The Elephant Observatory

The Architect's Logbook

Updated with each meaningful deploy

A record of what has been built, fixed, and changed. In plain language, for anyone curious about how this place is taking shape.

Current — v0.9.7-beta · April 11, 2026
v0.9.7-betaApril 11, 2026Graph + Onboarding Polish
  • ImprovedGraph edge rendering: cleaner typed edges with smoother curves
  • ImprovedFull map view: layout and interaction refinements
  • ImprovedOnboarding map slides: simplified and more responsive
v0.9.6-betaApril 11, 2026Readable by Default + Text Size Preference

TEO now ships at a larger, more comfortable reading scale. A new Text Size control in the sidebar and profile settings lets you choose Small, Normal, or Large — your preference is remembered across sessions.

  • ImprovedDefault text size increased to 125% for improved readability across the site
  • NewText Size control in the sidebar — choose Small, Normal, or Large to adjust all text and spacing
  • NewText Size selector in profile Preferences for easy discoverability
  • ImprovedYour text size choice is saved and remembered across sessions and page reloads
v0.9.5-betaApril 11, 2026Graph Unification + Source Accordion + Thoth Save
  • ImprovedKnowledge graph maps unified — FullMapView and EmbedMapView share a single rendering engine
  • NewSource video accordion on node detail — expand to see the original video metadata and link
  • ImprovedThoth save button: richer UX with confirmation, error states, and save-to-Grimoire flow
  • ImprovedGraph nodes: visual polish on ManuscriptNode rendering and prep hooks
  • ImprovedOrder II candidate panel in admin: expanded filters and display
  • FixedEmbed map view: layout and interaction fixes
v0.9.4-betaApril 10, 2026Observatory Dashboard + Node Overlay

The Observatory home page was redesigned with live data widgets. Clicking a node anywhere on the site now opens a polished overlay instead of a full page navigation — read, explore neighbors, and return where you were.

  • ImprovedObservatory dashboard redesigned with live pulse, activity log, and telescope widgets
  • NewNode detail overlay — click any node card to open a rich preview without leaving the current page
  • ImprovedNode detail content: expanded layout with better typography and section structure
  • ImprovedEdge recalculation: smarter bridge edge generation and batch recalculation in admin
  • NewAPI routes: random node endpoint, observatory log, pulse, and telescope data feeds
  • FixedDuplicate logbook entry removed; deploy skill now deduplicates against previous entries
v0.9.3-betaApril 10, 2026Constellation-Aware Oracle + Navigation Polish

The Oracle and Passages now know about the current weekend's constellation. If you visit a constellation page and then ask the Oracle a question, it draws from those featured nodes. Navigation gets descriptive tooltips on hover.

  • NewOracle is constellation-aware — when launched from a constellation page, it prioritises those featured nodes in its answers
  • NewPassages can be started from a constellation CTA — Chiron acknowledges the constellation theme in the opening
  • NewNavigation tooltips — hovering over sidebar links shows a brief description of each section
  • NewConstellation graph visualization on the constellation landing page
  • ImprovedSidebar: cleaner layout with tooltip descriptions for collapsed and expanded states
  • ImprovedGymnasium and Scriptorium: smoother screen transitions and layout refinements
  • ImprovedConstellation admin: feature prompts field for editorial guidance
v0.9.2-betaApril 10, 2026Gymnasium, Field Guide Redesign + Observer Profiles

The Scholar's Ledger is now the Gymnasium — a better name for the interactive learning space. The Field Guide got a full redesign, and observer profiles now show topic distribution as visual bars.

  • ImprovedScholar's Ledger renamed to Gymnasium — clearer identity for the RPG and interactive learning space
  • ImprovedField Guide fully redesigned with new layout and navigation
  • ImprovedObserver profiles: topic distribution shown as horizontal bars instead of a tag cloud
  • ImprovedTransparency page: system prompts now organised in a tabbed interface
  • ImprovedPricing page: First Light callout only shown to new users; Early Access notice moved above the tiers
  • FixedLanding page observer count now reflects only observers with published content
  • NewRemotion video generation scaffold — templates for Node Explainers and Constellation Teasers
v0.9.1-betaApril 10, 2026Logbook, Beta Branding + Deploy Skill

First deploy using the new logbook system. TEO now tracks every production release in a public changelog, declares its Early Access status, and has a one-command deploy workflow.

