Known Limits
Some capabilities are intentionally conservative in the current release.
Platform support
Section titled “Platform support”Windows x64 is the actively tested packaging target. macOS and Linux build targets exist but are not release-supported at the same level.
Storage
Section titled “Storage”The current primary Vast-owned application state uses JSON-based storage. More advanced database-backed storage may appear later, but should not be assumed today.
Reader mode
Section titled “Reader mode”Reader/focus behavior is not a full semantic article extraction engine in the current release.
Automation
Section titled “Automation”Some automatic trigger types are visible in the macro model but remain inactive in the current safe mode.
Spoofing
Section titled “Spoofing”Fingerprint and identity spoofing is best-effort and cannot guarantee that every script observes a perfectly uniform environment.
Extensions
Section titled “Extensions”Extension compatibility varies. Some Chrome APIs or complex extension assumptions may be partially supported or unsupported. Direct Chrome Web Store listing-URL installation is available; full store navigation remains guarded in packaged 0.5.0. Extensions do not run in private/ephemeral sessions. Password-manager evidence covers smoke tests only.
Password portability
Section titled “Password portability”OS-backed encryption may prevent encrypted credentials from working after moving a profile to another machine or operating-system account.
Website sessions
Section titled “Website sessions”Cookies and browser session state are included in normal profile handling where possible, but website authentication sessions are not guaranteed to survive migration across computers.
Experimental features
Section titled “Experimental features”Labs features may change faster than the stable browsing surface. Their UI, storage model, or compatibility behavior can change between releases.
Distribution and update limits in 0.5.0
Section titled “Distribution and update limits in 0.5.0”The direct Windows release is intentionally unsigned. Store certification and availability are separate from GitHub publication. The direct standalone updater does not update Microsoft Store/MSIX or Portable installations.
The installed 0.4.2 automatic updater can fail during the next-start installer handoff. Its legacy feed stays pinned to 0.4.2; install 0.5.0 manually once to receive future automatic updates through the new feed. Direct and Store installations have separate default profile roots.
Extensions, including Adblocker for Vast, do not run in private or temporary workspaces. A private download’s saved file can remain on disk even though its history is not persisted. Retrying a download cannot restore expired authentication or a destroyed temporary session.
Smart Unload targets are best-effort. Discarded tabs reload when opened; do not rely on them to preserve unsaved website state.