What shipped and what comes next
Recently delivered improvements and public plans for the next versions of Mist.
Ready for the next release
Custom backgrounds and their four-color palettes can be previewed and shared through private, expiring links after local re-encoding and an explicit rights and link-access confirmation. Shortcuts, weather, names and tab identity remain excluded.
Shipped in 1.10.0
Mist can create private, non-indexed links for allowlisted official-theme appearance data. Visitors can preview and download a validated .mist-theme.json file, while shortcuts, weather, names and custom images remain private in version 1.10.0.
Shipped · August 4, 2026
Mist now uses https://www.mistnewtab.com as its primary domain with HTTPS, domain-wide Google Search Console verification, a production robots.txt file and a generated sitemap.
Shipped · August 4, 2026
Search-intent landing pages, practical guides, transparent comparisons, structured data, canonical URLs, internal linking and automated SEO checks are now deployed on the official domain.
Shipped · July 26, 2026
The website dependency tree now passes npm audit with no findings, and every Chrome installation action uses the same readable high-contrast design.
Shipped · July 25, 2026
Invite-only administration combines Umami website analytics, Chrome Web Store CSV reporting, Netlify Blobs storage and GitHub feedback metrics.
Shipped in 1.6.1
A persisted 12 or 24-hour clock and weather lookup by city or postal code, with automatic location as a fallback.
Shipped in 1.6.1
The public website includes the product overview, privacy policy, support, changelog, comparisons, practical guides and this roadmap.
Private alpha · Funding decision
The compact widget system and market snapshot are implemented, with local caching and explicit data freshness. Public release remains paused while Mist validates redistribution rights and chooses a sustainable way to fund the recurring market-data API cost. Pomodoro and RSS widgets are also being prepared for the Alpha.
Priority 1 · Planned
The shipped private-link fallback already supports a validated file import. A future opt-in browser bridge may detect Mist and open an extension confirmation directly, without weakening payload validation or private-data isolation.
Shipped in 1.12.0 · Moderation improvements planned
The public gallery now supports wallpaper publishing with an optional creator nickname, recent and popular sorting, votes, reports, automatic image specifications, duplicate detection and downloadable Mist imports. Moderation queues, public detail pages and trending ranking remain planned.
Priority 3 · Planned
A first-run flow will help new users reach a useful setup in under a minute with Minimal, Student, Developer and Atmosphere presets, including themes discovered through shared links.
Priority 4 · Planned
A concise walkthrough and focused animations will show shortcut groups, themes, wallpaper palettes, search, optional weather and the community sharing flow directly on the website and store listings.
Priority 5 · Planned
The listing will receive clearer benefit-led screenshots, the official website association, stronger proof of privacy and a respectful review prompt after repeated use.
Priority 6 · Planned
The existing Chromium-compatible package will be validated, documented and submitted to Microsoft Edge Add-ons with a dedicated store listing.
Research
Compatibility differences, permissions and packaging will be reviewed before a Firefox Add-ons submission. Mist remains officially available on Chrome for now.
Research
An opt-in sync mode may use the browser’s own synchronized storage so settings can follow users across devices without creating a Mist account.
Research
A keyboard-first command palette may provide fast access to shortcuts, groups, themes and settings while keeping the interface visually quiet.
Plans can change as Mist evolves and as retention, store performance and user feedback reveal the highest-impact work. Published functionality is documented in thechangelog.
