OpenHands v1.13.0 released August 13, 2026 (2 days ago). If you’re on v1.12, this is a meaningful feature release — not just bug fixes. Four headline features land, plus a stack of quality-of-life fixes.
The 4 Headline Features
1. Client-Side Conversation Archive — Finally, Clean History
What it does: Conversations can now be archived locally. They disappear from the active list but stay searchable and restorable.
Why it matters: Before this, your sidebar was a graveyard of every chat ever. Now you can archive the “debugging that one TypeScript error from Tuesday” thread without losing it forever.
How it works: Archive button in conversation list → moves to archive view → search still finds it → one-click restore.
PR: #16100 by @FraterCCCLXIII
2. Inline Markdown Artifact Previews — See Output Without Leaving Chat
What it does: When the agent generates markdown artifacts (reports, specs, docs, analysis), they now render inline in the chat stream as live previews.
Why it matters: No more “let me open that file” context switches. The artifact appears right where the agent dropped it — formatted, scrollable, copyable.
What renders: Markdown tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting, mermaid diagrams, task lists, headers, links — the full CommonMark spec.
PR: #16185 by @FraterCCCLXIII
3. Context Window Usage Meter + Manual Compaction — Know Before You Blow
What it does: A visual ring meter shows real-time context window consumption. When you’re approaching limits, you see it before the model truncates.
Manual compaction: A new “Compact” button lets you trigger summarization on demand — compress old turns into a summary while keeping recent context intact.
Why it matters: Context window exhaustion is the silent killer of long sessions. Now you have visibility and a manual escape hatch.
Visual: Ring track draws from foreground (not a border token) — visible in both light/dark themes.
PR: #16311 by @georgeglarson
4. Issue Readiness Gate — “Ready for Dev” Criteria Enforced
What it does: New automation gate checks issues against type-specific criteria before marking them “ready for dev.”
Criteria examples:
- Bug reports: Repro steps, expected vs actual, environment, logs
- Features: Acceptance criteria, design docs linked, scope defined
- Chores: Clear definition of done, no open questions
Why it matters: Stops half-baked tickets from entering the dev queue. The gate is configurable per issue type.
PR: #16449 by @all-hands-bot
Notable Bug Fixes (Quality of Life)
| Fix | Impact |
|---|---|
| Touch device overflow menus | Menus now work on tablets/phones — no more stuck dropdowns |
| Sidebar “Load more” discovers folders | Not folder contents — faster navigation in deep repos |
| Chat input drag-resize disabled when not bottom-anchored | Stops accidental resize during scroll |
| Non-MCP integrations surfaced | No longer silently dropped in automations |
| Basic LLM provider list uncapped | Was truncated at 100 entries — now shows all |
| ProgressEvent CI flakiness resolved | Cleaner test runs |
| Launcher services spawn without implicit shell | Security hardening |
New Contributors in This Release
Welcome to four first-time contributors:
- @Lothnic — typed API client enforcement
- @lokesh75-kank — non-MCP integration surfacing
- @lufen — shell-less service spawn
- @opensource-joe — provider list uncapping
Installation & Upgrade
# Docker (recommended)
docker pull ghcr.io/openhands/openhands:1.13.0
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 ghcr.io/openhands/openhands:1.13.0
# Or via npm
npm install -g @openhands/cli@1.13.0
# Kubernetes helm
helm upgrade openhands oci://ghcr.io/openhands/charts/openhands --version 1.13.0Breaking changes: None reported. v1.12 → v1.13 is a smooth upgrade.
TL;DR
| Feature | Beginner Value | Power User Value |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation Archive | 🧹 Clean sidebar | 🔍 Searchable history |
| Markdown Artifact Previews | 👀 See output inline | ⚡ Stay in flow |
| Context Meter + Compaction | 🛡️ Avoid truncation | 🎛️ Manual control |
| Issue Readiness Gate | 📋 Better tickets | 🚀 Cleaner pipeline |
Bottom line: v1.13 is a quality-of-life release that solves real daily friction — messy history, invisible artifacts, surprise context truncation, vague tickets. If you use OpenHands daily, upgrade. No migration pain, immediate UX wins.
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Release: OpenHands v1.13.0 · Full Changelog · Discord