Changelog

Added

• Added the officially identified CURATOR-modified MAME chdman build with hashcd, extraction-time logical-track evidence, preserved standard commands, full attribution, GPL-2.0-or-later notices, and explicit unofficial and non-affiliation identification.
• Added the required version-matched complete corresponding-source release asset and checksum, plus permanent GitHub publication instructions.
• Added persistent incremental Stage 1 and Stage 2 source ledgers, direct HyperList menu XML ingestion, and the CURATOR-created Atari ST Atarimania GameBase authority DAT.

Changed

• Changed Stages 1-3 to reuse unchanged established authority, process only added or changed sources, retain absent-source authority additively, and preserve later collection state when authority is refreshed.
• Changed Stage 5 to use compact hash-addressed workspace roots, extract each CHD once, and consume exact emitted-track hashes from that extraction pass.
• Improved indexed relational hydration and bounded progress across Stages 1-3, Assembly, Completeness, and Reporting without changing authority results.
• Changed populated-output Full Runs to default to Append while retaining an explicit, doubly confirmed Clear choice.

Fixed

• Fixed modified chdman hashing so Size, CRC32, and SHA-1 describe exactly the emitted split-track bytes and exclude non-emitted virtual pregap sectors.
• Fixed repeated Organizer-recovery prompts by retiring the exact discarded execution attempt transactionally.
• Fixed authoritative recovered-CUE reconciliation so obsolete unmatched-CUE review records are suppressed only after complete non-CUE identity proof, while genuinely unresolved sources remain for review.
• Fixed the Atari 8-bit Atarimania GameBase authority DAT by removing inherited archive-directory prefixes from ROM names while retaining valid catalogued non-ROM members and their exact identities.
• Fixed Stage 10 Output Totals ordering so Unofficial appears directly below Official, without changing any totals or execution behavior.
• Fixed configuration authority, clean database initialization, Nuclear Option documentation protection, run-state locking, legacy CHD classification, direct valid-CHD copying, collection lifecycle gating, and several authority, CUE, NeedsAttention, and reporting edge cases.
• Corrected all current operator guides to match the application’s actual path, source-preservation, recovery, configuration, and Stage 10 behavior.

Known limitations

• Some otherwise valid Alcohol MDF/MDS images may be incompatible with the bundled decoder; CURATOR preserves those sources and routes them for review.
• This is a beta release. Operators should use copied input, retain backups, and verify curated output before replacing original material.

Added

• Added five CURATOR-created Atarimania GameBase authority DATs for Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx, and Atari Jaguar.

Changed

• Added explicit nested-archive lineage and content-only DAT freshness.
• Changed matching to universal raw-first authority selection without filename or extension inference.
• Routed NeedsAttention output by authoritative media category and improved truthful Assembly, Matching, recovery, publication, and manifest progress.
• Changed Stage 10 plan loading and permanent publication to bounded, set-based database operations.

Fixed

• Fixed Windows-invalid A8P filenames without changing content identity.
• Fixed Stage 9 NO-GO sequencing and direct Stage 10 rejection.
• Fixed structural CUE materialization at the published authority-provenance boundary.
• Fixed full-run Append by retaining generation-owned physical-output evidence and allowing new plan entries while verifying every prior output by size and SHA-256.

Known limitations

• MAME support remains limited and preliminary and does not replace a dedicated MAME ROM manager.
• Some otherwise valid Alcohol MDF/MDS images may be incompatible with the bundled decoder; CURATOR preserves those sources and routes them for review.
• This is a beta release. Operators should use copied input, retain backups, and verify curated output before replacing original material.

Added

• Added content-based Atari 8-bit Preservation and Atarimania GameBase authority profiles, plus the verified Atari Lynx Dragnet supplemental DAT.
• Added shared Core-owned Redump CUE recovery and official MAME software-list XML authority with matching-release DTD validation.
• Added database-backed permanent collection manifests, retained reporting history, and explicit Standard, Full Audit, Reconcile, and Detailed Export reporting actions.
• Added Reporting announcements for new permanent collection items, including platform breakdowns.

