Curio 34 Release Notes 📖

New Features

Kanban Boards

Curio now includes Kanban boards: collections that automatically generate sorted stacks from a selected grouping, giving you a fast Trello-style way to organize work.

Kanban supports grouping by priority, rating, tag sets (where only one tag in the set can be selected, like GTD), and various dates such as start, due, and last modified. Kanban dynamically constructs one stack per group value, including fallback stacks such as none, unrated, or untagged, and each stack automatically sorts its items by the chosen sort option: title, action date, start date, due date, percent complete, rating, or priority.

Dropping a figure into a specified stack or moving figures between stacks updates that figure's meta to match the destination stack. For example, in a priority-grouped Kanban move a figure from Low to Urgent to change its priority, or in a tag-grouped Kanban move a figure from On Hold to Active. This works when grouping by date too: drag a figure into the Tomorrow stack of a start-date Kanban and Curio sets its start date to tomorrow, or drag items in from another collection like a stack or list to quickly schedule them. (For an action-date Kanban — which tracks a figure's start date until the task is underway, meaning its percent complete has climbed above zero, then switches to its due date — Curio sets whichever date keeps the figure in the stack you dropped it on.) You can also still double-click within any date stack to create a new item with an appropriate representative date. And whatever the grouping, editing a figure's grouping property in the inspector — its priority, rating, tag, or date — automatically moves it into the appropriate stack.

Select a different grouping or sorting at any time and the stacks are regenerated, if necessary, and your figures reshuffle into the appropriate stacks.

You can set a default stack style for your Kanban board, and even set custom stack styles which are keyed by column identifier (e.g. red fill for Urgent priority, cool blue for Low) so they are automatically restored if you change grouping.

Kanban includes a handy spread colors option in the inspector so you can pick a base color and Curio evenly distributes hues across generated stacks, automatically recalculating the spread when grouping changes.

For those that love keyboard shortcuts note that in the Insert main menu Stack is now ⌃⌘S (was ⌃⌘K) so that Kanban can be ⌃⌘K. Likewise in the Insert popover pressing S now goes into the Stack gallery and K into the Kanban gallery.

Smart Kanban Boards

Curio Pro makes Kanban boards even more powerful by supporting query-backed Kanban boards. Start with an empty Kanban with selected grouping and sorting options, then enter a Search-style query. Curio instantly finds matching figures from across your project, then dynamically generates the appropriate stacks and fills them with Curio Pro's synced figure instances pointing to the original figures. This allows you to edit a figure's text or change its meta, and it instantly syncs with the original figure.

Smart Kanban boards support the drag-and-drop feature described above so you can move a figure between stacks to change its meta, including tag set changes for query results that represent Organizer items, and the Kanban refreshes automatically when searchable project content changes. Date-grouping drag is the exception — because a query board's stacks are driven by your query rather than owned by the board, dragging between date stacks isn't supported there; use a standard Kanban for that.

As an example, let's say we have the following todo list in our project with items tagged from the Paper tag set, priorities, and automatic date rollups.

Let's create a Kanban that pulls information from that list via the query #paper. Below is the same Kanban showing different groupings (and styles) of that data: Start Date (Colors), Priority (Cello), Paper tag set (Dusk).

And of course the query could have pulled in data from across the project based on any query you wish, not just from a single list.

Table Formulas

Curio Pro table cells can now include Excel-like structured reference formulas using column names (more user-friendly than A1-style references), with support for current-row references like [@Column] and whole-column references like [Column].

Any table cell starting with = is evaluated and Curio displays the computed result in the cell. Supported operators/functions include +, -, *, /, parentheses, and functions like SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, MEDIAN, COUNT, COUNTA, ROUND, ABS, INT, CEILING, FLOOR, and TEXT for number formatting.

Unlike markdown table formulas, described below, native table cells can use Curio's Text Figure Formatters so you can keep formulas numeric and apply number, currency, percentage, scientific, or other formatting via the inspector instead of relying on TEXT(value,formatter).

In this table, the row values in the Total column are all =[@Price]*[@Quantity]; notice the @ references the value in the specified column for the current row. The bottom cell in Total is =SUM([Total]) to get the sum of the entire named column. We format it with a numeric formatter chosen from the text inspector.

Markdown Table Formulas

Curio Pro markdown tables in text figures can now include Excel-like structured reference formulas using column names. Any cell starting with = is evaluated before markdown styling so operators like * won’t be interpreted as emphasis. Formulas can reference the current row via [@Column] and entire columns via [Column].

Supported operators/functions include +, -, *, /, parentheses, and functions like SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, MEDIAN, COUNT, COUNTA, ROUND, ABS, INT, CEILING, FLOOR, and TEXT for number formatting.

