in visual editor with live preview.
Fixed
  • Tidied the keyboard-shortcut settings rows and the command-palette labels so they display correctly.
v1.8.7

Command palette

New
  • In the Makro search box (Ctrl+Shift+Space), type > to switch to a command palette - run actions and toggle settings (open editor, clipboard history, sync, theme, and more) without leaving the page.
v1.8.6

Keyboard shortcuts

New
  • A keyboard-shortcut cheat-sheet you can open on any page (default Ctrl+/), plus a shortcut to open the Makro editor from anywhere (default Ctrl+Shift+E). Both are remappable in Settings.
v1.8.5

Reliability

Fixed
  • Hardened how your settings are saved so two rapid changes can no longer overwrite each other.
v1.8.4

Bug fixes

Fixed
  • Your device list now shows when each device was last seen and tags the current device.
  • Smart Rewrite now works in more text fields, including search and phone fields.
Beta
  • Page Variables: the setup card dismisses correctly, and "Test on active page" checks the page you came from.
  • Smart Translate now works in more text fields (search and phone), and clicking it without beta access now shows a message instead of doing nothing.
v1.8.3

Editor and suggestion fixes

Fixed
  • Macro suggestions no longer re-suggest the macro you just inserted.
Improved
  • Better text insertion in rich-text editors used by some help-desk tools.
v1.8.2

Reliability improvements

Improved
  • Reliability and stability fixes, including fewer edge-case failures in "Create with AI" macro generation.
v1.8.1

Choose your AI

New
  • Choose your AI when you set up Makro: Makro Cloud (works right away, 25 free Smart Rewrites a month, nothing to install) or Local AI on your device. Your text is encrypted in transit and never used to train AI either way.
  • Already using Makro on Local AI without a local model? If you never picked a setup, a one-tap card switches you to free Cloud AI so Smart Rewrite just works.
v1.8.0

Helpdesk placeholders

New
  • Identity placeholders: set your name and team once in Settings, then [$MY_NAME] and [$MY_TEAM] resolve on any site. One shared macro signs off correctly for whoever runs it.
  • Ticket placeholders for support replies - [$TICKET_EMAIL], [$TICKET_ID], [$TICKET_COMPANY] - discoverable from the editor sidebar and the [$ autocomplete, with sample values shown in the editor. They prompt you to fill in until automatic look-up arrives for your helpdesk.
  • Rosetta Stone: inside Zendesk or FreeScout template editors, Makro tokens emit that platform's native placeholder syntax (for example [$TICKET_ID] becomes {{ticket.id}} on Zendesk).
  • A free Helpdesk Tickets starter pack demonstrating the new vocabulary.
Improved
  • One shared safety wall now guards every Makro feature that opens or fetches a link, blocking private and internal addresses consistently.
v1.7.1

The visual macro editor

New
  • Placeholders in the editor now render as colored chips. Click any chip to edit its settings in an inspector (dates, times, prompts, choices) instead of hand-typing the syntax.
  • A builder for IF conditions: create show-this-when-that rules from dropdowns, no bracket syntax required.
  • Live preview: toggle Preview to see exactly what your macro will paste, with every placeholder resolved.
  • Day-count placeholders: [$DAYSUNTIL:2026-12-25] inserts the number of days until a date, [$DAYSSINCE:2026-01-01] the days since one, with a calendar picker in the editor.
  • Makro now works inside rich-text editors that run in their own frame (Zendesk-style composers): hotword expansion activates there, and on-device language detection (beta) can read the conversation from the surrounding page. Same-origin frames only.
Beta
  • Language tabs: keep one macro in several languages, with AI translation that protects your placeholders - they are masked before translation and verified intact after.
  • On-device language detection: Makro can detect the language of the conversation you are replying to and expand the matching language copy. Detection runs entirely on your device; page text never leaves your browser.
Improved
  • Security hardening across license validation, sync, and link-opening placeholders, from our June security audit.
v1.6.1

Copy macros anywhere, plus broader and more reliable expansion

New
  • Copy button in the editor: copy a macro (placeholders resolved) to your clipboard and paste it anywhere, including Google Docs, where direct insertion is not possible.
Improved
  • Macros now expand in search bars and more field types, not just standard text boxes.
  • More reliable expansion on dynamic, single-page sites that swap out fields as you type.
  • Date placeholders like [$DATE+7d] now preview correctly in the editor, with a hint if the unit is missing.
v1.6.0

