> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.lyrcs.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Changelog

> Product updates and improvements to lyrcs.ai

<Update label="May 29, 2026">
  ## New features

  **Model comparison tool (`/studio_test`)**
  A new admin workspace for running the same song through multiple model configurations side-by-side, making it easier to evaluate transcription and alignment quality before rolling changes into production.

  **Lyrics validation agent**
  A second-pass validation agent now reviews transcribed lyrics during the review phase, catching common errors and regenerating transliteration after corrections are applied. Backed by 11 language-specific prompts for higher accuracy across global repertoire.

  **Enhanced history page**
  The job history view now shows the model used for each run, token usage, estimated cost, and failed-job status — giving you a clearer picture of what each job consumed and why any failures occurred.

  ## Updates

  **Native script enforcement**
  Transcription now enforces native script output for Korean, Japanese, Arabic, and Thai, so the `lyrics` field stays in the original writing system instead of occasionally returning romanised text.

  **More reliable word-level alignment**
  Word alignment is more robust on long songs and songs with repeated refrains: higher token limits, automatic JSON repair on truncated responses, and a stronger prompt for handling gaps and refrains. Transient 429 quota errors now retry with backoff instead of failing the job.

  ## Bug fixes

  * Gemini 500 and 503 errors are now surfaced to users with a clear error state and retry option instead of silently failing.
  * Resolved Vercel 504 timeout failures in the transcription and alignment pipeline by raising route limits and adding retry handling.
  * Studio now polls for word-level alignment when it isn't ready at phase entry, eliminating a race that left jobs stuck.
  * Fixed an edge case where undefined lyrics lines could break the alignment map.
</Update>

<Update label="May 18, 2026">
  ## New features

  **Word-level alignment**
  Jobs now return word-by-word timestamps in addition to line-level timing — enabling true word-highlight karaoke and tighter sync use cases. Word timing is on by default; pass `word_align=false` to opt out. See the [`/transcribe`](/api-reference/transcribe) and webhook payloads for the new `words_original` and `words_transliterated` fields.

  **New `/align` endpoint**
  A dedicated endpoint for distributors who already have lyrics and only need timestamps added. `POST /api/v1/align` skips transcription entirely, cutting cost and latency. Read the full reference at [`POST /align`](/api-reference/align).

  **Word-level alignment in transliterated tab**
  Genuine word-level timestamps are now generated for the transliterated lyrics tab, so romanised playback stays in sync word-for-word with the original.

  **Free trial page at `lyrcs.ai/try`**
  Anyone can now run a song through the full karaoke pipeline at [lyrcs.ai/try](https://lyrcs.ai/try) without signing up — a quick way for prospects to evaluate output quality before requesting API access.

  ## Updates

  **Studio rename**
  The word-level alignment experiment has graduated. What was `/studio_word` is now simply **Studio** — the production word-level alignment workspace with a sticky audio player across the alignment and review screens.

  **Telugu transcription quality**
  Added a Telugu corrections dictionary and a diacritic-free romanisation instruction to the transcription prompt, improving accuracy and readability for Telugu lyrics.

  **Cleaner transcription line breaks**
  Line breaks in transcription output are now more consistent, reducing the amount of manual cleanup needed in the review step.

  **Support email**
  The contact address has moved from `api@lyrcs.ai` to `support@lyrcs.ai`. Existing integrations are unaffected — please update any saved contacts.

  ## Bug fixes

  * Renamed `/align` response fields to `lyrics` and `lyrics_transliterated` for consistency with the rest of the API.
  * Fixed the word-level karaoke layout and the word mapping on the transliterated tab.
  * Admin pages now render dynamically, resolving intermittent build timeouts.
</Update>