Splatr v1.1 (beta-1)

Splatr 1.1 (beta-1) Release Notes

Release Date: January 15, 2026
Download: splatr.skushagra.com

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🎉 First Beta Release

This is a major milestone for Splatr. After four alpha iterations focused on building the foundation, all 16 core tools are now fully functional. This release marks the transition from alpha to beta, signaling that Splatr is ready for real-world use.

Version numbering going forward:

• x.0 releases = Alpha (experimental)
• x.1 releases = Beta/Stable

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What's New in 1.1

✨ All 16 Tools Now Working

Every tool in Splatr's toolbar is now fully operational:

Tool	Status	Notes
Free-Form Select	✅ Complete	Lasso selection with move/resize/rotate
Rectangle Select	✅ Complete	Rectangular selection with full transform support
Eraser	✅ Complete	Variable size eraser
Fill (Bucket)	✅ Fixed	Complete rewrite with proper flood fill algorithm
Color Picker	✅ Complete	Eyedropper with auto-return to previous tool
Magnifier	✅ Complete	Click to zoom in, Option+click to zoom out
Pencil	✅ Complete	1px precision drawing
Brush	✅ Complete	Variable width with smooth strokes
Airbrush	✅ Complete	Spray paint effect with proper cursor alignment
Text	✅ Complete	Drag-to-create text boxes, font/size selection
Line	✅ Complete	Shift-constrain for perfect angles
Curve	✅ Complete	Two-point Bézier curve tool
Rectangle	✅ Complete	Three fill styles supported
Polygon	✅ Complete	Double-click to close shape
Ellipse	✅ Complete	Shift-constrain for perfect circles
Rounded Rectangle	✅ Complete	Automatic corner radius

🪣 Fill Tool — Complete Rewrite

The fill (bucket) tool has been completely rewritten from scratch. Previous versions had issues with:

• Coordinate system mismatches between view and bitmap
• Color space conversion errors
• Unreliable edge detection

The new implementation features:

• Direct pixel buffer manipulation for reliability
• Scanline flood fill algorithm for performance
• Tolerance-based edge detection (handles anti-aliased edges)
• Proper coordinate transformation between NSView and bitmap space
• 1:1 pixel mapping to avoid scaling artifacts

🔤 Text Tool Improvements

• Drag-to-create text boxes — Draw a rectangle to define text area
• Text Toolbox — Just like other tools, a dedicated Text toolbox created for modularity (⌘4)
• Font selection — Choose from system fonts
• Size control — Adjustable font size
• Transform support — Move and resize text before committing
• Proper modal behavior — Text box stays active until ESC or tool switch

🎨 Palette Improvements

• Custom Color Palette — Custom Color Palette that integrates with NSColorPicker
• Save Colors — Saves your most recently used 16 colors
• Adjacent to regular colors — Palette opens right below regular color palette

✂️ Selection Tool Refinements

• Modal selection behavior — After making a selection, clicking only allows transform operations (move/resize/rotate) until ESC is pressed
• No accidental deselection — Clicking outside the selection no longer creates a new selection
• Rotation support — Drag the rotation handle to rotate selections
• Marching ants sync — Selection outline and handles now rotate together smoothly

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Issues Closed Since Alpha-1

A total of 22 issues have been resolved across all alpha releases:

Core Functionality

• #1 — Fill Color Tool Does Not Work ✅
• #2 — Main window is decoupled from canvas ✅
• #3 — Text resizing/fonts ✅
• #4 — Undo/Redo function ✅
• #5 — Selection tools cannot transform ✅
• #6 — Free form select isn't actually free form ✅
• #7 — Magnifier/Zoom needs work ✅

User Interface

• #13 — Welcome screen ✅
• #14 — Eyedropper ✅
• #15 — Canvas is gone ✅
• #16 — Color Spectrum Selector ✅
• #17 — Recent documents in File Menu + Welcome Window ✅
• #19 — Update website and URL ✅
• #20 — Brush Tool Has No Size Option ✅
• #27 — Welcome Window does not reappear after last canvas is closed ✅
• #28 — Cursor not aligned for spray ✅

Stability & Data Integrity

• #21 — Application Save ✅
• #22 — README Updates ✅
• #23 — Resizing canvas can make image disappear ✅
• #24 — Blank Canvas does not save ✅

Deferred/Not Planned

• #25 — Fancy DMG (Duplicate)
• #26 — Check for Updates (Deferred to future release)

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Cumulative Changes (Alpha-1 through Beta-1)

New Features

• Welcome window with recent documents
• Color spectrum selector for precise color picking
• Eyedropper/color picker tool
• Configurable brush sizes ([ and ] keys)
• Full selection transform (move, resize, rotate)
• True free-form (lasso) selection
• Drag-to-create text boxes
• Navigator panel for canvas overview
• Canvas resize via drag handles
• Three shape fill styles (outline, filled+outline, filled)

Stability Improvements

• Complete undo/redo system
• Reliable document save/load cycle
• Proper canvas lifecycle management
• Fixed canvas disappearing on resize
• Fixed blank canvas save failures
• Fixed window/canvas decoupling issues

Performance

• Scanline flood fill algorithm
• Direct pixel buffer manipulation
• Optimized stroke rendering with point interpolation

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Known Issues

This is a beta release. Some rough edges remain:

• Curve tool requires exactly three clicks (learning curve)
• Polygon tool requires double-click to close (intentional but not discoverable)
• Large canvas sizes may impact performance on older machines
• Some edge cases in selection rotation at extreme angles

Please report issues on GitHub. Please, no node contributions at this time.

