Hey everyone, Thunder v0.6.0 is finally here! This release cycle took a quite a bit of time but introduces a lot of new features, changes, and fixes which should make for a even better Thunder experience. If you have any suggestions or feedback, feel free to discuss it in the Thunder community or on GitHub.
For those using Google Play or the App Store, it may take a couple of days before you receive this update as it’s currently going through app reviews.
If you’re enjoying Thunder and would like to show some support, star this project on GitHub! This helps gain visibility for the project and allows more contributors to help with the continued development of Thunder. If you’d like to show some appreciation, here is a post with details on how to donate to the active contributors of Thunder.
I would like to again thank all the incredible contributors that have helped with Thunder so far, including all translators!
Now onto the update notes. This update brings a few major features:
🎉 New Features
- Media Management: You can now manage your uploaded media directly in Thunder. To access your previously uploaded images, go to Settings → Account → Danger Zone → Manage Media.
- Account Settings Import/Export: Easily migrate your Lemmy account information, subscriptions, and blocklists between instances. You can access this option under Settings → Account → Import/Export Settings.
- Alternative Link Sources: Thunder now supports Archive Today, Internet Archive, and Ground News for posts. Access these alternative link sources from the post page overflow menu or by long-pressing a link thumbnail.
ℹ General
- UI/UX Enhancements: Redesigned post and comment action sheets, improved video player and image viewer usability, and introduced quick image previews with long-press.
- Minor Additions: Support for alternative text on images, inbox counts in the profile switcher, and new settings for theming and taglines.
- Moderator and Post Actions: Added post reporting and tools for moderators to ban users or assign community moderators.
And much much more. I can’t go through all the changes in the changelog, but for those who are curious, feel free to check out the full changelog below.
We have a Matrix space if you would like to join in on discussions: https://matrix.to/#/#thunderapp:matrix.org
Here are the changes between versions v0.5.1 and v0.6.0. For improved readability, internal issues introduced and fixed in nightly versions will be omitted.
Additions & Major Changes
- Migrated internal video player package and updated video player controls by hjiangsu
- Added additional searchable settings for account and debug settings by micahmo
- Added reporter to post/comment reports by hjiangsu
- Added support for displaying alternative text for images by micahmo
- Added alternate link sources for links (Archive Today, Ghost Archive, etc.) by micahmo
- Updated design of post action sheets by hjiangsu
- Updated design of comment action sheets by hjiangsu
- Added ability to report posts by hjiangsu
- Added moderator actions (ban/unban user from community, add/remove user as community moderator) by hjiangsu
- Added support for quick peeking images on long press by micahmo
- Added unread counts to profile switcher by micahmo
- Added reader mode for in-app browser by micahmo
- Added ability to go to previous/next top-level comment using comment navigator in experimental post page by hjiangsu
- Added video player viewing setting (in-app video player, browser, external app) by ggichure
- Added ability to specify alternative text when creating/editing posts with images by micahmo
- Added ability to navigate to modlog for removed comments by micahmo
- Added option to toggle pure black mode when using system theme by hjiangsu
- Added setting to automatically expand taglines by hjiangsu
- Added support for managing uploaded media by micahmo
- Added ability to import/export Lemmy account settings by micahmo
- Overhauled account page to use feed related logic under-the-hood by hjiangsu
- Overhauled image viewer to improve usability when zooming by CTalvio
Changes
- Modified end of feed/comment message to be more generic by hjiangsu
- Modified input hints to labels in create post page by micahmo
- Updated feed logic to use image dimensions from API when available by hjiangsu
- Updated condensed post view to show URL on link posts by hjiangsu
- Updated feed to highlight the last tapped post by micahmo
- Updated comment handling logic to handle additional comment link formats by micahmo
Fixes
- Fixed theme settings page bottom spacing by ggichure
- Fixed partial percent encoded links in markdown images by hjiangsu
- Fixed create comment/post markdown toolbar visibility on certain devices by hjiangsu
- Fixed certificate issue with LetsEncrypt for older Android versions by hjiangsu
- Fixed incorrectly triggered end of feed when too many filters are applied by hjiangsu
- Fixed inbox “Mark All as Read” not updating UI by micahmo
- Fixed issue where inbox reloads when already selected by micahmo
- Fixed layout jank when scrolling back up to post body by hjiangsu
- Fixed issue with profile/hamburger visibility during feed refresh by micahmo
- Fixed create post snackbar error message by hjiangsu
- Fixed end of feed message being shown when more posts are available by micahmo
- Fixed image viewer stuck in fullscreen mode by micahmo
Misc
- Upgraded Flutter version and related dependencies by hjiangsu
- Updated instances list by github-actions
- Updated translations from Weblate by hjiangsu
- Updated NDK version by gwbischof
- Removed unused package dependencies by hjiangsu
- Removed go_router dependency for navigation by hjiangsu
- Migrated from uni_links to app_links for deep link support by hjiangsu
- Removed unneeded image permissions for Android by hjiangsu
- Fixed macOS build by gwbischof
- Fixed additional linting and deprecation warnings by hjiangsu
- Updated web build to use Drift database by gwbischof
- Added app-link support for thunderapp.dev by hjiangsu
- Migrated Android build to use gradle declarative plugin by hjiangsu
- Added automated build workflow for Android by hjiangsu
- Added documentation on database updates by micahmo
Thunder defaults to using “Select Language” whenever you create a new post/comment (this is the same behaviour as the Lemmy UI). The main reason for this is to reduce the “Unsupported Language” errors that happen when you try to create a new post/comment.
Under the hood, I believe “Select Language” will set the post/comment’s language to match one of the community’s allowed languages. For example, if the community only allows “English”, then any comments that are created with “Select Language” will automatically be set to “English”.
We might be able to make a change where Thunder remembers the last language that was selected, but this might cause errors if you try to create a comment with a language that the community doesn’t support (e.g., previously created a comment using French, but then try to comment in a community that only allows English). I hope that makes sense!