[eric] release: What's New card + endpoint serve the same story as Help and GitHub, header punctuation fixed

backend/apps/help/bundle.py

@@ -170,6 +170,22 @@ async def get_help_knowledge() -> HelpKnowledgeResponse:
     return build_knowledge_response()
 
 
+@help_app.router.get("/whats-new")
+def whats_new() -> dict:
+    """The release story for the in-app What's New card. Same words the Help agent and the GitHub
+    body get, so a user never reads two different accounts of the same release."""
+    from backend.apps.help.changelog import as_markdown, latest_release, release_notes
+    from backend.apps.service.version import APP_VERSION
+    note = release_notes(APP_VERSION) or latest_release()
+    return {
+        "version": note.version,
+        "headline": note.headline,
+        "highlights": note.highlights,
+        "fixes": note.fixes,
+        "markdown": as_markdown(note),
+    }
+
+
 @help_app.router.post("/bundle")
 @typechecked
 async def build_bundle(body: BundleRequest) -> dict:

backend/apps/help/changelog.py

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def latest_release() -> ReleaseNote:
 @typechecked
 def as_markdown(note: ReleaseNote) -> str:
     """The GitHub release body; identical words to the in-app card, so nobody reads two stories."""
-    lines = [f"## {note.version} — {note.headline}", ""]
+    lines = [f"## {note.version}: {note.headline}", ""]
     if note.highlights:
         lines.append("### New")
         lines += [f"- {h}" for h in note.highlights]

backend/tests/test_changelog.py

@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ def test_notes_are_written_for_users_not_committers():
             assert "—" not in line and "–" not in line, "house style: no em/en dashes"
 
 
+def test_no_em_dashes_anywhere_in_a_release_body():
+    # House rule, and the header was the one place the earlier test did not look.
+    md = as_markdown(latest_release())
+    assert "\u2014" not in md and "\u2013" not in md, "release bodies use plain punctuation"
+
+
 def test_markdown_body_carries_the_same_words_as_the_app():
     note = latest_release()
     md = as_markdown(note)

frontend/src/app/components/Layout/AppShell.tsx

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { ackRun, runWorkflowNow } from '@/shared/state/workflowsSlice';
 import { setPendingBrowserUrl } from '@/shared/state/tempStateSlice';
 import { fetchOutputs } from '@/shared/state/outputsSlice';
 import UpdateReadyPill from '@/app/components/Layout/UpdateReadyPill';
+import WhatsNewCard from '@/app/components/Layout/WhatsNewCard';
 import ShareRequestHost from '@/app/components/share/ShareRequestHost';
 import CardContextMenu from '@/app/pages/Dashboard/desktop/CardContextMenu';
 import { findBrowserByWebContentsId } from '@/shared/browserRegistry';
@@ -590,6 +591,8 @@ const AppShell: React.FC = () => {
       {/* Shell-global right-click host (portals to body): chat surfaces render on non-dashboard routes too, so the menu can't live inside DashboardCanvas. */}
       <CardContextMenu />
 
+      <WhatsNewCard />
+
 
     </Box>
   );

frontend/src/app/components/Layout/WhatsNewCard.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+import React from 'react';
+import Box from '@mui/material/Box';
+import Typography from '@mui/material/Typography';
+import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
+import Fade from '@mui/material/Fade';
+import { API_BASE } from '@/shared/config';
+import { useClaudeTokens } from '@/shared/styles/ThemeContext';
+
+// Shown ONCE per version, right after an update: what actually changed, in the same words the Help
+// agent and the GitHub release body carry. A release that ships with no story is a bug the backend
+// test catches; a user who never hears about the fix is the bug this card catches.
+interface WhatsNew {
+  version: string;
+  headline: string;
+  highlights: string[];
+  fixes: string[];
+}
+
+const SEEN_KEY = 'openswarm.whatsNew.seenVersion';
+
+export default function WhatsNewCard(): React.ReactElement | null {
+  const c = useClaudeTokens();
+  const [note, setNote] = React.useState<WhatsNew | null>(null);
+
+  React.useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
+    fetch(`${API_BASE}/help/whats-new`)
+      .then((r) => (r.ok ? r.json() : null))
+      .then((data: WhatsNew | null) => {
+        if (cancelled || !data?.version) return;
+        let seen: string | null = null;
+        try { seen = window.localStorage.getItem(SEEN_KEY); } catch { /* private mode */ }
+        if (seen === data.version) return;
+        setNote(data);
+      })
+      .catch(() => {});
+    return () => { cancelled = true; };
+  }, []);
+
+  const dismiss = React.useCallback(() => {
+    if (note) {
+      try { window.localStorage.setItem(SEEN_KEY, note.version); } catch { /* private mode */ }
+    }
+    setNote(null);
+  }, [note]);
+
+  if (!note) return null;
+  const lines = [...note.highlights.map((t) => ({ t, kind: 'new' })), ...note.fixes.map((t) => ({ t, kind: 'fixed' }))];
+
+  return (
+    <Fade in timeout={{ enter: 260, exit: 200 }}>
+      <Box
+        data-select-type="whats-new"
+        sx={{
+          position: 'fixed', bottom: 24, right: 24, zIndex: 1450, width: 380, maxWidth: '90vw',
+          bgcolor: c.bg.surface, border: `1px solid ${c.border.medium}`, borderRadius: '14px',
+          boxShadow: '0 18px 44px rgba(0,0,0,0.28)', p: 2,
+        }}
+      >
+        <Typography sx={{ fontSize: c.font.size.sm, color: c.text.muted, mb: 0.25 }}>
+          {`What's new in ${note.version}`}
+        </Typography>
+        <Typography sx={{ fontSize: c.font.size.base, fontWeight: 600, color: c.text.primary, mb: 1.25 }}>
+          {note.headline}
+        </Typography>
+        <Box component="ul" sx={{ m: 0, pl: 2, display: 'flex', flexDirection: 'column', gap: 0.75 }}>
+          {lines.slice(0, 5).map((l) => (
+            <Typography key={l.t} component="li" sx={{ fontSize: c.font.size.sm, color: c.text.secondary, lineHeight: 1.5 }}>
+              {l.t}
+            </Typography>
+          ))}
+        </Box>
+        <Box sx={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'flex-end', mt: 1.5 }}>
+          <Button size="small" onClick={dismiss} sx={{ color: c.accent.primary, fontWeight: 600, textTransform: 'none' }}>
+            Got it
+          </Button>
+        </Box>
+      </Box>
+    </Fade>
+  );
+}