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System Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
• ~15MB disk space

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Installation

Download DMG

The latest DMG is always available at splatr.skushagra.com

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/suobset/splatr.git
cd splatr
open Splatr.xcodeproj
# Press ⌘R to build and run

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What's Next

Planned for future releases:

• Layers support
• Custom brush shapes
• Image filters (blur, sharpen, etc.)
• Check for updates functionality
• Additional export options

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Credits

Developed by: Kushagra Srivastava
Website: skushagra.com
License: MIT

Special thanks to everyone who reported issues and provided feedback during the alpha phase. All code has solely been written by Kush Srivastava, in accordance with the policies of the Swift Student Developer Challenge.

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Splatr is a native macOS bitmap editor. No Electron. No subscriptions. No cloud. Just pixels.

Splatr v1.0(alpha-4)

EDIT: The latest DMGs, irrespective of GH releases, will be published on the Splatr website. Please download the DMG from there.

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Splatr — Release Notes

This release focuses on stability, core editing functionality, and polishing the classic bitmap-editor workflow. A large number of foundational issues have been resolved, making Splatr significantly more reliable for day-to-day use.

New & Improved Features

• Welcome Window Enhancements

  • Welcome screen now correctly appears when no documents are open.
  • Recent Documents are now available directly from both the Welcome Window and the File menu.

• Brush Tool Improvements

  • Added configurable brush size support.

• Color Tools

  • Introduced a Color Spectrum Selector for faster and more precise color picking.
  • Added a fully functional Eyedropper tool.

• Selection Tools

  • Free-form selection now behaves as expected.
  • Selection tools can now be transformed correctly (move/resize operations).

• Canvas & Editing

  • Improved zoom and magnifier behavior for smoother navigation.

• Documentation

  • Updated and expanded README to better reflect current capabilities and usage.

Bug Fixes & Stability

• Fixed an issue where the canvas could disappear unexpectedly.
• Resolved cases where resizing the canvas caused image loss.
• Fixed blank canvas save failures.
• Corrected application-wide save behavior to ensure edits persist reliably.
• Restored proper behavior when the main window became decoupled from the canvas.
• Fixed multiple edge cases around document lifecycle (opening, closing, and empty states).
• Undo/Redo functionality is now fully operational and consistent.

Splatr v1.0 (alpha-2)

EDIT: The latest DMGs can be found on the Website. Please download that while Alpha development is in process, since Splatr will frequently get fixes for core features and keep getting better

Splatr 1.0 Release Notes

A native macOS bitmap paint application built with SwiftUI

Splatr brings the classic simplicity of pixel-perfect bitmap editing to modern macOS. Built as a pure SwiftUI application with no dependencies on AppKit's NSImage, Splatr offers a focused, distraction-free painting experience with all 16 essential paint tools in floating palettes.

What's New in Version 1.0

Core Features

• Complete tool set: All 16 classic MS Paint tools including pencil, brush, eraser, fill bucket, spray can, text, line, curve, rectangle, polygon, ellipse, rounded rectangle, color picker, magnifier, selection, and free-form selection
• Floating tool palettes: Non-blocking interface with dedicated palettes for tools, stroke widths, and colors
• Advanced color system: 48 preset colors plus custom color picker with persistent custom palette
• Multiple brush sizes: Five stroke width options (1px to 5px) for precise control

File Format Support

• Native format: .splatr files with full fidelity preservation
• Import: BMP, PNG, JPEG, TIFF
• Export: BMP, PNG, JPEG with quality control
• Document management: Standard macOS document architecture with autosave

Technical Highlights

• Built entirely in SwiftUI for modern macOS
• Custom bitmap rendering engine independent of NSImage
• Proper color space handling and format conversion
• Clean architecture with clear separation of concerns
• Native macOS integration (toolbar, menus, keyboard shortcuts)

Known Issues

• Text tool renders at system font size (not adjustable within app yet)
• Polygon and curve tools require double-click to complete
• No undo/redo system (planned for future release)

System Requirements

• macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
• Apple Silicon or Intel processor

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About Splatr
Created by Kushagra Srivastava as part of exploring native macOS development. Splatr is open source under the MIT license.

Blot v1.0.0: Initial Release

Blot v1.0.0

Initial release.

Features

Tools

• Free-Form Select & Rectangle Select
• Eraser
• Fill (flood fill)
• Color Picker (eyedropper)
• Magnifier (zoom)
• Pencil
• Brush
• Airbrush
• Text (basic)
• Line
• Curve (Bézier)
• Rectangle, Ellipse, Rounded Rectangle
• Polygon

Drawing

• Adjustable brush sizes
• Shape styles: outline, filled, filled with outline
• Foreground/background colors
• 28-color palette + custom color picker

Canvas

• Drag-to-resize handles
• Resize via menu (Image → Resize Canvas)
• Flip horizontal/vertical
• Invert colors
• Clear canvas

File Support

• Native .blot format
• Open: PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF
• Export: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PDF

Interface

• Floating tool palette
• Floating color palette
• Navigator (canvas thumbnail)
• Full keyboard shortcuts
• Full screen support

Known Limitations

• Text tool does not support font/size selection (coming soon)
• No undo/redo
• Selection tools are basic (no transform/resize)
• Large canvas flood fill may be slow

Requirements

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later

Installation

1. Download Blot-1.0.0.zip
2. Unzip and drag Blot.app to Applications
3. First launch: Right-click → Open → Click "Open"