v5.4.0-beta.1

# Chat2DB Community 5.4.0-beta.1 — early preview

**This is an early preview of the 5.4 line: it is not a regular Beta release, and not a stable release.**

- The **Latest** release on this page is still the stable **v5.3.7**. Only clients that enabled Beta updates receive this build in the app; everyone else can install it from the files below.
- The regular Beta channel is unaffected: **the next regular Beta is `5.3.8-beta.1`**, published from the mainline. If you only follow the regular Beta channel, do not install this preview.
- This preview is versioned above the regular Beta line, so once it is installed the app will not offer `5.3.8-beta.x` anymore. To go back to the regular line, download that version's installer and install it over this build — a downgrade install is supported.
- The feature line is not final: APIs and interactions may still change, and it is not recommended for daily production use.

## What's new

### Optional Pi Agent runtime
- Choose **Pi Agent** (gold *Beta* tag) in the runtime selector in the AI input's bottom bar; the first selection asks for confirmation and then downloads a separate Pi process on demand. With the selector on **Default**, the AI panel behaves exactly as before.
- A conversation can use this runtime to carry out tasks.

### File and terminal tools for the Agent
- **Files**: read, search, write and edit files in the tool working directory, which you can set in Settings.
- **Terminal**: Bash and PowerShell stay off by default; once enabled, every command still needs your approval.

### Skills
- Three bundled skills — charts, skill management and MCP management — ship with the app and are updated with each release.
- Personal skills live in `~/.chat2db-skills/` and take effect as soon as you edit them.

### External MCP servers
- Ask the Agent in the conversation to add, change or remove an MCP server (stdio or Streamable HTTP); there is no settings page for it.
- The tools a server provides appear in the conversation, and a server added mid-conversation is callable right away.
- Changing a server's command or arguments asks for approval again.

### Approvals and session output files
- Anything that changes data asks first: run once, always allow this tool, allow the whole MCP server, or deny — and the answer is remembered.
- Results that exceed the context are saved as files inside the conversation, where you can view, search and download them.

## How to test
- In the app: open **Settings → About Us**, enable **Receive Beta versions**, then use **Check for updates**.
- Or download an installer from this page: macOS (dmg), Windows (msi), Linux (deb, rpm, AppImage).
- Please report problems as an Issue with the version `5.4.0-beta.1`, your operating system and the steps to reproduce. Logs can be opened from the desktop menu **Help → Open Log**.

## Known limitations
- Windows and Linux desktops have not been through a full regression pass; reports from those platforms are welcome.
- Terminal and MCP are preview capabilities: MCP servers that need an interactive OAuth login are not supported, and neither are the MCP resources, prompts or sampling surfaces.

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## What's Changed
* feat(agent): integrate Pi V2 with recovery, charts and object tools by @openai0229 in https://github.com/OtterMind/Chat2DB/pull/2906
* ci(release): publish Beta builds as releases that keep Latest stable by @openai0229 in https://github.com/OtterMind/Chat2DB/pull/2953


**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/OtterMind/Chat2DB/compare/v5.3.7...v5.4.0-beta.1