Add collapsible footer changelog sourced from public data file

client/index.html

@@ -67,7 +67,16 @@
         <p><b>Dash or Equals:</b> Lower/raise active effect value</p>
       </div>
 
-      <small id="appVersion">Another AI experiment with Jage. Version</small>
+      <footer id="appFooter">
+        <small id="appVersion">Another AI experiment with Jage. Version</small>
+        <section id="updatesSection" class="updates-section">
+          <h2>Latest Updates</h2>
+          <button id="updatesToggle" type="button" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="updatesPanel">
+            Show updates
+          </button>
+          <div id="updatesPanel" class="hidden" hidden></div>
+        </section>
+      </footer>
 
       <div id="settingsModal" class="hidden" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" aria-labelledby="modalTitle">
         <div class="modal-content">

client/public/changelog.json

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{
+  "sections": [
+    {
+      "date": "February 20, 2026",
+      "items": [
+        "Fixed reconnect failure paths so bad saved position or signaling errors do not leave connect stuck, and hardened websocket message parsing.",
+        "Unified voice effects under a shared effect model for users and radio stations, including loopback monitoring.",
+        "Added global item use cooldown support on the server with per-item-type override capability.",
+        "Added Shift+O inspector mode to read all item properties, including global and non-editable values.",
+        "Added paste support for canvas text-entry modes (chat and field editors).",
+        "Expanded character/arrow review announcements to include common punctuation names.",
+        "Persisted player position across refresh/unload so reconnect restores the previous grid location.",
+        "Added the deploy helper script for quick client publish plus service restart workflow."
+      ]
+    }
+  ]
+}

client/public/version.js

@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 // Maintainer-controlled web client version.
 // Format: YYYY.MM.DD Rn (example: 2026.02.20 R2)
-window.CHGRID_WEB_VERSION = "2026.02.21 R82";
+window.CHGRID_WEB_VERSION = "2026.02.21 R83";

client/src/main.ts

@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ declare global {
 
 type Dom = {
   appVersion: HTMLElement;
+  updatesSection: HTMLElement;
+  updatesToggle: HTMLButtonElement;
+  updatesPanel: HTMLDivElement;
   nicknameContainer: HTMLDivElement;
   preconnectNickname: HTMLInputElement;
   connectButton: HTMLButtonElement;
@@ -62,6 +65,9 @@ type Dom = {
 
 const dom: Dom = {
   appVersion: requiredById('appVersion'),
+  updatesSection: requiredById('updatesSection'),
+  updatesToggle: requiredById('updatesToggle'),
+  updatesPanel: requiredById('updatesPanel'),
   nicknameContainer: requiredById('nicknameContainer'),
   preconnectNickname: requiredById('preconnectNickname'),
   connectButton: requiredById('connectButton'),
@@ -79,6 +85,15 @@ const dom: Dom = {
   instructions: requiredById('instructions'),
 };
 
+type ChangelogSection = {
+  date: string;
+  items: string[];
+};
+
+type ChangelogData = {
+  sections: ChangelogSection[];
+};
+
 const APP_VERSION = String(window.CHGRID_WEB_VERSION ?? '').trim();
 dom.appVersion.textContent = APP_VERSION
   ? `Another AI experiment with Jage. Version ${APP_VERSION}`
@@ -181,6 +196,7 @@ const peerManager = new PeerManager(
 audio.setOutputMode(outputMode);
 
 loadEffectLevels();
+void loadChangelog();
 
 function requiredById<T extends HTMLElement>(id: string): T {
   const found = document.getElementById(id);
@@ -190,6 +206,53 @@ function requiredById<T extends HTMLElement>(id: string): T {
   return found as T;
 }
 
+function setUpdatesExpanded(expanded: boolean): void {
+  dom.updatesToggle.setAttribute('aria-expanded', expanded ? 'true' : 'false');
+  dom.updatesToggle.textContent = expanded ? 'Hide updates' : 'Show updates';
+  dom.updatesPanel.hidden = !expanded;
+  dom.updatesPanel.classList.toggle('hidden', !expanded);
+}
+
+function renderChangelog(changelog: ChangelogData): void {
+  dom.updatesPanel.innerHTML = '';
+  for (const section of changelog.sections) {
+    const heading = document.createElement('h3');
+    heading.textContent = section.date;
+    dom.updatesPanel.appendChild(heading);
+
+    const list = document.createElement('ul');
+    for (const item of section.items) {
+      const li = document.createElement('li');
+      li.textContent = item;
+      list.appendChild(li);
+    }
+    dom.updatesPanel.appendChild(list);
+  }
+}
+
+async function loadChangelog(): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    const response = await fetch(withBase('changelog.json'), { cache: 'no-store' });
+    if (!response.ok) {
+      dom.updatesSection.classList.add('hidden');
+      return;
+    }
+    const changelog = (await response.json()) as ChangelogData;
+    if (!Array.isArray(changelog.sections) || changelog.sections.length === 0) {
+      dom.updatesSection.classList.add('hidden');
+      return;
+    }
+    renderChangelog(changelog);
+    setUpdatesExpanded(false);
+    dom.updatesToggle.addEventListener('click', () => {
+      const expanded = dom.updatesToggle.getAttribute('aria-expanded') === 'true';
+      setUpdatesExpanded(!expanded);
+    });
+  } catch {
+    dom.updatesSection.classList.add('hidden');
+  }
+}
+
 function updateStatus(message: string): void {
   const normalized = String(message)
     .replace(/\s*\n+\s*/g, ' ')

client/src/styles.css

@@ -24,6 +24,38 @@ body {
   margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
 }
 
+#appFooter {
+  margin-top: 0.5rem;
+}
+
+.updates-section {
+  color: #94a3b8;
+  text-align: left;
+  width: fit-content;
+  margin: 0 auto;
+}
+
+.updates-section h2 {
+  color: #cbd5e1;
+  font-size: 1rem;
+  margin: 0.35rem 0;
+}
+
+#updatesToggle {
+  margin-bottom: 0.35rem;
+}
+
+#updatesPanel h3 {
+  color: #cbd5e1;
+  font-size: 0.95rem;
+  margin: 0.35rem 0 0.2rem;
+}
+
+#updatesPanel ul {
+  margin: 0 0 0.5rem 1.1rem;
+  padding: 0;
+}
+
 #deviceSummary {
   color: #94a3b8;
   margin: 0 auto 0.75rem;