Editor autocomplete for placeholders

New
  • Type [$ in the editor to search your placeholders by name and insert them, without remembering the exact spelling.
v1.5.11

Clipboard clearing fixed, plus editor refinements

Fixed
  • Clearing your clipboard history now removes every entry, including items captured moments earlier, instead of leaving some to reappear.
  • Some beta features could navigate your current tab unexpectedly; they no longer do.
Improved
  • Editor refinements: a soft-wrap-aware line-number gutter, restyled OCR helpers, and a corrected layout in narrow windows.
  • A frequently-used placeholder row in the editor, plus wrapping a text selection directly into link, image, and AI-prompt placeholders.
v1.5.10

Recover your license key yourself

New
  • Lost your license key? A new "Lost your key?" link in the popup lets you recover it: enter your account email and we email you a link to your customer portal, where your license key is shown.
v1.5.9

Full translations in six languages, and free Team Pack import

New
  • The entire popup is now translated in German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese (previously some panels fell back to English).
Improved
  • Importing a shared Team Pack is now free on every plan.
Fixed
  • Placeholder examples (like [$DATE]) and plan prices now display correctly in the editor.
  • The placeholder chip grid no longer overflows the advanced editor.
v1.5.8

Redact sensitive text, and calmer macro suggestions

New
  • New [$REDACT:[$SELECTION]] placeholder masks emails and phone numbers in the selected text while keeping a verifiable hint (for example j****@gmail.com or ***-***-1234), so you can share screenshots or confirm contact details without exposing them.
Improved
  • The macro suggestion box is calmer: it no longer covers the text you are typing, dismisses when you press Enter to send, fades out on its own, and a new match-strength slider lets you control how often it appears.
Fixed
  • "Extract Text" (OCR) works again on images hosted anywhere on the web.
  • The macro editor now flags an unclosed or unknown [$...] placeholder as you type.
v1.5.7

Shortcuts that work anywhere

New
  • Smart Actions: give a macro a keyboard shortcut and it works even when you are not clicked into a text box. Press it anywhere to copy the result, ready to paste or send. Add [$OPENURL:...] to open a link in a new tab instead.
  • New [$SELECTION_OR_CLIPBOARD] placeholder uses your highlighted text, or the clipboard when nothing is highlighted.
Fixed
  • Quick-search now inserts a macro at your cursor in rich editors like Zendesk, instead of at the top of the field.
  • Manage billing now opens your billing portal (it previously hit a 404).
  • "Suggest variants with AI" no longer errors out.
  • Auto-backup now shows the correct next and last backup dates.
Polish
  • Time saved on the Stats screen is labeled all-time, so it is no longer mistaken for the monthly figure.
  • Clearer OCR crosshair and detected-text overlay.
  • Data & Sync now has an info button explaining what end-to-end encryption means.
v1.5.6

Report a site that needs a hand

New
  • Report this site: when expansion runs into trouble on a page, the troubleshooting notice now has a one-click button that sends us only the site name and editor type so we can add support for it faster.
Polish
  • First-run setup now reminds you to refresh tabs you already had open, so Makro starts working on them right away.
v1.5.5

Faster Smart Rewrite

New
  • In-page Smart Rewrite hotkey (default Ctrl+Shift+;). Trigger Smart Rewrite on any selected text without reaching for the mouse. The shortcut is fully configurable in Settings > Shortcuts.
Polish
  • Shortcut binding now blocks OS-reserved and browser-reserved key combos (e.g. Cmd+Tab, Ctrl+W) so you cannot accidentally bind a chord that will never fire.
  • Shortcut conflict detection now flags silent collisions across every Save action in the popup, not just some.
Privacy
  • Tier-targeted announcements (Pro / Premium) now route only to subscribers whose plan matches the target tier.
v1.5.4

Submit a pack to the public library

New
  • Export Pack now has a Submit to Library option for Pro users. Send any pack (3 or more macros) to makroexpander.com/packs. Reviewed by Makro before publishing so other users can find and install it.
Polish
  • Account upgrade card now shows the monthly cost when annual billing is selected, so the savings are visible at a glance.
  • Fixed: "You've saved" header on the account upgrade card was missing the time-saved value across all 7 languages.
v1.5.3