  • NewThe Architect's Logbook — public changelog at /logbook with 11 retrospective entries from v0.1.0 to present
  • NewEarly Access notice on the pricing page — honest about rough edges, inviting feedback
  • NewBeta badge in the site footer, visible on every page
  • NewDeploy-to-production skill — automatic logbook generation, version bumping, and safe merge workflow
  • ImprovedPassages encounter layout: two-column design and clearer blank threshold display
  • ImprovedNode components unified — one canonical NodeCard with multiple display variants
v0.9.0-betaApril 9, 2026Early Access + Versioning

TEO enters named Early Access. The product has nine completed milestones behind it — it works — but we're honest that rough edges remain. This entry marks the start of the public logbook.

  • NewLogbook — this page
  • NewEarly Access notice on the pricing page
  • NewBeta badge in the site footer
  • ImprovedPassages encounter layout: two-column design and blank threshold display
  • ImprovedNode component architecture unified — one canonical NodeCard, multiple display variants
  • Known issueGrimoire export can time out on collections larger than ~200 nodes
v0.8.4April 7–8, 2026Oracle Intelligence + Welcome Flow

The Oracle got smarter in two directions at once: it now understands the shape of the whole graph, and it adapts its register to the reader.

  • NewOracle Voice Tiers — Apprentice, Adept, and Magus registers; the Oracle modulates its vocabulary to your level
  • NewOracle graph awareness — the Oracle now knows how the Observatory's nodes are connected when it answers
  • ImprovedOracle follow-up queries are now rewritten in context, so asking 'why?' actually means something
  • NewWelcome onboarding: anonymous tour, thin hero landing page, observer routing
  • ImprovedQuest page: bento grid redesign
  • FixedWelcome flow layout and responsive issues; Oracle multi-turn in onboarding
v0.8.3April 5–6, 2026Grimoire Scriptorium Upgrade (D5) + Observer Role
  • NewThoth sidebar in Grimoire — an AI assistant that can query your saved nodes, answer questions about the graph, and export your collection
  • NewStudy Desk — a dedicated reading surface for saved nodes with translation support
  • NewSaved graph views in Grimoire
  • NewGrimoire export through Thoth
  • NewScratchpad notes on the Thoth widget
  • NewObserver role — invited observers receive automatic Patron-level access without a subscription
  • ImprovedThoth AI responses stream in real time
  • FixedGrimoire: removed deprecated Whisper, Thread, and Weave surfaces replaced by public Thoth
  • FixedAuth: email confirmation now routes correctly through /auth/callback; expired OTP messages are human-readable
v0.8.2April 2–4, 2026Knowledge Graph Overhaul (D4) + Constellation Authoring

The knowledge graph was rebuilt from the ground up. The old renderer couldn't keep up with the scale — zooming and panning stuttered at ~160 nodes. The new version runs on React Flow and d3-force, with DOM-rendered nodes that can actually be styled in the manuscript palette.

  • NewKnowledge graph migrated from WebGL reagraph to React Flow — DOM-based nodes, gold-on-dark manuscript styling
  • NewZoom-dependent labels: clusters and tag names at distance, node titles and images up close
  • NewGraph sidebar panel: click a node to see its neighbors, relationship types, and a direct link to the full page
  • NewApophatic Map: rectangular node variant showing what the Observatory doesn't yet cover
  • NewConstellation authoring workflow: multi-tag graph highlighting, admin tag selector
  • NewObservatory admin redesign: status lifecycle, list/detail UI, observer previews
  • ImprovedGraph physics: dragging a node now produces live force response from neighbors
  • FixedGraph edges and node tags were silently truncated at 1,000 rows — now paginated past PostgREST's limit
v0.8.1March 26, 2026AI Hygiene (H1–H3) + Embedding Upgrade

TEO exists partly in response to concerns about AI companions displacing human relationships. This batch formalised that position structurally — not just in copy but in the codebase itself.

