A status update, week 3 of 5

Where version 2.4 stands

Reading time about 5 minutesWritten 2026-10-16For: MaraExample with made-up data

Version 2.4 is on track for 29 October, with one spare day, if you add two DNS records on Monday.

Keep in your head (only these)
  1. 2.4 ships on 29 October with one spare day.
  2. One part is blocked: invite emails.
  3. Only you can unblock it, in ten minutes.

Where is 2.4 in week 3?

1 blocker

The five parts

  • Sync serverShare, accept and remove work. 38 of 38 tests pass.
  • Web appThe share and accept screens are on the test site.
  • Phone appAndroid passes. The iPhone build has 3 open bugs.
  • Release notesDraft written. Screenshots wait for the iPhone fixes.
  • Invite emailsBlocked until two DNS records are added.

The five weeks

  1. Week 1, from 28 SepSharing designed.
  2. Week 2, from 5 OctServer and web app built.
  3. Week 3, from 12 OctPhone app and invites. Today is Friday 16 Oct.
  4. Week 4, from 19 OctBug fixes, then both stores.
  5. Week 5, from 26 OctStore review. Release on 29 Oct.
The one blocker: invite emails

The email service will not send from our new address until two DNS records are added. Only you have the registrar login. Without them, 2.4 still ships, but a person with no account gets no email.

Take: nothing is late. One part is blocked, and you can unblock it in ten minutes.

  1. Is 29 October still safe?Four days of work, five days to do it in.
  2. What is left on the phone app?Three small iPhone bugs and what each costs.
  3. What changed since last Friday?Three things got better and one got worse.
  4. What blocks the invite emails?Two DNS records, and the day they are due.
  5. What happens next?Six steps with an owner and a day each.

Chapter 1 of 5, about 1 minute

Is 29 October still safe?

Before this: two parts are done, two are under way, and one is blocked.

The release date has held since week 1. The real deadline is earlier: both app stores need the builds on Monday 26 October, so they can review them before Thursday.

13days to the 29 October release
4working days of work left
1spare day before 26 October

Take from this: the plan fits with one spare day, so a slip of more than a day moves the release.

Show how the four days are used
  • Two days for the three iPhone bugs.
  • One day to test invite emails with real inboxes.
  • One day for the full test pass.
  • The release notes are Mara's work, so they run beside Ted's days and cost none.

Remember: the stores need the builds on 26 October, and one spare day protects the date.

Chapter 2 of 5, about 1 minute

What is left on the phone app?

Before this: four working days of work are left, and the iPhone bugs take two of them.

Three bugs are open, and all three are on the iPhone. None of them can lose a note. Each is small and known, and together they take two days.

  • Android buildAll 14 sharing checks pass.
  • Long titlesOn a small iPhone a long notebook title hides the Share button. Half a day.
  • Stale people listRemoving a person leaves their name on screen until you reopen the notebook. Half a day.
  • Accept linkOn an iPhone the link opens the browser, not the app. One day.

Take from this: the accept link is the biggest bug at one day, and it is the one a new sharer would meet first.

Show the test counts 
suite     passed  failed
server        38       0
web            9       0
android       14       0
iphone        11       3

The three failing iPhone checks are the three bugs above, one each.

Remember: three small iPhone bugs, two days of work, and no note is at risk.

Chapter 3 of 5, about 1 minute

What changed since last Friday?

Before this: the iPhone bugs are small, known and two days of work.

Last Friday only the sync server could share a notebook. Today the server, the web app and Android can all do it.

Friday 9 October
  • Sharing worked on the test server only.
  • The web app had no share screen.
  • The server passed 31 tests.
  • Invite emails were not tested.
Friday 16 October
  • Sharing works on the server, the web app and Android.
  • The server passes 38 tests.
  • Invite emails fail: the sender is not verified.
  • Sync paused for 2 hours on Tuesday. It is explained and fixed.

Take from this: three things got better. The failing invite email is how we found the blocker, a week earlier than a launch day would have.

Remember: three things got better since Friday, and invite emails got worse.

Chapter 4 of 5, about 1 minute

What blocks the invite emails?

Before this: invite emails fail in testing because the email service does not trust our new sender.

The service wants proof that we own notes-app.example. The proof is two DNS records, small lines of text kept at the domain registrar. Only you have that login.

DNS record
A line at your domain registrar that says who may use the domain, for example to send mail.
  1. Add recordsYou, at the registrar. About ten minutes.
  2. Domain verifiedUsually within a day.
  3. Test invitesTed, real inboxes, one day.
  4. Invites sendA person with no account gets an email.

Take from this: your ten minutes start a chain of three more steps, and the chain needs the records by Wednesday.

The deadline is Wednesday 21 October

After that the spare day is gone. A later date does not move the release, but it moves invite emails to a 2.4.1 update.

Show the two records 
TXT    notes-app.example               v=spf1 include:mailer.example ~all
CNAME  s1._domainkey.notes-app.example  s1.domainkey.mailer.example

These are made-up values. The real ones come from the email service's settings page.

Remember: two DNS records, ten minutes, and the deadline is Wednesday.

Chapter 5 of 5, about 1 minute

What happens next?

Before this: the records are due by Wednesday 21 October.

  1. Add the two DNS records. You, Monday 19 October, ten minutes.
  2. Fix the three iPhone bugs. Ted, Monday and Tuesday.
  3. Test invites with real inboxes. Ted, Wednesday 21 October, once the records verify.
  4. Run the full test pass. Ted, Thursday 22 October. Friday 23 is the spare day.
  5. Write the release notes and take screenshots. You, Friday 23 October.
  6. Submit both builds. Ted, Monday 26 October. Release follows on Thursday 29 October, after review.

Take from this: every step has one owner and one day, and the first one is yours.

Remember: you have two steps, Ted has four, and the stores get the builds on 26 October.

Recap

  1. The stores need the builds on 26 October, and one spare day protects the date.
  2. Three small iPhone bugs, two days of work, and no note is at risk.
  3. Three things got better since Friday, and invite emails got worse.
  4. Two DNS records, ten minutes, and the deadline is Wednesday.
  5. You have two steps, Ted has four, and the stores get the builds on 26 October.

What I need from you

Can you add the two DNS records on Monday 19 October?

Yes, on Monday morningI need the registrar login firstShip 2.4 without invite emails

If you do nothing: 2.4 still ships on 29 October without invite emails. People who already have the app see invites inside the app.