Share your favorite macros with one link

New
  • Export Pack now has a Share Link option. Send a single short link to a teammate instead of a JSON file - they open it, click Install, and your pack lands in their Makro in one step.
  • Sensitive packs can be password-protected: turn on Encrypt with password and only people with the password can open the link. Makro servers never see the password or the pack contents.
v1.5.2

Browser tabs now show the Makro icon

Polish
  • When you open Makro in a browser tab or pinned window, the tab now shows the Makro icon instead of a generic browser globe - easier to spot in a row of tabs.
v1.5.1

More placeholders on the free plan

Free
  • [$PROMPT:Label] is now available on the free plan: shows an input dialog at expansion time so the same macro can ask for a name, subject, or any other quick value.
  • [$CHOICE:option1|option2|option3] is now available on the free plan: shows a dropdown picker at expansion time for predetermined options.
  • Tab stops [$1] through [$9] and [$0] are now available on the free plan: press Tab to jump between fillable spots in an expanded macro; [$0] sets where the cursor lands.
v1.5.0

Smart Variants, redesigned onboarding, and tab mode

New (Pro)
  • Smart Variants (Pro + beta): one hotword can expand into different text depending on the site you are on, the time of day, your browser language, or other conditions. Get early access at makroexpander.com/beta.
  • Suggest with AI (beta): let Smart Rewrite propose variant bodies for an existing macro, sanitized to your tier and conditions.
New
  • Redesigned onboarding: a faster first-run experience with three paths - import from another tool, start with a pack, or skip and explore.
  • Tab mode: open Makro as a pinnable browser tab alongside the floating window. Pick your default in Settings > Preferences. New installs start in tab mode; existing users keep their current setup.
  • Telemetry transparency: every privacy toggle has an (i) button next to it that shows the exact data payload before you opt in.
  • Help FAQ in Settings: built-in answers to the most common questions about expansion, sync, encryption, and tiers.
  • Refreshed popup typography and themes (default / workbench / nord / light) with full WCAG AA contrast across every theme. Save (Ctrl+Enter) and Close (Esc) keyboard shortcuts are now visible on the editor buttons.
Improved
  • Importing macros from TextExpander, Espanso, and Alfred now preserves more placeholder syntax automatically. Date and time tokens, fillable fields, dropdowns, and form fields convert to Makro [$Placeholder] format on import. Headerless CSV exports are detected and imported correctly.
  • Smart Rewrite handles slow responses and stuck sessions more gracefully, with a "Reset AI session" option if a request hangs. LM Studio is detected reliably when set as your AI provider.
  • Privacy Policy updated (May 11, 2026): clearer disclosure of opt-in telemetry fields and a new "Beta Features" section. Makro Cloud is explicitly opt-in; local AI providers (Ollama, LM Studio) remain the default. Read the full policy at /privacy.
  • Esc closes the macro editor from any field, not just the body text. Switching between tab mode and floating window keeps each surface's geometry independent.
v1.4.9

Category hide-from-smart-menus checkbox now saves

Fixed
  • The category-level "Hide from Top 10 / Last 5 / Similar" checkbox in Manage Categories now stays checked after saving. Previously the setting was silently dropped on every save.
v1.4.8

Hide an entire category from Top 10 / Last 5 / Similar

New
  • Hide a whole category - and everything inside it - from Top 10 / Last 5 / Similar / Stats in one click. Open Manage Categories and tick the 🚫 box next to any category.
Fixed
  • The per-macro "Hide from Top 10 / Last 5 / Similar" checkbox now stays checked after saving. Previously the setting was silently dropped on every save.
v1.4.7

Smoother first-macro experience

Fixed
  • Saving your very first macro now prompts you to name your first category, then saves straight away - no more getting stuck on a fresh install.
v1.4.6

[$CHOICE] dropdown + translate submenu + Smart Vision fix

New
  • [$CHOICE:a|b|c] placeholder: shows a dropdown of predetermined options when the macro expands. Pipe-separated so options can include commas. Example: [$CHOICE:Hi, there|Hello|Hey].
  • Right-click "Translate Selection to..." submenu: pick the target language explicitly instead of always translating to the last-used language. Avoids wasted AI usage on the wrong language.
Fixed
  • Smart Vision now extracts text from images instead of describing them. The extraction rider is now always applied, including when a preset is selected.
v1.4.5

