Release TransitLab v2.7.1 · ArtTrail/TransitLab

What's new in v2.7.1 — 2026-07-18

Stellar Variability Only mode

New: Stellar Variability Only checkbox (Parameters tab) — runs EXOTIC's stellar-variability-only reduction instead of fitting a transit model, for monitoring runs where no transit is expected. Requires the EXOTIC 4.3.2 pre-release dev build, build 80 or later.
New: Checking the box shows a warning that this mode should only be used on data that does not contain a transit, with a "Don't show this warning again" option.
Fix: the Results tab no longer shows the same light curve plot twice when this mode is active.

Plate solving & limb darkening

New: NextAstro plate-solve option (Tools → Plate Solve Setup) — a third solver using NextAstronomy's hosted astrometry service. Experimental; requires the EXOTIC 4.3.2 pre-release dev build. The option is automatically greyed out with an explanation on stable EXOTIC installs.
New: Download Full ldtk Library (Tools menu) — downloads and installs EXOTIC's entire limb-darkening cache directly into ~/.ldtk, no manual extraction needed.
New: Automatic HTTPS fallback when EXOTIC's FTP connection to the PHOENIX limb-darkening server fails — TransitLab fetches just the files needed for the current target and retries the run automatically.

Comparison stars

New: Name column in Comp Star Details — each selected comparison star now shows its AAVSO VSX designation or Gaia DR3 source ID.
Fix: the AAVSO VSP comp star method could return a comparison star with no actual photometry in the observation filter; it now checks each candidate's published bands and only accepts a real match.

Fixes & polish

Fix: several places (password warning, User Guide, Tip of the Day) incorrectly said the config/log folder was always under AppData\TransitLab, even on Mac/Linux (where it's ~/.config/TransitLab/). Now shows the real resolved path.
Fix: the Darks / Flats / Biases / Save Plots directory pickers on the Data tab, and the Save Session Log dialog, no longer share a default folder — Data tab fields now default to the Lights directory, and the log-save dialog tracks its own independent last-used folder.
New: First-launch notice summarizing what's new in v2.7.1.
Plus smaller fixes — see the in-app Revision History (Help → Revision History) for the complete list.

TransitLab is not code-signed, so Windows may flag it as an unrecognized publisher. This is expected:

"Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen) — click More info, then Run anyway.
App opens briefly then silently closes, no error — this is Smart App Control (a stricter Windows 11 feature on by default on some newer installs). Fix: turn it off in Settings → Privacy & security → Windows Security → App & browser control, restart your PC, then re-download/re-extract a fresh copy and right-click TransitLab.exe → Properties → Unblock before launching.

Full details in the README.

See the User Guide for installation instructions.