Crucial Tracks: Changelog & Roadmap

Changelog

April 2025

  • Initial 1.0 release
  • User profiles and authentication
  • Entry creation and management
  • Apple Music search
  • A view of all public posts - Public Tracks - find new music and people to follow!
  • Added a profile setting to default new entries to Public
  • Added an onboarding message for new users
  • Added a rotating daily prompt feature to help you write each day
  • Added a 'Use Daily Prompt' button to the new entry page
  • Bug fixes and mobile layout improvements
  • Better content support in RSS feed (markdown converted to HTML)
  • Individual URLs for public entries (a popular request!)
  • Added 40+ prompts
  • Support content
  • Add your songs to an Apple Music playlist (instructions here)
  • Added user preference for date format (MDY or DMY)
  • Added user preference for RSS title prefix - you can change the 'Crucial Track for' text to whatever you want. (Rest of title will be the date, in the format you selected for the site.)
  • Add user preference to share Apple Music playlist URL - adds the playlist link to your public profile page, to the bottom of each RSS feed item, and on the Public Tracks page.
  • Added better prompt management - site now tracks when prompts were shown so all prompts are used before one is re-used.

May 2025

  • Sharing to Bluesky and Mastodon - configure to automatically share new entries to these sites.
  • Add (optional) additional, custom text when you share to Mastodon and Bluesky.
  • Added support for passing an Apple Music song via URL to start an entry with that song on Crucial Tracks. More info here.
  • Improved the selected song UI.
  • Added RSS feed to Public Tracks page
  • Community Tracks - a weekly curated playlist from the Crucial Tracks community
  • Added profile badges for the first 100 users and posts created (10/30/60)
  • Add to Homescreen + Add to Dock - on Apple devices you can now add Crucial Tracks to your dock and/or homescreen.
  • Added user time zone support
  • Added markdown toolbar for entry content
  • Added community links to the dashboard: Public Tracks and Community Playlists
  • Improved prompt scheduling and added a Last 10 Prompts view
  • Utilize past prompts when creating entries for days in the past - the prompts from the last two weeks are available. (Select older days on the calendar widget or select a past day on the Create Entry page, then click Use Daily Prompt button)
  • Improved styling for some HTML elements
  • Added webring functionality to public profile pages
  • Added JSON feeds for profiles and Public Tracks. Complete with a song details extension that breaks out the details into fields – great for automation.
  • Added support for Song.link links for every shared song. Get to other streaming services easily!

June 2025

  • Crucial Connections - with every public post, see other users who listen to the same artist or have written about the same song.

Roadmap

Planned for the future

  • More daily Crucial Tracks prompts
  • Export your data
  • Potential Ideas:
    • Reply by Email?
    • Profile embed for your blog?