Here's a text figure in Curio containing a markdown table with formulas and formatters (see the raw markdown). This is all dynamic! Change a price or quantity and when you finish editing, the cells are recalculated and numeric formatting is applied.

In this table, the row values in the Total column are all =[@Price]*[@Quantity]; notice the @ references the value in the specified column for the current row. The bottom cell in Total is =SUM([Total]) to get the sum of the entire named column. We format it with =TEXT(SUM([Total]),"$#,##0.00").

Table Sorting

Table cell context menus now include Sort Ascending and Sort Descending actions by selected column, sorting body rows while keeping row header and footer rows fixed. This sort occurs when you apply the sort, not dynamically as you change cell values.

Synced Collection Instances

Curio Pro now supports synced collection instances, so you can copy a list, mind map, or stack and paste as a Synced List, Synced Mind Map, or Synced Stack.

Synced collections mirror the source hierarchy (including root, parent-child structure, and item order) while each item remains a synced figure instance, so content and meta changes propagate across all linked copies.

Edit text and metadata in the original or any synced instance and Curio keeps all linked items in sync automatically. Synced instances also support delete, rearrange, indent, and outdent, with changes reflected to the original and all other instances; only add remains read-only in synced instances and must be made in the original collection.

When a synced collection is selected, hover near the top edge and a small jump button appears. If the selected collection is the original source it jumps to a synced instance; if the selected collection is a synced instance it jumps to the original source.

Here we have a list which has been copied then pasted as a synced list and a synced mind map. Changes to any are reflected to the others.

References Panel

Curio Pro now includes a References panel in the Meta inspector so you can attach typed references to figures. Each reference combines a reference type and a jump target, making related evidence and context easy to organize.

Use Add from Clipboard to create a reference from either a copied Curio jump target or a URL currently on the clipboard. Web references can be updated later, while Curio jump references remain read-only.

With multiple figures selected, Curio shows only references shared by every selected figure (same type and same target), so you can update or delete those common references in one step.

Project Tag Sets

Curio now supports project tag sets. Unlike global tag sets which are shared across all projects, project tag sets are scoped to a single project.

Click the Add Tag Set button in the Tags panel to choose between creating a Project Tag Set or a Global Tag Set. Project tag sets appear in the tags table with a briefcase icon on the far right to distinguish them from global (globe icon) and extracted (lock icon) tag sets.

Project tag sets support all the same features as global tag sets including custom colors, adding and removing tags, renaming, and the Only One Tag Can Be Set option for use with Kanban board grouping. They also appear in Kanban grouping and Status Shelf sort and group-by menus.

Use the Actions menu to promote project keywords to a global or project tag set, or convert an entire project tag set to a global tag set. Tags and tag sets can be reordered via drag and drop within their respective zones, and separate sort commands are available for project and global tag sets.

Relatedly, throughout the docs and UI, we've renamed Local Project Tags to Project Keyword Tags, and Cross Project Tags to Global Keyword Tags just to standardize our terminology.

Curio CLI

Curio supports automation through Curio CLI, a new separately downloaded command line tool named curio that opens up Curio to Terminal users, scripts (ex: shell, Python), LLM agents (ex: Codex, Claude Code, Antigravity CLI, OpenClaw), and MCP hosts (ex: Claude Desktop).

Its extensive command set covers querying, reading and updating figures and idea spaces, creating Organizer sections and idea spaces, importing and exporting content, running scripted batches, and navigating around your projects — all from the shell. The CLI is an extra perk for Curio Pro sustainers with either an active subscription or a traditional license within its current update window.

Give your favorite LLM access to all your Curio data to rewrite text, fine-tune images, perform deep queries and analysis, import and export content, create Organizer structure, set meta values, navigate to figures or idea spaces, inspect available fields, and much more.

The CLI supports two modes: a live app mode that talks to the running Curio app for selection-aware and writable operations, and a direct --project mode that can query a .curio file on disk without Curio running. Direct project mode is read-only and ideal for automation and analysis tasks.

Spread PDF automation imports explicitly persist every populated page drawing before returning, preventing an immediate scripted close from leaving saved idea spaces with blank canvases.

Project navigation reliably makes an already-open project current for subsequent selection-aware commands. Newly saved projects remain consistently bound across read and mutation requests, so section-addressed creation and imports work immediately after the first save without a close-and-reopen cycle.

Organizer hierarchy automation includes a readable parent_id field, separate absolute section_path and organizer_path fields for their distinct hierarchy namespaces, and recursive Organizer-order listings that report both their top-level count and descendant-inclusive total_count.

The CLI ships as a separate install from the main Curio app, which lets us roll out security fixes, protocol updates, and new features on its own rapid cadence independent of the main app's release schedule. Curio briefly introduces the CLI before installing or downloading it, with a direct link to learn more. The CLI works with both the Zengobi website and Mac App Store editions of Curio, checks for its own updates automatically, and has its own Curio CLI docs and Curio CLI release notes.