Changed

• Added the three individually allowlisted CURATOR-created authority DATs to every public release while retaining empty operator-managed DAT surfaces.
• Replaced supported VerifyDump execution with CURATOR's faster deterministic unanimous native CHD/CUE resolver while retaining compatibility database structure and the protected dormant executable.
• Reused unchanged relational DAT authority through content-bound SHA-256 fingerprints and fail-closed Core.Database transactions.
• Retained permanent authority-first Matching and set-first Assembly indexes, refreshed bounded SQLite planner statistics, and used authoritative set identity for multi-member completeness classification.
• Routed stage path handling and bounded leading-text reads through Core.Secondary, clarified NeedsAttention counts and source-identity vocabulary, and optimized Organizer Append verification using complete Core-owned physical-output evidence.
• Published every authoritative platform membership for exact raw cross-platform hash collisions and added offset-aware cartridge-header normalization.
• Derived Reporting results from permanent database records and clarified long-running Organizer and Reporting console operations.
• Clarified README and Developer Handbook MAME scope language: supported software-list XML supplies exact ROM/CHD authority, while complete dependency-aware MAME collection management remains outside CURATOR's scope.

Fixed

• Fixed exact authority-ID reconciliation, CUE-source existence validation, case-distinct DAR sets, repeated member occurrences, and recovery of one exact missing authoritative CUE descriptor.
• Fixed MAME hexadecimal size canonicalization and changed-authority replacement, incomplete CUE-set completion, and unresolved NeedsAttention archive destination routing.
• Fixed Atari Lynx and Atari 7800 header validation, Stage 5 missing-CUE publication and loose-file SHA-1 initialization, and zero-new-item manifest reporting.
• Fixed Organizer Append duplicate totals, duplicate NeedsAttention physical planning, and authority-driven output classification independent of source provenance.

Known limitations

• MAME support remains limited and preliminary and does not replace a dedicated MAME ROM manager.
• Some otherwise valid Alcohol MDF/MDS images may be incompatible with the bundled decoder; CURATOR preserves those sources and routes them for review.
• This is a beta release. Operators should use copied input, retain backups, and verify curated output before replacing original material.

This first v2 release is a major architectural overhaul of CURATOR's authority, processing, recovery, and audit pathways. Persistent SQLite contracts now coordinate Stages 1–10 and Reporting while the v1 release line remains closed and preserved.

Added

• Added capability-based Bootstrap initialization through validated static call sheets and on-request Core activation.
• Added the persistent SQLite authority database and relational contracts used by Stages 1–10 and Reporting.
• Added pinned Microsoft.Data.Sqlite, SQLitePCLRaw, and native SQLite runtime dependencies, together with integrity and provenance records.
• Added complete output receipts, company manifests, placement evidence, recovery state, and collection-audit workflows.

Changed

• Replaced the heavy in-memory crunching paths in Stages 6–9 with indexed, set-based SQLite operations while retaining physical file work in Core-owned services.
• Changed Stage 10 to execute a frozen relational plan with durable receipt checkpoints, resumable publication, verified Append reuse, and optimized final cleanup.
• Changed Gateway startup to draw the console header before Core initialization, present Core readiness as numbered steps, and request only the capabilities needed by the selected action.
• Improved end-user announcements and truthful progress across Gateway, numbered stages, Reporting, cleanup, database loading, and publication.
• Updated all current guides, legal notices, attribution, dependency records, component identities, and public-release protections for CURATOR v2.0.0-beta.1.

Fixed

• Fixed Gateway option 8 so pause-enabled runs pause after each successful stage summary without changing the established behavior of options 4 and 6.
• Fixed unresolved archive review output to retain top-level source lineage and preserve nested member paths without collisions.
• Fixed Stage 5 missing-source handling, Stage 7 relational validation scaling, optical CUE membership reconstruction, and several silent console intervals.
• Fixed authorized cleanup and Stage 10 workspace cleanup to avoid redundant enumeration while preserving failure evidence and required folder surfaces.

Known limitations

• MAME support remains limited and preliminary and does not replace a dedicated MAME ROM manager.
• Some otherwise valid Alcohol MDF/MDS images may be incompatible with the bundled decoder; CURATOR preserves those sources and routes them for review.
• This is a beta release. Operators should use copied input, retain backups, and verify curated output before replacing original material.

