Changelog

Zero Deployment Architecture

• Eliminated per-student deployment wait times — all changes now apply instantly
• Removed "Deployment required" status and warnings entirely in GitLab mode
• No more manual deploy step — students can start working immediately after being assigned
• Sessions go from setup to ready in seconds instead of minutes

Unified Database Management

• Centralized external MySQL and PostgreSQL support via feature flags
• Hierarchical database users: company admin, session teacher, and student levels
• Automatic database provisioning when students are assigned to sessions
• phpMyAdmin and pgAdmin access integrated into student and expert dashboards

Simplified Student & Seat Management

• Seats now represent unique students per company — one student, one seat, regardless of how many sessions
• Assigning students to sessions no longer checks or consumes seats
• Simplified mapping system with streamlined student-to-session enrollment

Settings & UI Overhaul

• Logs promoted to top-level menu item with dedicated /logs URL
• Internet control gated by feature flag (competition-only, disabled by default)
• Session logo upload now works when editing sessions
• Removed 6 redundant settings cards — cleaner, less overwhelming settings page
• New collapsible Advanced settings section for power-user options
• Training-specific defaults (countdown timer starts at 0, competition-only settings hidden)
• File inputs and UI elements updated to KtUI component system

Marking Room UI Improvements

• Redesigned marking room interface with improved layout and visual hierarchy
• Added legend colors for marking status indicators
• Fixed overview padding and grid layout for better readability
• Improved consistency between students and modules views

Mapping & Default URL Improvements

• Restyled mapping cards with cleaner visual design
• Added "Set to Default" button for quickly resetting mapping URLs
• Default deployment URL now displayed by default for easier access
• Improved button labels with descriptive text

Markdown Editor for Module Descriptions

• New per-field Visual/Markdown toggle on module description editors
• Full markdown support: headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, links, images, code blocks, tables, blockquotes, lists
• Live preview below the markdown editor updates as you type
• Syntax reference modal accessible via the ? button in the toolbar
• Editor mode preference persists per field via browser storage
• Seamless switching — existing WYSIWYG content converts to markdown and vice versa

Safety & UX Improvements

• Clean Git action now requires confirmation before executing — prevents accidental deletion of student work
• Fixed long session names overflowing the sidebar session selector

Per-Session Timezone

• New timezone setting in Advanced session settings — defaults to UTC
• Comprehensive timezone list covering all major regions (Europe, Americas, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Pacific)
• Module start/end times are now timezone-aware — teachers enter times in their session timezone, stored as UTC
• All time displays (module show page, edit form) converted to the session timezone with offset indicator
• Auto-start scheduling correctly uses the session timezone

Expert Management

• New Experts tab on the Marking page for managing competition experts and their skills
• Expert profiles with name, email, country code (2-letter), skill proficiencies, and questionnaire answers
• 14 default technologies (PHP, Laravel, Vue.js, React, Node.js, etc.) seeded per competition, fully customizable
• Three proficiency levels per technology: Beginner, Intermediate, Expert
• Configurable yes/no questionnaire (e.g., "Experience in international competitions")
• Self-registration via public URL — toggle on/off from the Experts tab, experts require approval
• Auto-assign to Teams — skill-balancing algorithm distributes experts across marking teams for equal backend/frontend coverage
• Interactive assignment preview modal — set team leaders, move experts between teams before applying
• Manual assignment via team dropdown on each expert row with crown icon for team leader
• Expert selection when creating marking teams — unassigned experts listed first
• Tab persistence on the Marking page — actions redirect back to the correct tab

Dashboard Tabbed Layout

• Student dashboard reorganized into three tabs: Session, Tools & Deployment, and Logs
• Timer and chat remain always visible in the right sidebar regardless of active tab
• Parallel module switcher moved to timer card toolbar for quick access
• Active tab remembered across page reloads and form submissions via localStorage
• Translations added for all five supported languages (EN, DE, FI, HU, LV)

Live Deployment Status

• Per-mapping deployment status displayed under each mapping entry (default and additional)
• Shows deployment state icon, status text, and relative time ("2 min ago")
• Auto-refreshes every 10 seconds via Livewire polling

Database Connection Info

• New Database Connection section in Tools tab showing MySQL and PostgreSQL credentials
• Displays host, port, username, and password with one-click copy buttons

Improved Log Viewer

• Application logs moved to dedicated Logs tab with terminal-style dark theme
• First 50 entries shown by default with "Show all" toggle for the rest
• Log fetch limit reduced from 100 to 50 for faster page loads
• New log kind selector — switch between Application and Container logs
• Auto-refresh toggle (30-second interval) for continuous monitoring

Teacher Deployment Logs Beta

• New Session → Logs page for teachers to view any student's deployment logs
• Filter by student, module, and mapping with cascading selectors
• Application vs Container log kind toggle
• Auto-refresh and manual refresh controls
• Quick "View Logs" link in the Students dropdown per student
• Deep-link support via URL parameters for quick access

Custom Domain Names

• Companies can now configure a custom domain suffix for their sessions
• Student deployment URLs use the company's domain instead of the default
• Domain migration tool for updating existing sessions when changing domains

