We’re happy to announce the release of BusKill v0.7.0!

Most importantly, this release allows you to arm the BusKill GUI app so that it shuts down your computer when the BusKill cable’s connection to the computer is severed.

Upgrading

You can upgrade your BusKill app to the latest version by either:

1. Clicking "Update" in the app or
2. Downloading it from GitHub

Changes

This update includes many bug fixes and new features, including:

1. Adds support for a 'soft-shutdown' trigger to the GUI
2. Adds a new buskill.ini config file
3. Adds a new "Settings" screen in the GUI
4. Merges kivy and buskill config files into one standardized location
5. Fixes in-app updates on MacOS
6. Fixes lockscreen trigger on Linux Mint Cinnamon
7. Fixes background blue/red disarm/arm color to propagate to all screens
8. Fixes --run-trigger to be executed inside usb_handler child process and communicate to root_child through the parent process

You can find all the details in our changelog.

Documentation Improvements

We’ve also made many improvements to our documentation, including:

1. Updated the Software User Guide to include instructions on how to arm the BusKill app with the soft-shutdown trigger in the GUI
2. Added a manpage
3. Improved documentation on building your own USB-C BusKill Cable
4. Improved documentation on testing the buskill app
5. Fixes in the release workflow
6. Added some additional related projects

Soft-Shutdown Trigger

This release now allows you to choose between either locking your screen or shutting down your computer when you arm the BusKill app from the GUI. By default, the BusKill app will trigger the lockscreen. To choose the ‘soft-shutdown‘ trigger, open the navigation drawer, go to the Settings Screen, click Trigger, and change the selected trigger from lock-screen to soft-shutdown. For more information, see our Software GUI User Guide.

BusKill Now in Debian!

We’re also happy to announce that, with the release of Debian 12, it’s now possible to install BusKill in Debian with Apt!

sudo apt-get install buskill

Testers Needed!

We do our best to test the BusKill app on Linux, Windows, and MacOS. But unfortunately, it’s possible that our app doesn’t fully function on every version, distribution, and flavor of these three platforms.

We could really use your help testing the BusKill app, especially if you have access to a system that’s not (yet) listed as one of our Supported Platforms.

And in this release, we would specifically like you to help us test the new soft shutdown feature. Please let us know if it does or does not work for you.

Please contact us if you’d like to help test the BusKill app, and thank you!

Support BusKill

We look forward to continuing to improve the BusKill software and making BusKill more accessible this year. If you want to help, please consider purchasing a BusKill cable for yourself or a loved one. It helps us fund further development and you get your own BusKill cable to keep you or your loved ones safe.

Order your own BusKill!