[$PROMPT] + [$RANDOM] improvements

Fixed
  • Zendesk and other CKEditor-based sites: [$PROMPT] placeholders no longer insert the expanded text twice, including when the prompt comes from a nested [$MACRO] reference.
New
  • [$RANDOM] now accepts | (pipe) or ; (semicolon) as separators, letting you include commas inside options. Example: [$RANDOM:Hi, there|Hello|Hey, friend]. Existing comma-separated macros continue to work unchanged.
v1.4.2

Onboarding tip fix

Fixed
  • The onboarding "Press [shortcut] to search" tip now shows your actual configured shortcut instead of "null".
v1.4.1

Reliability improvements

What's new
  • Behind-the-scenes reliability and stability improvements. No changes to features or settings.
v1.3.5

Sparkle animation on by default

What's new
  • A subtle sparkle appears on the text field when a macro expands, making it clearer that the expansion happened. You can toggle this off in Settings > Privacy if you’d prefer.
v1.3.3

Trial flow update + reliability fixes

Trial flow
  • "Start Trial" now opens a checkout page in a new tab. A payment method is required. You will not be charged during the 30-day trial period, and you can cancel anytime from your Polar account.
  • Trials auto-convert to paid at day 30 unless you cancel. No more remembering to come back and subscribe.
Reliability
  • OCR quota tracking is more accurate, especially when multiple OCR attempts fire in quick succession.
  • Subscription state sync with Polar has been improved so resubscriptions restore Pro access promptly.
  • The "Out of Smart Rewrite credits" prompt now opens checkout in a new tab, matching the other Start Trial buttons.
v1.2.9

Security: tighter per-tab quota throttle

Security
  • Per-tab AI quota throttle introduced in v1.2.7 now verifies the bypass origin against a real extension URL instead of absence-of-tab. An external security review flagged the original bypass as over-broadly trusting any future context without a tab. Legitimate popup/extension pages continue to work unchanged.
  • Regression check 13l (rate-limit ordering on worker endpoints) now fails closed when the target function cannot be located, instead of silently passing on a refactor.
v1.2.8

Hotfix: AI Vision consent Accept

Fixed
  • AI Vision consent dialog: clicking "Enable AI Vision" no longer fails with a content-script permission error (regression introduced in v1.2.7 and caught before any store submission).
v1.2.7

Security hardening + lockout protection

Security
  • Closed a tamper-detection downgrade where an attacker with the sync key could craft macros that bypass the AAD integrity check.
  • Locked down 5 message handlers that were callable from any webpage - no malicious site can rename your categories, decrypt backups, or silently grant AI Vision consent.
  • Added per-tab rate limit on AI features so a malicious site cannot drain your AI Smart Rewrite quota in the background.
  • License management now clears all subscription/trial flags when you switch keys and cannot accidentally overwrite a paid license with a trial.
Worker
  • Rate-limit lockout protection on /api/install, /api/event, /beta, /contact - bots can no longer spam empty requests to lock out real users from behind a shared IP.
  • Diagnostic logs scrub upstream error bodies and use HMAC-derived hash prefixes for correlation.
Defense-in-depth
  • Clipboard history source label now derived from the real sender tab URL - a malicious iframe cannot claim a fake source domain.
  • Toggling semantic suggestions off in popup takes effect immediately (previously required a service-worker restart).
v1.2.6

Subscription fixes + editor stability

Subscription fixes
  • Cancelled-but-not-yet-ended subscriptions retain Pro access until the billing period ends. Previously Polar's "canceled" and "past_due" states wrongly locked users out of Smart Rewrite, Smart Translate, and cloud sync mid-period.
  • A stale "trial expired" flag from a previous trial no longer locks paying users out of AI features or shows the "sync paused" badge.
Editor stability
  • Pressing Esc on a [$PROMPT] dialog inside a textarea or input now restores the hotword you typed instead of destroying it.
  • Macro expansion in editors that reconcile their DOM (Slate, ProseMirror, Lexical, Zendesk) is more reliable. Insertion point is verified before text placement, preventing wrong-location inserts.
  • Floating popup window no longer grows a few pixels each time it is reopened on Firefox.
v1.2.5