Framework Management

• New ZIP file upload option when adding custom frameworks (alongside Git URL)
• Automatic validation of ZIP contents for Dockerfile and CI/CD workflows
• Frameworks are now account-wide — shared across all sessions in your organization
• New framework guides: Java Spring Boot, Java Vanilla, Python Django, Python FastAPI

Module State Alerts

• New prominent module state alerts on dashboard showing all active module states
• Overtime alert (red) — module exceeded scheduled time with Complete action
• Countdown alert (amber, animated) — module starting soon with live countdown timer
• Paused alert (amber) — module is paused with Resume action
• Running alert (green) — active module with time remaining and Pause/Complete actions
• Ready to Start card (blue) — modules waiting to begin with quick Start buttons
• Module card header now shows status badges summarizing counts by state
• Color-coded row highlighting in module list for quick visual identification
• Real-time updates via WebSocket — no page refresh needed

Framework Documentation

• Comprehensive deployment guides for all 9 NStrim-provided frameworks
• Quick start guides with step-by-step instructions for Angular, Express.js, Laravel, Next.js, React, React Vite, Svelte, Vanilla PHP, and Vue.js
• Docker development instructions for users without local Node.js/PHP
• Project structure overviews and common task examples
• Troubleshooting sections with solutions to common issues
• Framework-specific tips (Server vs Client components in Next.js, Prisma ORM in Express, etc.)

UI Polish

• NStrim-provided frameworks now display verify tick icon instead of text badge
• Framework selection in competition settings shows separate sections for NStrim Provided and Your Frameworks
• Improved spacing and visual hierarchy on documentation pages

Chat System Beta

• Two-way chat between students and instructors
• Students can send questions directly from their dashboard
• Urgent report feature for critical issues (flagged with red indicator)
• Unanswered questions counter badge for administrators
• Real-time browser notifications for new messages
• Red reports page showing urgent and unanswered messages
• Available for both competition and training sessions

Teacher Marking Improvements

• Student credentials (username/password) now displayed with clear labels
• One-click copy buttons for username and password
• Quick access tool buttons (View, Git, MySQL, Postgres) in organized layout
• Improved marking grid with better visual hierarchy

Deployment Status

• Deployment status message renamed to "Setting up your environment"
• New installation progress bar with real-time updates
• Improved visual feedback during environment setup

Frameworks Page

• "General" tab renamed to "Frameworks" in Session menu
• Frameworks page now focused on framework template management
• Add new framework button moved to Frameworks page
• New ZIP file upload option when adding custom frameworks
• Git URL auto-fetch to populate framework name, slug, and description from GitHub/GitLab
• Redesigned framework selection with toggle switches
• Frameworks now available account-wide (not session-specific)
• Session name, logo, and DNS configuration moved to Settings page

Settings Page

• Session Information card added with name (read-only) and logo upload
• DNS Name card in sidebar showing subdomain configuration
• Improved info blocks explaining settings sections

Modules Management

• Modules now accessible directly from main menu (no longer under Session submenu)
• New dedicated module list page with improved overview
• New module detail page showing status, settings, and attachments
• Redesigned create module form with inline time inputs and helpful sidebar

Module Auto-Start Beta

• New module auto-start feature for scheduled module starts
• Modules with fixed start time can now automatically start at the scheduled time
• Configurable start countdown timer (seconds before module begins)
• Auto-start only available when using fixed date mode

Teacher Marking

• New Teacher Marking feature for training sessions
• Mark students per module as Pass, Partial, or Fail
• Quick mark buttons for efficient grading
• Detailed feedback comments for students
• Marking overview with per-student and per-module statistics
• Configurable feedback visibility settings (show immediately or after module ends)
• Student dashboard integration to display marking feedback

Settings

• New "Show teacher marking to students" setting for training sessions
• New "Wait for module to end before showing feedback" setting

New User Interface

• Complete UI overhaul with modern design
• Improved dark/light theme support
• Redesigned sidebar with collapsible menu and session selection
• New global search with keyboard shortcut (Cmd/Ctrl + /)
• Mobile-responsive design improvements

New Dashboard 2.0

• Real-time statistics: students online, module status, deployment success rates
• Active module cards with live countdown timers
• Attention items panel for failed deployments and inactive students
• Quick links to external services (Git, phpMyAdmin, pgAdmin & more)
• Live student grid with deployment status indicators

Billing & Payments

• Card payment integration
• Seat-based billing with flexible monthly/annual cycles
• Bank transfer support with invoice generation
• Trial account system for new organizations

Team & Account Management

• New Account section with Team, Billing, and Settings
• Team management with role-based access (Owner, Admin, Member)
• Seat allocation management with grouping by billing cycle

Remote Marking Beta

• Team-based remote evaluation for distributed marking workflows
• Create marking teams with leader details and 6-character access codes
• Start/stop marking globally with real-time progress monitoring
• First-come-first-served marking approach with undo capability

Student Management Tools

• Git Lock/Unlock — prevent or restore student push access individually or in bulk
• Clean Git — destructive action to remove all student repositories for a fresh start
• Extended Time — grant additional time to individual students who need accommodations

Scheduler Controls

• Background job scheduler with configurable intervals for machine stats and Git data collection
• Pause/resume all background jobs for a session