Onboarding now opens a real project when it needs to show the app

CodeSplash AI 2.4.20 is a small patch, but it fixes a sharp edge in first-run onboarding.

When onboarding needs to show app areas in Tabs mode and no repository is open, CodeSplash AI can now open the Getting Started project so the guide shows the real interface. Before this, some guided steps could land on the generic entry state, which made multiple app previews look the same and hid the UI the step was supposed to explain.

That matters because onboarding is only useful if it points at the actual product. If a step is explaining a specific app view, you need to see that view, not a placeholder.

What changed in onboarding

The main user-facing fix is in the orientation flow that prepares guided steps.

For app-specific onboarding steps in Tabs mode, CodeSplash AI now checks whether a repository context exists before showing the step. If not, onboarding can open the Getting Started project and continue from there. The result is a more reliable live preview of the app during first run.

In practice, this fixes cases like these:

  • You start onboarding with no repository open.
  • The guide moves to an app-specific step.
  • Instead of leaving you on a generic empty state, onboarding opens Getting Started and shows the real app view.

This release also tightens navigation around repository activation before certain guided steps appear. That reduces cases where the guide could get ahead of the repository context and land in an incomplete state.

Why this patch is narrow

2.4.20 is not an onboarding redesign. It is a targeted reliability patch.

The change is specific: guided onboarding steps now do a better job of establishing repository context before they try to spotlight app areas. The biggest improvement is that first-run app previews in Tabs mode can use Getting Started when they need a real project.

If you are replaying onboarding in a clean profile, this should make the experience feel more grounded. The guide is more likely to be attached to a live interface instead of a shared placeholder screen.

Behind the scenes: tutorial videos now use the built desktop app

Most of the rest of this release supports release publishing and tutorial operations.

CodeSplash AI now includes a native tutorial video capture and rendering workflow that records the real built desktop app in a disposable profile. The scripts and docs added in this patch describe a flow that:

  • builds the app first
  • records tutorial footage from the built Electron app
  • isolates app data in a disposable profile
  • renders the final tutorial video
  • verifies the output before it is used in release publishing

That matters for accuracy. The release tutorial workflow is now set up to capture footage from the actual desktop product, with the app version, source commit, dirty state, and capture provenance recorded alongside it.

This is mostly internal workflow rather than a desktop feature, but it supports a useful goal: release walkthroughs should reflect the product as shipped.

Release video tracking got more specific

This patch also adds a release video registry for published YouTube tutorial videos.

The registry can associate a video with:

  • a product
  • a release version
  • an optional tour

That gives the release workflow a concrete way to connect tutorial videos to release records and specific walkthroughs. The release notes call out YouTube tracking directly, and the new registry code reflects that structure.

For teams using CodeSplash's admin marketing and release workflow, this should make it easier to keep release detail pages and tutorial references aligned with the right version and tour.

A small patch with one clear user-facing win

The headline for 2.4.20 is simple: onboarding previews are more reliable.

If the guide needs to show a real app area and you have no repository open, CodeSplash AI can now open Getting Started instead of leaving you in a generic entry state. Combined with tighter repository activation handling, that makes first-run onboarding better at showing the actual interface it is talking about.

The rest of the release is mostly support work for tutorial videos, release campaigns, and admin marketing workflows. Useful work, but secondary to the onboarding fix.

Updating to 2.4.20

If you care about first-run experience, tutorial accuracy, or release walkthrough hygiene, this patch is worth taking.

You can get the latest desktop build here: https://codesplash.ai/downloads

Try 2.4.20 and reply with feedback if onboarding still lands you in the wrong state.