Added

• Added the six managed Aaru libraries used for in-process CDI, NRG, and MDF/MDS decoding while preserving original source custody and continuing unsupported images through the normal review path.
• Added exact content-authoritative Redump CUE resolution for configured optical platforms, including Atari Jaguar CD authority data.
• Added exact AuthoritySetId collector-platform overlays, including Sega CD 32X presentation, without changing DAT platform authority.
• Added the output-wide receipt manifest used to validate deterministic Stage 10 Append reuse by destination, size, SHA-256, record fingerprint, and complete manifest fingerprint.

Changed

• Stage 1 now uses Core-owned bounded DAT leading-text reads and throttled progress rendering. Stage 2 reuses its fail-closed platform association. Stages 3 and 4 use indexed, batched, and single-pass construction paths that preserve their established output contracts.
• Stage 5 captures Size, CRC32, and SHA-1 during extraction or copying, reuses complete persisted identity evidence, performs bounded CHD extraction, and retains Core-owned fallback reads when trustworthy evidence is unavailable.
• Stage 6 trusts the completed Stage 5 handoff, reports checked and reused identities accurately, and reuses immutable matching evidence without weakening content-only authority.
• Stage 7 validates immutable upstream identity through keyed authority lookups without rehashing. Stage 8 uses a per-set keyed lookup for exact shared-source evidence. Stage 9 uses keyed destination collections while preserving collision handling and exact Stage 10 instruction order.
• Optical CUE correction is now last resort after ordinary prepared-hash, normalization, sibling, and exact/profile-compatible repository workflows. Complete optical sets with one safely derived structural CUE remain eligible for Official output only when every non-CUE membership is present and exact; the descriptor discrepancy remains explicit evidence.
• Core API documentation now covers 149 interfaces. Current operator guides describe the Stage 9 execution contract, output-wide receipt, company manifests, structural-CUE eligibility, and current component identities.

Fixed

• Fixed non-Redump structural CUE handling so a missing same-named Redump member falls through instead of aborting Matching; ambiguity and conflicting repository evidence still fail closed.
• Fixed a concurrent Core.Progress queue race that could terminate otherwise valid stage work while preserving TaskBar ordering and caller contracts.
• Fixed publication packages whose distinct authority entry names share exact physical content, while retaining strict non-publication and optical membership rules.
• Fixed configured non-set files (.txt, .exe, .dll, and .bat) entering Needs Attention output and corrected authoritative Jaguar CD CUE handling.

Known limitations

• Reporting can classify the root receipt manifest as unmanifested content; investigation remains deferred under DEFERRED-053.
• Stage 3/5 progress-presentation tracing, the Stage 6 prebuilt DAR index and output-publication investigation, and the distinction between upstream content identity and final copied-artifact evidence remain deferred under DEFERRED-055, DEFERRED-045, DEFERRED-057, and DEFERRED-059.

Changed

• Stage 3 reuses its already-computed incoming company summary after a conflict-free merge only when platform, DAT, membership, and merge-accounting checks prove that it exactly describes the complete published company DAR. Every non-equivalent or conflicting case retains the full fail-closed summary reconstruction path.
• Stage 9 now publishes the complete ordered schema-1 physical-output execution contract, including stable identities, exact destinations, packaging, source relationships, cleanup ownership, and manifest authority.
• Stage 10 now consumes the Stage 9 execution contract directly and no longer reconstructs naming, routing, grouping, ordering, collision, or manifest decisions from historical records.
• Append now requires a valid output-wide receipt manifest and matching physical size/SHA-256 evidence before an existing target may be skipped.
• Stage 10 publishes a deterministic output-wide receipt manifest.
• DependencyIntegrity now validates the manifest-level redistribution policy and every entry's redistribution metadata.
• Completed DEFERRED-038: confirmed the bundled Binmerge executable as the publisher's exact 1.0.3 Windows release asset and identified the eleven Redump cue/GDI metadata archives as public-domain metadata. The manifest preserves the retired historical-endpoint limitation for three GDI archives.
• The Core API handbook now documents 146 current interfaces, including the Core.Primary dependency-path resolver used by DependencyIntegrity.