Curio MCP

Curio MCP extends the Curio CLI with a built-in Model Context Protocol stdio server, so AI clients like Claude Desktop can launch curio mcp-server and talk to Curio over stdio with full CLI parity. Because Curio MCP is delivered by the Curio CLI, it is likewise an extra perk for Curio Pro sustainers with either an active subscription or a traditional license within its current update window.

MCP hosts such as Claude Desktop can launch the same installed curio binary on demand and gain direct access to Curio tools like querying, reading fields, setting metadata, importing, exporting, and navigation through a shared command runner with full CLI parity.

Claude Desktop users can easily integrate with Curio MCP with curio claude install, which creates and opens Claude Connector (.mcpb package) with Curio's tool and prompt metadata already included.

Curio macOS App Intents

Curio now includes native App Intents integration for Apple's Shortcuts app on macOS, giving you a system-friendly automation surface for opening projects, finding items, reading the current selection, navigating to results, exporting content, and importing files into the current idea space.

Unlike the Curio CLI, which is aimed at Terminal users and scripts, App Intents presents Curio's automation as native Shortcuts actions and typed results. This makes it easy to build Mac automations that pass Curio files, items, links, and exported documents directly between Curio and other Shortcuts actions.

Curio's first App Intents release includes actions such as Open Project, Find Items, Get Selected Figure, Get Selected Figures, Get Current Idea Space, Navigate, Export Selected Figures, Export Selected Idea Spaces, and Import Into Current Idea Space, giving you a practical Shortcuts-first surface without requiring any command-line setup.

Curio macOS Widgets

Curio now includes macOS Desktop and Notification Center widgets, letting you see your project data and tasks at a glance without switching to Curio.

The Status widget mirrors Curio Pro's Status shelf, showing tasks aggregated across all your projects in a single zero-configuration view. It automatically reflects whatever grouping and sorting you have selected in the Status shelf. Status widgets are available in medium and large sizes.

The Query widget displays results from a specific project query. Configure each widget with a project and a Curio query string and the widget shows matching items with priority indicators, due dates, progress, and other metadata. Query widgets come in small, medium, and large sizes, and support grouped and sorted results just like Search. You can add multiple Query widgets with different projects and queries to build a personalized dashboard. Tapping any item opens Curio and navigates directly to it.

Paragraph and Character Text Styles

Curio now includes Keynote-like text styles so you can manage consistent text formatting across a project. Paragraph styles are for entire paragraphs and include attributes such as alignment, spacing, font, color, etc. Character styles are used for ranges within paragraphs and include attributes like font, color, etc.

Apply styles from the inspector or the Format > Paragraph Styles and Format > Character Styles submenus, which means you can assign keyboard shortcuts to styles via System Settings.

Make changes to styled text, then click the Update button to update the style and broadcast those changes to all text that uses that style throughout your project!

Curio Pro markdown users can specify text style names in their master markdown file to keep rich text styles and markdown styles in sync, ex: # = paragraph-style: Heading 1. Tweak your text style and instantly your markdown reflects that change as well!

Use the actions menu to create, rename, delete, and clear overrides; deleting a style keeps the rendered text as-is. Export/import project text styles with your personal repository. These styles are imported automatically into new projects.

New Kerning Options

As shown in the text inspector screenshot above, a new Kerning control lets you adjust the spacing between characters for the selected figure or text. Tighten it to pull letters closer together or loosen it to spread them apart — handy for fine-tuning the look of titles and headings.

New Line Height Options

The text inspector's Line Height popup now offers Automatic, Line Height Multiplier, Minimum Line Height, Exact Height, Space Between Lines, and From Grid. This means you can easily specify spacing parameters without having to jump into the macOS Spacing dialog.

New Paragraph Spacing Controls

The text inspector now allows you to set extra spacing before and after paragraphs. Enter point values or use the steppers; use 0 to remove extra spacing. Much easier than having to use the macOS Spacing dialog.

New Adornment Positions

The Adornments position control now supports additional top and bottom placement options near the corners, giving you 12 total positions around a figure for checkboxes, tags, dates, priorities, ratings, and other adornments.

Separated Checkbox Adornments

As demonstrated in the Kanban screenshots above, you can now optionally keep the checkbox adornment pinned on the left while placing all other adornments (tags, dates, priority, rating, and more) anywhere around the figure.

This gives you a stable checklist lane for fast scanning while still letting metadata adornments sit on the top, bottom, or right sides as needed. List and mind map layouts now honor each figure's adornment location instead of forcing adornments to the left.