Reliability polish

Fixes
  • Smart Rewrite and Smart Translate now work on editors built with web components and open shadow DOM. Selections that span multiple nodes inside a shadow root are recognized correctly.
  • Checkout page now collects your email up front and pre-fills it on the Polar checkout, so receipts and license keys actually reach you if you close the tab and come back.
  • Checkout page Proceed button waits for the embedded checkout script to finish loading before it lights up, so a fast click no longer bounces you to Polar's hosted page.
Under the hood
  • Ghost Expansion placeholder parser consolidated to a single source of truth. Tests now exercise the exact code the browser runs, closing a drift gap.
v1.2.3

Try Pro in one click

Proactive trial surfaces
  • Quota exhaustion CTA: hitting the 25 free Smart Rewrite credits cap now offers a one-click 30-day Pro trial instead of a dead-end error. Peak willingness-to-convert moment.
  • Macro milestone banner: free users crossing 10 saved macros see a single, dismissible nudge with a one-click Start Trial button. Fires once, ever.
  • Update banner now tracks the canonical latest version via the worker heartbeat, so v1.1.9 users who never saw a nudge finally get one.
Reliability
  • Worker sync push endpoint: null-safe body parsing prevents rare 500s when the client omits optional fields.
  • Popup: createNewMacro no longer drops a freshly-saved macro if the user switches category mid-save.
  • Locales: restored missing diacritics in es, fr, and three more language files.
v1.2.1

Smart Translate + AI Prompts pack

Smart Translate
  • New Smart Rewrite action that translates selected text between 12 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese Brazil, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Simplified, Arabic).
  • Auto-detect source language option.
  • Runs fully offline with Ollama or LM Studio. Cloud route via Makro Cloud for Pro and Premium.
  • Compact popover with swap button. Remembers your last-used source and target languages.
  • Available in both the popup AI Rewrite menu and the on-page inline rewrite overlay.
AI Prompts starter pack (Pro)
  • 18 curated prompts for writing, coding, research, and business workflows.
  • Works with any AI chat interface (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity).
  • Uses Makro placeholders for customizable fields.
Stats panel
  • "Month" view now uses calendar month boundaries so totals match the header banner.
  • Time Saved calculated from real macro body length at 200 CPM instead of a flat 5 second estimate.
  • Minute and hour formatting no longer produces "1h 60m" edge cases at rounding boundaries.
Onboarding
  • Skipping the pack selection step now continues to the AI demo and tips instead of exiting.
  • Skip flag clears on re-entry so returning users get a clean flow.
  • Back button from step 7 correctly returns to step 4 when the user skipped.
Polish
  • Pinned popup dimensions to 780x580 to prevent size drift when reopening.
  • Added data-i18n-title, data-i18n-aria-label, and data-i18n-placeholder support for better screen reader coverage.
  • Localized Chrome Web Store and Firefox AMO titles for French, German, Japanese, and Korean.
  • Corrected Magical comparison page to reflect their "600/month cap" rather than "free tier removed".
v1.2.0

Popup sizing + stats alignment

Fixes
  • Pinned popup dimensions so the window no longer grows a few pixels each time it is reopened.
  • Stats panel "Month" period now aligned with the header banner monthly counter.
  • Time Saved metric now uses the real body-length-based calculation (200 CPM) instead of the legacy flat 5 second estimate.
  • Skipping the onboarding pack selection now continues to the AI demo and tips instead of closing the wizard.
v1.1.9

Makro Credits rebrand + security hardening

Rebrand
  • "AI Smart Rewrite" normalized to "Smart Rewrite" across all 7 locales, store listings, and SSR pages.
  • "Makro Credits" established as the universal AI quota unit (25 free, 500 Pro, 10,000 Premium per month).
Imports
  • New Magical importer with DevTools extraction instructions.
  • Text Blaze converter now handles 14 placeholder types including formmenu with default, if/else/endif, nested repeat.
  • Converter quick wins across 6 more tools: TextExpander filltext defaults, Espanso date/time, AutoHotkey Tab/Enter, Alfred time, PhraseExpress if/else, Typinator datetime.
Security
  • Content scripts can no longer call saveMacro, deleteMacro, or installPack (POPUP_ONLY guard expansion).
  • Sync push now type-guards all macro and category string fields before D1 bind.
  • License key activation eliminates the plaintext storage window via on-demand encryption init.
  • Clipboard history capped at 200 entries per CLAUDE.md storage quota guidance.