Fixed

• Removed superseded Stage 10 planning and authority-reconstruction paths.
• Completed a fresh live Stages 1-11 validation. Organizer produced 24,269 of 24,269 planned unique outputs with zero failures. Independent receipt checks found zero missing paths, size mismatches, or SHA-256 mismatches, and every output-wide and company-manifest fingerprint validated.
• Completed DEFERRED-051: Reporting now excludes needs_attention filesystem content and NeedsAttention manifest rows from every authoritative collection boundary, including reconciliation, audits, caches, ledgers, diagnostics, viewers, and publication.
• Reconciled current operator guides, component build indexes, source module identity, and the release inventory with the validated August 7 workspace baseline.

Known limitations

• Reporting classifies the administrative root receipt manifest 00_Manifest\CURATOR_Output_Manifest.json as unmanifested collection content. Collection paths, sizes, hashes, and fingerprints remain valid; the reporting-boundary investigation is tracked as DEFERRED-053.

Changed

• Complete Atari Jaguar CD authority sets now publish as ZIP, while complete optical authority sets for every other platform publish as CHD. Source container type no longer determines final optical format.
• CUE normalization now occurs universally after final DAR membership and authoritative naming are resolved. Organizer consumes that resolved contract without repairing or reinterpreting it.
• Successful ZIP and CHD creation is accepted from the owning creation operation. Production stages no longer reopen successful output for verification.
• Reporting remains focused on manifests, physical paths, sizes, and requested fingerprints; archive formats, CUE contracts, and CHD structure remain owned by producing stages.

Maintenance

• Removed 14 proven-unreachable private functions and 566 stale implementation and comment lines.
• Shortened 15 private functions and 31 private/local variables to CURATOR's established concise internal naming convention without changing public APIs, contracts, schemas, component builds, or runtime behavior.

Validation

• Completed Stages 1 through 10 individually and completed Reporting through the visible execution path.
• Organizer produced 7,334 of 7,334 outputs with zero failures.
• Reporting matched all 4,775 authoritative manifest fingerprints, and an independent physical audit matched all 4,785 authoritative payload entries to exact DAR membership, case-sensitive names, sizes, CRC32, and SHA-1.

Known limitations

• Reporting_DEV_53 still processes needs_attention filesystem content and NeedsAttention manifest rows. Complete exclusion remains unresolved under DEFERRED-051.
• Dependency provenance and redistribution-policy validation remain open under DEFERRED-038.

Changed

• Reporting now keeps operator-facing output concise while recording detailed milestones in DEBUG logs.
• Physical-audit reconciliation now uses bounded summary and individual-review panels with Approve All, Review Each, Make No Changes, and Cancel; only approved findings alter manifests.
• The guides now distinguish the intended boundary from beta.5 behavior: official and unofficial physical output is authoritative truth, while needs_attention is intended to be a separate review queue.

Fixed

• Preserved original and immediate Reporting publication provenance through repeated transitive reuse.
• Preserved complete multi-member DAR sets across multiple source containers during Stage 9 planning.
• Corrected Core API handbook metadata so the application version is not presented as the component build.

Known limitations

• Reporting_DEV_49 in beta.5 still processes needs_attention filesystem content and NeedsAttention manifest rows through classification, counting, summaries, and presentation. Full exclusion remains unresolved under DEFERRED-051.

Added

• Added END_USER_LICENSE_AND_LEGAL_NOTICE.md as a required release deliverable with CURATOR-specific safety and legal notices that preserve all GPL-granted rights.
• Added schema-v2 company manifests with final-artifact SHA-256 evidence and immutable existing-record behavior during Append.
• Added Gateway option V for an explicit full physical SHA-256 collection audit with operator-reviewed manifest reconciliation.

Fixed

• Suppressed internal latest_status.json read messages so refreshed Gateway menus and confirmation screens start with a clean application header.
• Corrected Stage 7 validation of contextual CHD/CUE authority matches so current AuthorityProvenance DAT evidence is accepted without weakening missing-evidence or authority-integrity checks.
• Closed the selected-run pause correction after operator confirmation of the remaining acknowledgement-order paths.

