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Changelog

The same notes the app shows when it updates.

Ableton Wrapped is here

Review your year / month in SetHours

SetHours Wrapped
Your month, your year or all time in Ableton, slide by slide.
Where the hours went
Your days, the set you spent the most time on, your peak hour and your sets.
Share it
Every Wrapped ends on a card sized for a post or a story, ready to save or copy.
Ready on the 1st
On the 1st of each month, a notification says last month’s Wrapped is ready.
Share cards, redone
One clean look for every card, with titles in caps.
SetHoursLink setup
Setup now goes one step at a time, with the tab names of your version of Live.
Collab pill
Tag a set Collab beside its stage, or on its own while you wait for it to come back.

Signed and verified

Windows now knows where SetHours is from, by Official signing from Microsoft.

Signed on Windows
The installer and the app are now signed, so Windows shows SetHours as a verified publisher instead of an unknown one.
Never miss an update
Skipped a version? What’s New now walks you through each one you missed, one at a time.

Collabs just got easier

No more Missing Plug-Ins

Collab Preflight
Know exactly which tracks to freeze before you send a set to a collaborator.
Or let them answer
Click one button in SetHours, send the link, they check their plug-ins. Done.

They don’t need SetHours or an account, and their answers land in your app automatically.
Private by design
Encrypted before it leaves your machine. No audio, no track names, not even the set’s name.
More than one collaborator
A unique URL each, and one freeze list that works for everyone.
It remembers them
The next set you send them opens pre-answered.
Catches the gotchas
The Live version they need, Audio Units on Windows, tracks Live can’t freeze.
Sketches
Unsaved “Untitled” sets roll up into one quiet row.

The Library just Leveled Up!

The Library, fullscreen
The ⛶ Library view is now a real sortable table: BPM, key, tracks, plug-ins, status, rating, hands-on %, hours and more. Click a column to sort.
Your back catalogue, browsable
Sets you've never opened in SetHours show their DNA (BPM, key, tracks, plug-ins) read straight from the .als on disk. Rate one or open its details and it joins your library as a catalogued set (▤).
Big projects now link
Large .als files (up to 25MB) parse fully.
Honest to the minute
15 minutes away from the controls now pauses the clock (was an hour).
Resolved Windows Defender issues
No more repeat Security notices for the optional Live Link script; clear allow-and-retry path.
Max for Live, catalogued
M4L devices detected and labeled (M4L).
Insights, expanded
Top plugins and Top stock devices now chart your top 10.
Memory fix
Library scanning now uses far less memory and gives it all back when done.

The Library release

Shipped to Windows for a few hours before 1.2.3 replaced it
Same Library features plus a memory fix. Full notes under 1.2.3.

SetHours Link

SetHours Link
Ableton Live can now talk to SetHours. One-time setup: pick SetHoursLink in Live's Control Surface list (Input and Output stay None).
Playing external hardware (synths, instruments, etc) into an armed track counts as hands-on
Any MIDI driver, even while Live isn't focused. Listening back after working counts for a few minutes; gear left running all night doesn't.
Smarter key detection
Reads what your clips actually play, so a wrong or default "set key" can't mislabel your project.
Tempo honesty
Sets with automated BPM now show a ~ (e.g. 126~ bpm).
Focus card
A new insight showing how deep your sessions actually run.
Two new themes
Glacier (ice cyan) and Acid (signal yellow). Tape retired.
Tighter AFK cutoff
An hour of no activity stops the clock.
Polish
Average week and Best month insights, folder grouping always on, live status reacts faster.

Housekeeping - a few fixes

A few fixes from your reports:
Squashed a display bug where sets grouped inside a project folder could render with a blank name. Your data was always safe, it was purely visual and the names show correctly again now.
The "Jump back in" button no longer runs off the card when a set has a really long name.
A handful of small under-the-hood improvements.
Thanks to everyone sending feedback
Keep it coming.

Project Folders, Keys, and a More Reliable Tracker

Project folders
Sets in one Ableton project group into a card with rolled-up hours, a version timeline, and the on-disk sets you haven’t opened. Detach strays or turn it off in Settings → Library.
Know your sets
Musical key from Live 12 (or set it yourself), a 0–5 rating, and sorts by key, stage, rating, or BPM.
Big fix
Tracking no longer stops or shows "Ableton offline" while a plugin window (Serum, etc.) is focused.
Tidier startup
SetHours cleans up a duplicate launch entry some early installs had.
Plus
Instant rating/key edits, and a batch of UI polish.

SetHours 1.0

Beta Complete 🤍

To everyone who tested SetHours through the beta: thank you. Every beta install is grandfathered free for life
Nothing changes for you, ever. That’s my thanks for being here first. 🤍
New in 1.0:
Away-from-keyboard detection
Leave Live open and wander off, and SetHours stops the clock instead of inflating your hours. It picks right back up the moment you’re hands-on again.
Plus the full Companion Suite from the 0.24 run
Library, journal, track previews, insights, project delete, and the motion polish.
It’s $9 once for new folks now
Lifetime, no subscription, every 1.x update free. And if SetHours has earned a spot in your setup, telling a producer friend is genuinely the biggest thing you can do for it — I’m one person, and word from you goes further than anything I could do. Thank you to everyone who shares it. 🤍 sethours.com

