v2.0.0-alpha1
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*Release date: February 13, 2026*
*Changes since:* ***v2.0.0-alpha***

**Summary:** After three months of continuous development since the initial alpha release, pgModeler 2.0.0-alpha1 represents a major milestone in the ongoing UI modernization effort. This release focuses primarily on completing the redesign of all model object editing forms, improving overall usability, and introducing several quality-of-life enhancements that make working with database models more intuitive and efficient. Along with these visual improvements, this version includes important bug fixes and new features that further enhance the stability and functionality of the tool.

**Complete editing forms redesign:** The most significant change in this release is the comprehensive redesign of all object editing forms. Every single form, from simple objects like Roles and Schemas to complex ones like Tables, Relationships, and Constraints, has been modernized with a cleaner, more organized layout. The new design adopts a tabbed interface for complex forms, making it easier to navigate through different configuration sections. All forms now share a consistent visual language with improved label organization, better spacing, and more intuitive control grouping. This redesign not only makes the forms look better but also significantly improves the editing workflow by reducing visual clutter and making related options easier to find.

**Enhanced keyboard navigation:** Recognizing that many users prefer keyboard-based workflows, this release introduces a new tab order manager system that automatically configures the tab order for all editing forms. This means you can now navigate through form fields using the Tab key in a logical, predictable manner without any manual configuration. The system is smart enough to skip hidden or disabled widgets and properly handles Shift+Tab for reverse navigation. This enhancement significantly speeds up data entry and makes the application more accessible to keyboard-centric users.

**Improved visual feedback:** To make the interface more responsive and intuitive, this version introduces subtle visual effects throughout the application. Input widgets, buttons, checkboxes, and radio buttons now feature custom hover effects that provide immediate feedback when you interact with them. Focus borders have been added to checkboxes and radio buttons, making it clearer which element is currently selected. Progress bars now display smooth busy indicator animations during long-running operations. These small touches combine to create a more polished and professional user experience.

**Modernized code preview:** The code preview functionality has been completely overhauled with a more capable and user-friendly widget that replaces the old implementation. The new code preview offers better syntax highlighting, improved filtering capabilities, and a cleaner interface that makes reviewing generated SQL and XML code much more pleasant. This is particularly useful when inspecting complex database objects or troubleshooting code generation issues.

**Object associations visualization:** Understanding the relationships between database objects is crucial for effective database design. This release introduces a new object associations viewer that provides a much clearer and more intuitive view of how objects are connected. The improved interface makes it easier to track dependencies and references, helping you understand the impact of changes before applying them to your model.

**Enhanced CLI capabilities:** The command-line interface has received several improvements in this release. The help menu now features automatic line wrapping with sentence-based breaks, making it much easier to read on narrow terminals. Support for version-only printing has been added, which is particularly useful for integration with deployment pipelines and automation scripts. These enhancements make pgModeler-CLI more versatile and easier to use in automated workflows.

**Quality and stability improvements:** Beyond the visible changes, this release includes numerous under-the-hood improvements. Several crash bugs have been fixed, including issues when editing connections while browsing databases and crashes in the model export widget. Memory management has been improved with fixes for critical memory-related issues. The validation system now catches more potential issues, such as foreign keys with SET NULL actions tied to NOT NULL columns. These fixes contribute to a more stable and reliable application.

**Experimental features:** This release introduces experimental support for disabling name quoting, allowing pgModeler to treat object names as case-insensitive. This feature addresses a long-standing request from users who prefer to work with unquoted identifiers. While still experimental, it represents progress toward supporting different naming conventions and workflows.

**Visual refinements:** The application's visual identity continues to evolve with updated logos and icons that maintain the flatter, more colorful style introduced in the alpha release. Numerous small UI adjustments throughout the application improve consistency and polish. The theme system has been refined with better detection and more sophisticated rendering of various UI components.

**Looking ahead:** The UI modernization effort continues with more improvements planned for future releases. The focus remains on making pgModeler more intuitive, efficient, and pleasant to use while maintaining its powerful feature set. Your feedback and bug reports continue to be invaluable in guiding the development process.

**A new chapter:** This release marks an important milestone in pgModeler's journey. The project is now being developed and maintained by Nullptr Labs, a company founded by pgModeler's original author and dedicated to providing professional-grade database modeling tools and services. This transition ensures the long-term sustainability of the project and enables us to invest more resources in development, support, and innovation. We're excited about the future of pgModeler and committed to delivering the best possible experience to our users, whether in the open-source community or in enterprise environments. Your continued support and feedback remain essential as we move forward together in this new chapter.


