Good arvo, and thanks for sticking around! Internal version 02000.001.0 brings the final alpha interface, plus a LOT underneath it.

The final December 2025 Packbase desktop interface with Packs, feed and account controls

bye universe, hello default packs

We're saying goodbye to the Universe Pack, which has been holding every Howl you made outside a Pack. In its place, you now choose a Default Pack: the Pack shown on Home and used whenever an action, such as creating a Howl, needs Pack context.

You'll need to switch from Universe to another Pack before continuing. Moving Universe Howls into a Pack you own doesn't need a data reset. Neither does switching an empty or new account. Moving existing Universe Howls into somebody else's public Pack does require a reset, as does choosing to wipe them.

Only Howls posted directly to Universe are affected. Anything already inside another Pack stays put. Not sure what to pick? Totally fair, it's a touchy process. Contact us and we'll help you through it.

packs got a lot

Packs now live in the top-left switcher, with granular permissions, custom feeds, custom HTML and CSS, and proper member management.

You can grant administration, member bans and kicks, channel creation/editing/deletion, Howl creation/deletion and Pack management separately. We'll add more whenever Packs actually need them.

A custom Pack header used as the background of the Pack switcher Pack switcher menu with the current Pack highlighted

The old Pack header now sits behind the Pack switcher. We'll play around with more ways to show it later. For now, you can always put it above the feed with custom HTML if you miss it there.

Custom channels can also define a search query and use the results as their feed. Speaking of which:

Packbase's feeds and search now run on whskrd, the query language we've been messing with for the past few months. A basic query looks like [Where <table>[:column] (<search>)]. It also has variables, chained filters and object setters if you wanna get weird with it.

Press Control or Command + K and search to your heart's content. Packs, profiles and Howls all work now. If you already speak whskrd, you can run a raw query too—start with a posts, profiles or packs variable and finish with AS *;.

Packbase command search showing results for Packs, profiles and Howls

For extension experiments, type Packbase in the browser console to see the active events. Use Packbase.emit("event") or Packbase.on("event", handler) to work with them. This is very early stuff and absolutely will change lol.

You can also create API keys and call most of the routes Packbase uses itself. Route docs live at vgs.packbase.app/docs. Response docs are still a work in progress, sorry!

Formal bot accounts will come later. For now, an account ending in -bot or a self-bot is fine as long as you don't abuse it. We will notice.

settings, ratings, howls

We're moving profile settings out of the Clerk-managed modal, which has a habit of resetting forms at exactly the wrong time. Open account settings and choose what you want to change, then use the rebuilt form.

That extra chooser is temporary. It should disappear in Alpha 10 once the two settings worlds become one.

Rebuilt Packbase profile settings modal with editable profile fields Temporary Packbase settings chooser asking which account area to change

R18 ratings and Howl tags are here. When you mark a Howl R18, we'll ask you to confirm that your whole account is R18. Those accounts are less visible to people who opt out, and you can't switch back until every R18 Howl is deleted.

Packs can restrict tags or require them—for example, an R18 Pack can require the matching label. These controls are temporarily disabled while we patch an exploit; we'll announce it when they're back.

Howl composer rating selector with standard and R18 choices Howl composer showing R18 confirmation and tag controls

We've redesigned Howls so neighbouring posts stop melting into one slab and replies are much easier to see. You can react to them now too! This is somehow the controversial bit.

Redesigned Packbase Howl card with clearer replies and reaction controls

bugs we fixed

Since release, we've fixed:

  • setup loops and missing requires_setup data;
  • missing image data;
  • the "already switched off from Universe" error appearing after you had, in fact, already switched;
  • new Packs forgetting who owned them;
  • new accounts failing setup or missing a Default Pack;
  • some legacy Howls refusing new reactions;
  • R18 Howls showing assets when they shouldn't;
  • "Communities come first" becoming illegible;
  • Pack ownership and assets vanishing on reload;
  • the Following and Everything feeds disappearing; and
  • pagination failing on some @PAGE({SKIP}, {TAKE}, {QUERY}) feeds.

There's more I've forgotten. And about 50,000,000 bugs. If something is broken, please tell us!