  • NewBYOD page (Bring Your Own Discernment) — TEO's public AI ethics statement and design commitments
  • NewChiron engagement metrics — the mentorship guide now tracks epistemic health, not just interaction frequency
  • NewSystem prompts are now publicly visible on the Transparency page
  • ImprovedEmbeddings upgraded to gemini-embedding-2-preview (3072-dimensional vectors) — semantic search is noticeably more accurate
  • ImprovedOracle and Chiron responses are more source-first: ideas are attributed before they're synthesised
v0.8.0March 13–15, 2026AI Model Registry + Project Thoth Admin AI

Two backend projects that will never be visible to most users but make the Observatory significantly more operable. The model registry brings financial honesty to the cost dashboard; Thoth means the admin can query the whole Observatory by asking a question.

  • NewAI Model Registry (ELE-437) — all model IDs, pricing, and defaults in one place; cost tracking now includes Anthropic models
  • NewProject Thoth: conversational AI assistant in the admin panel — ask 'what's the pipeline failure rate?' or 'which nodes have no edges?' in plain English
  • NewThoth remembers operational context across sessions
  • ImprovedAdmin dashboard: summary metrics, recent activity, all section links on one screen
v0.7.0March 8, 2026Orbis Pictus Design System (D1–D2) + Pipeline v2

TEO Orbis Pictus is the active redesign: moving from 'dark sci-fi forum' toward 'illuminated manuscript meets modern web.' D1 and D2 landed the foundation — color palette, typography, textures — and rebuilt the navigation and hero.

  • NewOrbis Pictus design system: gold palette, Cinzel Decorative + EB Garamond typography, aged-paper and stardust textures
  • NewNavigation redesign: sticky top bar with meta-navigation and access tier badge
  • NewLanding page reimagined with immersive sections and animated entrance
  • NewContent Pipeline v2: multi-observer support, YouTube InnerTube API for transcripts, Gemini fallback on Vercel IP blocks
  • NewRetry button for failed pipeline jobs
  • ImprovedConfidence scoring reworked from epistemic to curatorial quality
v0.6.0March 3–5, 2026Complete Admin Portal + Hermes Feedback
  • NewFull admin portal (M1–M3): dashboard, role-based access, AI cost tracking, audit log, feedback log
  • NewHermes Feedback Psychopomp — AI-guided chat for bug reports and feature requests, accessible from anywhere
  • ImprovedHermes: rate limiting, empathetic copy, multi-issue support
v0.5.0March 3–4, 2026Epistemic RPG + Mini-Games + Three-Pane Layout

The Observatory's interactive layer: an Epistemic RPG where your mastery of ideas translates to a character sheet, and a Scriptorium with three daily games.

  • NewEpistemic RPG: character sheet, quest flow, Tollbridge (the Sentinel's question gate), completion modal
  • NewScriptorium mini-games: Rosetta Riddle (cross-domain translation), Alchemist's Table (concept recombination), Daily Illumination
  • NewTEO Triptych: three-column layout with list, detail, and sidebar panes
  • NewShell and standalone route groups for full-screen vs. navigated contexts
v0.4.0March 2, 2026Grimoire + Oracle + Knowledge Graph
  • NewGrimoire: personal knowledge collection with search, tag filters, sort, node images, personal notes, and markdown export
  • NewOracle: streaming AI responses with chat history, starter prompts, source attribution cards, rate limit meter, save to Grimoire
  • NewCelestial Map: knowledge graph with search, zoom controls, tag filters, sidebar, and node images
  • NewNode neighbor mini-map on the node detail page
  • ImprovedCodebase refactor (milestones A–D): shared types, components, hooks, utilities
v0.1.0February 28, 2026First Light

The Observatory opens. Nine milestones of foundation work land in the initial commit: the design system, the content pipeline, the knowledge graph, authentication, payments, and the first 114 nodes.

  • New114 published nodes, 503 edges, 224 glossary terms — the core knowledge graph
  • NewNode detail pages with woodcut images, tiered descriptions (Apprentice / Adept / Magus), and source portal
  • NewStripe/Lemon Squeezy billing: Candle, Lantern, Expedition passes and Resident/Patron subscriptions
  • NewSupabase authentication with magic link and email/password
  • NewFirst Light: 3 free Oracle queries and 2 Sentinel attempts for every new account
  • NewField Guide (glossary) with 224 terms
  • NewAbout, Terms, Privacy, Impressum, and Transparency pages
  • NewImage generation pipeline: woodcut-style illustrations for all nodes

Entries reflect user-facing changes. Internal refactors, pipeline fixes, and dependency updates are noted only when they affect observable behaviour.