Collections can now optionally force adornment placement for contained items via the Meta inspector with a Collection items location: toggle, plus Left checkbox and a radial position control for item adornments.

For Kanban boards this collection-level override is especially useful because the board pushes those settings into its managed stacks, helping keep columns compact and consistent even when stack styles change.

Here's a list with all adornments on the left as Curio has always done it in the past:

And here's what it looks like with the only checkbox on left and all other adornments either in the new bottom-face-left location or in the right-face-middle location:

Presentation Jump To Context Menu

Curio Pro's presentation mode context menus now include a new Jump To submenu that mirrors the Organizer hierarchy for the current section, so you can jump directly to any available idea space without leaving presentation mode.

The currently displayed idea space is shown with a checkmark in the Jump To hierarchy, making it easy to track where you are while presenting.

Choosing an idea space from Jump To immediately switches to that idea space using Curio's normal presentation navigation behavior.

Home Button in Navigator Controls

The navigator controls now include a Home button so you can instantly jump to your designated Home idea space.

Hold Shift while clicking Home to set the currently selected Organizer item as Home.

Hold Shift+Option while clicking Home to clear the current Home setting.

If no Home has been set, Curio will jump to the first Organizer item.

Focus for Idea Graphs

Focus now understands freeform idea graphs on an idea space. When you focus one or more figures, Curio follows snapped line connections and keeps downstream related figures undimmed.

Any arrowhead implies direction. A head arrow means tail-to-head, a tail arrow means head-to-tail, and lines with arrowheads at both ends are treated as bidirectional.

Focus traversal is cycle-safe and refreshes automatically as lines are added, removed, re-snapped, or changed between directional and nondirectional.

By default, nondirectional lines (no arrowheads) are ignored for focus graph traversal. If needed, enable Focus Flow Include Undirected Lines to treat them as bidirectional connections.

Word Count Status Bar Module

A new Word Count status bar module is now enabled by default, showing a live summary of words and characters for selected content, and you can enable or disable it anytime via View > Show Status Bar Module.

Click the Word Count summary to open a detailed popover with Words, Characters, Characters (No Spaces), Sentences, Paragraphs, and Lines, plus readability and sentiment metrics, including Flesch-Kincaid Grade, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, and Sentiment.

Color Sliders and Eyedropper

Curio's inspector color wells (text color, pen color, fill color, ...) now have new features! Hold Control (⌃) when clicking and you get a handy sliders panel to adjust your color in RGB, OKLCH, OKLAB, or HSL color space. Hold Command (⌘) when clicking and the system eyedropper appears so you can quickly sample any color from anywhere on screen. (Tip: Control key to control the color, Command key to command Curio to sample a color.)

In the new sliders panel, colors modified with OKLCH and OKLAB provide perceptually uniform color and consistent lightness across hues (see comparison). CSS supports both and new tools like ColorPalette Pro are appearing.

Generate Color Palettes for Lists and Mind Maps

Use the new Generate Palette color well in the list and mind map children inspectors to pick a base color and instantly spread a generated palette across main branches.

Curio generates an 8-color palette using OKLCH: it preserves the selected color's lightness and chroma and rotates hue evenly around the wheel for balanced branch coloring. It's fun to play with the new OKLCH sliders (Control-click on the palette color well) and see the mind map dynamically change with new palettes as you drag the sliders as demonstrated below.

If you like the generated result, click Save to store it as a personal color palette.

Select Figures Across Multiple Layers

Curio Pro's Layers popover now supports ⌘-clicking multiple layer rows so you can select figures across several layers at once — handy for moving, duplicating, or deleting figures that span layers.

A plain click still sets the active layer and collapses the selection back to just that one layer. ⌘-click any additional layer rows to include them; ⌘-click again to remove. Their rows stay highlighted to indicate they're participating. When more than one layer is selectable, the Layers button in the inspector bar shows a colored +N suffix (e.g. Layer 3 +2) and a footer hint in the popover reflects the current state.

Canvas marquee selection and click hit-testing will then include figures on any of the selectable layers, and operations like move, duplicate, cut, and delete work across them. Copy and paste remain layer-agnostic — pasted figures always land on the active layer. Hidden layers are never included. Locked layers can be added to the selectable set so their figures can be copied, though individual figures on those layers still can't be moved or deleted.

Local HTML Figures

Curio now treats local .html files as URL figures, so HTML artifacts and interactive visualizations generated by your favorite AI like ChatGPT or Claude can be dropped directly into an idea space or collection figure, like the tabloid composition figure shown below.

Once placed, the figure immediately appears as a live web view, while still supporting the same right-click controls as normal web links so it can be shown as an icon, Quick Look preview, or link.

Note that you can also drag .html files to the Organizer which would allow the web view to fill the window.