Delete, and a little choreography

Delete a project from SetHours
Archive it, then Delete… (right-click or the project header) removes its history from SetHours for good. Your .als file is never touched, and a backup is saved first, always
Motion
The dashboard moves now: your total rolls in on launch, bars sweep in, views crossfade, and the app visibly comes alive the moment you’re hands-on. Respects your system’s reduced-motion setting
Library
Project rows now show a proper plug-in count (stock devices included) instead of repeating the same plugin name on every set
Tidier
The archived toggle is now a quiet little label instead of a button
Fixed
The 12-month heatmap now labels its years (Aug ’25 → Jul), so it no longer reads like the calendar loops

Companion polish

Fast follow to yesterday’s big one
Quality-of-life all over:
Share card, front and center
Now lives on the Personal bests page
Share on your terms
The Track Share card can swap its plug-ins section for session stats (or drop it), and you can put a release title on the card instead of your .als working name
Mini mode, more informative
The focus timer now shows today’s total time in Live beside the countdown, and the session view rotates between today and all-time
Fixes: “Show all sessions” expands properly, long project names fit on share cards, settings panel decluttered

The Studio Companion update

SetHours just grew from a time tracker into a studio companion. This is the biggest update yet.
Library
A new home for every project, read straight from your .als files: tempo, tracks, and the plugins inside each set, with instant search and pin-to-top
Project pages
Open any set for its full story: activity, playable track previews, personal notes, its rank in your studio, and a growth chart of every save
Auto journal
The story of every track, intelligently written as you work
Right-click a project
Open in Live, play a preview, show in folder, pin, archive
Finds your sets by itself
SetHours learns where your projects live from Ableton itself, and even lists sets on disk you haven’t opened yet. Add extra folders under Settings → Data & folders
Released
A new stage for tracks that made it out into the world
A fresh coat of glass
Subtle grain, light, and live-reactive details across every theme

Focus Timer mode

New: a focus timer built right into mini mode.
Flip the mini overlay to TIMER and pick 15/30/45/60 min
Or drag/scroll the number to set any custom length.
It counts down with little nudges along the way and an alarm when time's up.
Finished sprints get tracked, with milestones as they stack up.
Fixes sessions occasionally splitting into several short ones
A continuous stint in a set now stays one session.
Minor functionality changes and improvements.
Welcome wizard
Set your name, theme, and weekly goal in a few taps on first launch
Reactive hero
Your streak, goal pace, and fresh records surface on the dashboard, ticking live while you work in Live
Stock device detection
Reads the built-in Ableton devices in your sets, not just third-party plugins
Top stock devices
A new insight for your most-used stock instruments and effects
Denser project table
Tempo, track count, and device count at a glance
Discord presence
Opt-in, off by default; show that you’re producing in Live
Fixes: steadier session timer, plus polish
Mini mode
A tiny always-on-top timer that floats over Live. Pin it with the 📌 in the footer; hover for glass ◐ and close ✕
New Settings panel
Themes, pause, share, exports all under the ⋯ button
Five themes
Violet, Live Grey, Terminal, Tape, On Air
Share card
Your stats as a PNG, monthly or all-time
Rhythm
When you actually work: hour-by-weekday map + your year at a glance
Bests got smarter
Records plus your Studio DNA: top plugins, main obsession, focus trend
Fixed plugin detection
VST3 instruments and effects now counted
Jump back in
Reopen your last set straight from the dashboard or tray
Pause tracking
For when the session’s private
Export your data
JSON backup + CSV, plus automatic daily backups
Personalization: artist name (optional)
Fixes: smoother charts, DST-safe weekly compare, big hour-counts render clean
Mini mode
A tiny always-on-top timer that floats over Live. Pin it with the 📌 in the footer; hover for glass ◐ and close ✕
New Settings panel
Themes, pause, share, exports all under the ⋯ button
Five themes
Violet, Live Grey, Terminal, Tape, On Air
Share card
Your stats as a PNG, monthly or all-time
Rhythm
When you actually work: hour-by-weekday map + your year at a glance
Bests got smarter
Records plus your Studio DNA: top plugins, main obsession, focus trend
Fixed plugin detection
VST3 instruments and effects now counted
Jump back in
Reopen your last set straight from the dashboard or tray
Pause tracking
For when the session’s private
Export your data
JSON backup + CSV, plus automatic daily backups
Personalization: artist name (optional)
Fixes: smoother charts, DST-safe weekly compare, big hour-counts render clean
Dashboard: project tabs grouped into Browse (Bars/Table/Sessions) + Stats (Year/Bests)
Header cleanup: extras tucked into a ⋯ menu
Under-the-hood: launch preparation, added licensing model for one-time purchase.
Beta users will receive lifetime license.
Thank you for your support through testing the software and providing feedback, that is worth much more than $9 to me. 🤍
-x
New app icon
SetHours branding everywhere, sharper in the tray and installer
License activation is here (click the BETA chip)
Beta stays free, this is for early buyers
Feedback now asks for your email so we can actually reply
What's-new popup retired
This banner is the one channel now
Banner polish: cleaner title, dismisses when you open it
Hardened data safety
Your history now survives file locks, corrupt files, and full disks
Fixed two rare crash-on-launch cases (locked-down PCs)
Links from announcements now open in your browser, not the app
Release notes now show once as a banner when a new version lands
Dismiss and it's gone
Announcement banners for important notices
Dismissible, stay dismissed
Set a daily or weekly goal and watch the ring fill
With a pace line that tells you if you're on track.
Finish a session and you'll get a quick recap.
There's a new Bests page for your personal records, and small celebrations when you hit a milestone.
Plus optional Discord studio status
Your set names stay private unless you switch them on. (Task Tray Menu for management)