A Linux Foundation Project
Release Notes

FAIR Connect 1.2 Release Announcement

FAIR Connect 1.2 is a major release that brings a product renaming across the FAIR ecosystem, improved avatar handling, better browser compatibility, and IndexNow optimizations.

Product renaming

As FAIR has matured, we've refined our product names to better communicate what each component does:

  • FAIR Plugin is now FAIR Connect — The WordPress plugin that connects your site to the FAIR network. The new name better reflects its role as the bridge between WordPress and the federated repository system.
  • Mini FAIR is now FAIR Beacon — The lightweight repository that signals the availability of packages in the FAIR network. Beacons can be hosted by anyone and serve as independent nodes in the federation.
  • AspireExplore is now FAIR Explorer — The web interface for browsing and discovering packages across the FAIR network. The rename brings it under the FAIR brand umbrella.

Custom avatar handling

FAIR Connect 1.2 introduces improved avatar handling for plugin and theme authors. Avatars are now fetched and cached locally, reducing external requests and improving privacy. The system supports custom avatars uploaded to FAIR repositories, falling back gracefully when no custom avatar is available.

Browser compatibility

This release includes significant improvements to browser compatibility. The plugin detail modal and package browsing interface have been tested and optimized for all major browsers, including older versions of Safari and Firefox. CSS and JavaScript have been updated to use widely supported features.

IndexNow optimizations

The IndexNow integration, which notifies search engines when plugin pages are updated, has been optimized to reduce unnecessary API calls. Notifications are now batched and deduplicated, and the system respects rate limits from search engine APIs. This results in faster indexing with less overhead.

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