Roadmap

Current Starting Point

Date: 2026-03-12
Product state: Frozen MVP complete
Validation state: Internal beta passed with conditions on 2026-03-07
Immediate priorities:
- remove silent XPC fallback from release-facing trust assumptions
- make Smart Clean execution honesty match real filesystem behavior
- make Recovery claims match shipped restore behavior
- convert competitor research into a selective parity plan against Mole, Lemon, and Pearcleaner without reopening MVP scope
Release-path blocker:
- no Apple signing and notarization credentials are available on the current machine

Keep scope inside the frozen MVP modules:
- Overview
- Smart Clean
- Apps
- History
- Recovery
- Permissions
- Settings
Do not pull Storage treemap, Menu Bar, or Automation into this roadmap.
Respond to competitor pressure by deepening the frozen MVP flows rather than adding new surfaces for parity theater.
Treat trust and recovery honesty as release-critical product work, not polish.
Keep direct distribution as the only eventual release route.
Do not plan around public beta dates until signing credentials exist.

Primary breadth comparison pressure comes from Mole and Tencent Lemon Cleaner.
Primary Apps comparison pressure comes from Pearcleaner and Tencent Lemon Cleaner.
Atlas should compete as an explainable, recovery-first Mac maintenance workspace, not as a generic all-in-one cleaner.
The roadmap response is:
- preserve trust as the primary release gate
- close the most visible Smart Clean coverage gaps users compare against Mole and Lemon
- deepen the Apps module where Pearcleaner and Lemon set expectations
- keep Storage treemap, Menu Bar, and Automation out of scope

Dates: 2026-03-16 to 2026-03-28
Goal: harden the current internal-beta build until user-visible execution and recovery claims are defensible.
Focus:
- remove or explicitly development-gate silent XPC fallback
- show explicit failure states when real worker execution is unavailable
- rerun bilingual manual QA on a clean machine
- verify packaged first-launch behavior with a fresh state file
- tighten README, in-app copy, and help content where recovery or execution is overstated
Exit criteria:
- internal beta checklist rerun against the latest packaged build
- unsupported execution paths fail clearly instead of appearing successful
- recovery wording matches the shipped restore behavior

Dates: 2026-03-31 to 2026-04-18
Goal: prove that the highest-value safe cleanup paths have real disk-backed side effects.
Focus:
- expand real Smart Clean execute coverage for top safe target classes most likely compared to Mole and Lemon
- carry executable structured targets through the worker path
- add stronger scan -> execute -> rescan contract coverage
- make history and completion states reflect real side effects only
Exit criteria:
- top safe cleanup paths show real post-execution scan improvement
- history does not claim success without real side effects
- release-facing docs clearly distinguish supported vs unsupported cleanup paths

Dates: 2026-04-21 to 2026-05-09
Goal: close the gap between Atlas's recovery promise and its shipped restore behavior.
Focus:
- implement physical restore for file-backed recoverable actions where safe
- or narrow product and release messaging if physical restore cannot land safely
- validate restore behavior on real file-backed test cases
- freeze recovery-related copy only after behavior is confirmed
Exit criteria:
- recovery language matches shipped behavior
- file-backed recoverable actions either restore physically or are no longer described as if they do
- QA has explicit evidence for restore behavior on the candidate build

Dates: 2026-05-12 to 2026-05-30
Goal: close the highest-value Apps depth gaps versus Pearcleaner and Lemon without reopening MVP scope.
Focus:
- deepen uninstall preview taxonomy and leftover visibility
- improve clarity around launch items, service artifacts, and other app-adjacent footprint categories where Atlas can safely reason about them
- surface recoverability and audit cues directly in the uninstall flow
- validate uninstall flows against mainstream and developer-heavy fixture apps
Exit criteria:
- Apps uninstall preview clearly explains footprint scope, leftovers, and recovery implications for supported flows
- supported uninstall fixtures show better uninstall depth and clearer completion evidence than the current baseline
- release-facing product copy can describe the Apps module as a trust-differentiated uninstall workflow, not just an app list with delete actions

These milestones do not start until Apple release credentials are available.

Trigger:
- Milestones 1 through 4 are complete
- Developer ID Application is available
- Developer ID Installer is available
- ATLAS_NOTARY_PROFILE is available
Goal: produce a signed and notarized external beta candidate.
Focus:
- pass ./scripts/atlas/signing-preflight.sh
- rerun signed packaging
- validate signed .app, .dmg, and .pkg install paths on a clean machine
- prepare public beta notes and known limitations
Exit criteria:
- signed and notarized artifacts install without bypass instructions
- clean-machine install verification passes on the signed candidate

Trigger:
- Conditional Milestone A is complete
Goal: run a small external beta after internal hardening is already complete.
Focus:
- use a hardware-diverse trusted beta cohort
- triage install, permission, execution, and restore regressions
- close P0 issues before any GA candidate is named
Exit criteria:
- no public-beta P0 remains open
- primary workflows are validated on more than one machine profile

Trigger:
- Conditional Milestone B is complete
Goal: publish v1.0 only after trust, recovery, and signed distribution all align.
Focus:
- rerun full acceptance and signed packaging on the GA candidate
- freeze release notes, notices, acknowledgements, and checksums
- validate launch candidate install and first-run flow on a clean machine
Exit criteria:
- no open P0 release blocker
- signed packaging, install validation, and release docs are complete
- v1.0 artifacts are published