Changed

• Added a standalone LICENSE file containing the complete GNU General Public License version 3 text.
• Stage 5 now reports exact, visible progress while classifying and verifying large source inventories.
• Stage 6 now reports exact counts while hashing, preparing results, serializing records, and verifying output, with less unnecessary console rendering.
• Stage 7 removes repeated validation scans and reports exact progress through validation and publication.
• Stage 8 reuses validated authority membership data, removes repeated scans, and reports exact progress through assembly and publication.
• Large Stage 8 assembly runs now complete substantially faster while preserving the same normalized result.
• Stage 9 reports exact progress while avoiding redundant routing, receipt, and source-path preparation.
• Stage 10 validates planned sources beneath authorized roots and leaves missing-source detection to the physical operation that consumes each source.
• The End User Manual and Quick Start Guide now recommend current clrmame for complete MAME-native ROM-set management while noting that legacy clrmamepro remains available.

Fixed

• Fixed long Stage 8 intervals that previously had no visible console reporting.
• Fixed Stage 8 final JSON progress so it reflects selected membership and review records before output verification.
• Added the missing blank line above the final stage resource-release message.
• Adjusted selected pause-enabled Gateway options 4, 6, and 8 to suppress a redundant post-summary pause while retaining their summary and final Gateway acknowledgement.
• Regenerated the Core API Developer Handbook so headings and emphasis render normally.
• Corrected the End User Manual cover version and document-update date.
• Removed Stage 10 planning-time source existence probes and the large source-tree preflight without changing output planning or destination safety checks.

Known limitations

• Binmerge build provenance and redistribution evidence for eleven cue/GDI ZIP packages remain unresolved under DEFERRED-038.

This beta focuses on faster preparation of large collections, safer recovery, clearer progress reporting, and documentation that is easier to use and keep with the application.

Added

• Added a changelog to the application folder so each release clearly explains what changed.
• Added stronger release-package checks against the approved application inventory, excluding development, temporary, and operator-owned files.
• Added CURATOR-owned Atari 8-Bit and Atari ST routing definitions for a ready-to-use installation. Operator-supplied platform and DAT files remain outside the package.

Changed

• Large Stage 5 preparation jobs now copy ordinary files and process archives in controlled parallel groups for substantially faster, predictably ordered preparation.
• Stage 5 recovery records are written more efficiently, reducing repeated bookkeeping for collections containing thousands of files.
• Archive progress is smoother and less noisy, with one continuous display covering the complete workload.
• Matching passes the exact verified game data forward when supported normalization was needed to establish the match.
• The Admin Guide, End User Manual, Quick Start Guide, and Core API Developer Handbook are now supplied as PDF files.
• The developer handbook now documents all 144 current Core programming interfaces.

Fixed

• Fixed Stage 5 archive preparation when the selected Workspace folder is outside the CURATOR application folder.
• Fixed interrupted archive recovery so unfinished results are removed before retrying while already committed files remain protected.
• Fixed empty or unusable archives so they can be reported and skipped without ending the entire preparation stage.
• Fixed Stage 5 error reporting so the original problem remains visible even after logging services close.
• Fixed supported disc matching when cue-sheet and track evidence is required.
• Fixed later stages receiving the original file instead of the normalized data that established an authoritative match.
• Added a clear, safe cancellation path to both advanced Nuclear cleanup confirmations; only the exact phrase performs cleanup.
• Fixed the completion screen shown after generating the Core API handbook.

Known limitations

• In a pause-enabled multi-stage Gateway run, the final selected stage may not show its promised acknowledgement before the separate overall timing summary. Both results are still produced.
• A very large interrupted Stage 5 recovery record can delay Gateway startup while CURATOR validates saved work before showing the main menu.

Added

• Published the first public beta of CURATOR.
• Added guided Prepare DAR, Organize, and Reporting workflows for LaunchBox-compatible collections.
• Added platform and DAT discovery, authority preparation, source discovery, staging, matching, DAT validation, assembly, completeness analysis, physical organization, and reporting.
• Added authority-based processing of loose files and supported archive and disc-image workflows.
• Added recoverable staging and output transactions that can resume from valid committed progress.
• Added Clear and Append destination choices.
• Added visible progress, structured logs, validation evidence, and final collection reports.
• Included an Admin Guide, End User Manual, Quick Start Guide, and Core API Developer Handbook.
• Added path safeguards separating source, output, working, and application folders.

Known limitations

• In pause-enabled Gateway sequences, the final selected stage may not show its promised acknowledgement before the separate Gateway timing summary. The timing summary is still produced.