Hi! It’s Me — Nat
Your favourite developer, team leader, filesystem wizard, lead engineer… the mind behind Aaru.
Long time no read, right?
Opening Up About Mental Health
I want to start with something important: mental health. My mental health.
I have borderline personality disorder.
For decades, I hid it — even from myself — pretending nothing mattered, pushing through as if sheer willpower could erase it. I needed help long ago… but it all caught up with me earlier this year. Everything just… blew up in my face.
I did finally get help, but by then a lot of the damage was done — some of it, honestly, can’t be undone. My answer at the time? Push harder. Work more. Keep the machine running at all costs.
Aaru: My Escape and My Irony
For years, Aaru was my safe space. Coding, alongside poetry, became my escape room — the place I could run to when feelings and emotions got too loud.
That passion for building and creating? It’s real. But so is the irony: the very thing that kept me afloat also became part of my downfall.
Without proper treatment, the overwhelm didn’t shrink — it grew. Eventually, no amount of poetry, coding, or even Aaru itself was enough to contain it. Those escapes became overwhelming too.
Learning New Ways
Now I’m having to learn entirely new ways of doing things. The old ways aren’t possible anymore.
I’m no longer fit for a traditional job; my doctors have declared me permanently impaired. That’s a tough pill to swallow — and it leaves me in a very precarious position.
More than ever, I need support. Tips and donations mean I can keep contributing to Aaru — something I still love deeply — but in ways that won’t burn me out.
And thanks to a mix of the right medication, an incredible psychiatrist, and some wonderful new friends, I’ve been able to take giant steps forward after a two‑year hiatus.
The Road Ahead
Financially, though, I’m on the edge, hoping the government will grant me benefits. My medical reality means returning to the old grind simply isn’t an option.
The old Nat? She hit breaking point, passed it, smashed through it — and she’s not coming back.
Now it’s about reconstruction. About shaping a new version of me, with new methods, new dreams, and new colours in my life.
There are new things coming — fresh hopes, ideas, and brighter days ahead.
Join Me for the Next Chapter
Come with me. Let’s explore… ALPHA 11.
5.4.1 Long Term Support
Aaru 6 is taking far longer than I’d hoped — there’s still a mountain of work ahead.
That’s why, along the way, I put out version 5.3 and declared it a Long Term Support release.
The problem? Time marched on.
5.3 got old… too old. And with that age came its own headaches — including the fact that it simply wouldn’t run on modern operating systems anymore.
Enter 5.4 LTS: updated to .NET 8 so it plays nicely with newer OSes.
And in true software fashion, almost as soon as it was out the door, users uncovered a bug. Which is how we ended up with 5.4.1 LTS. Gotta love it, right?
One note though: if your operating system is happily running 5.3, stick with it. I can’t promise 5.4.1 won’t have surprises of its own. This update is really about helping people move forward — and buying me more time to focus on finishing Aaru 6.
Updated to .NET 10
.NET 10 is almost here — and it’s packed with shiny new features.
But hey, I’m not the one to give you the full tour — that’s what .NET Conf is for. Go binge the talks, get inspired, and nerd out on all the deep dives.
As for us, we’re ready. Aaru 6.0.0‑alpha.11 is already running on the latest preview, and the moment the final release drops, the code will be fully updated to take advantage of everything the new language version offers.
And yes, that also means some serious performance boosts.
Serilog and the Global Log
Aaru now runs on Serilog — which, for most of you, probably means… nothing.
So here’s the human‑friendly version: I’ve added a proper, application‑wide logging system.
Back in Aaru 6, I introduced a fancy new console system with progress bars, tables, and more. Great for the eyes, but not so great for copying or redirecting output to a file. Plus, only the “dump media” feature had an option to save a proper log.
Now, there’s a global logging option with three levels:
- Info — the standard everyday output
- Verbose — like the existing
--verboseflag, for extra details - Debug — the super‑chatty
--debugmode, stuffed with valuable (but previously hard‑to‑capture) info, often crucial for bug reports
When you save to a log file, everything you see on screen gets written there — even content that wouldn’t normally fit, like tables (saved line‑by‑line). Verbose and debug entries are clearly marked, and every line is timestamped for easy parsing.
The trade‑off: dumping no longer creates a log automatically (aside from the error log, which still does).
The big win: both the screen and the log file now contain the exact same information — a first for Aaru.
A Sentry to Keep an Exceptional Eye on Things
A new addition to Aaru is Sentry — something you may or may not have heard of (most likely not).
In plain terms: Sentry is a tool that catches crashes — especially the ones I forgot to catch myself — and automatically sends me a detailed report. That way, I can see exactly what happened, where in Aaru it broke, and how to fix it, even if you don’t remember to open a GitHub issue. (Please still do — it really helps!)
Now, before you worry:
- All reports go only to me
- They’re sent to my own server in the Canary Islands
- GDPR is fully respected
- No personally identifiable or private information is collected — ever
This means I get instant insight whenever something goes awry, so I can make Aaru better for everyone. Think of it as a silent guardian, always watching for exceptions so you don’t have to.
A Console with Colors in the Wind
This is the feature I’m most proud of — and honestly, the one that makes me happiest.
The console is now a colorful feast. Every command responds with a carefully curated palette of neutral tones — not too bright, not too dark — each chosen to convey meaning at a glance. Different colors highlight different parts of messages, indicators, and values, making the whole experience easier to read and more accessible.
Because of my autism, I can’t test in light mode, so I’ve done my best to pick colors that should work well in both dark and light themes. If you notice contrast issues — or if you have color‑vision impairments and find that the palette makes things harder, not easier — please reach out. I’ll happily adjust.
(I’ve attached some screenshots so you can see it in action.)
One feature I’m especially delighted about:
For both filesystem listings and archive listings, Aaru now respects your personal ~/.dir_colors file. That means power users with custom color setups will feel right at home.
No ~/.dir_colors file? No problem — Aaru includes a built‑in template. And if you want to override everything, just create your own file with only the NORM color defined and it will take priority.
AaruFormat V2
The long‑awaited update is almost here.
The on‑disk structure is now virtually set in stone, and we’ve made incredible progress on its implementation.
In fact, there’s already a huge milestone to celebrate: we have our first working image in the new format! 🎉
Right now, the library can read these images, but not yet write them. The missing piece is the set of calculations needed for the deduplication table — and, truth be told, tackling that part has been emotionally overwhelming for me.
It will come when it comes. But we’re so close: once those calculations are done and the library can generate the deduplication tables, the rest will be smooth sailing.
No Debian or Red Hat Packages
For now, there are no Debian or Red Hat packages available.
This is a temporary setback caused by an issue with the packaging solution we were using and some incompatibilities with .NET 10.
We’ll get it sorted as soon as possible — no need to worry. In the meantime, there’s a silver lining: the application now comes as a single, self‑contained file. That means no more juggling a dozen separate files. One trade‑off for another!
🖤 Support Aaru & My Work
If you’ve enjoyed Aaru, my blog, or just want to help me keep doing what I love in a sustainable way, here’s how you can contribute:
- ☕ Buy Me a Coffee / Ko‑fi — Ko-fi
- 💌 Direct Donations (PayPal, Patreon, etc.) — Patreon
- 🔄 Share this post so more people can discover Aaru 6.0.0-alpha.11
Every bit of support — financial or otherwise — means the world right now.
