Chartbrew v3, launched back in 2024, was a complete overhaul that brought reusable connections, dynamic dashboards, client accounts, and a massive tech upgrade. It paved the way for easier, more scalable reporting for teams everywhere. Since the launch of v3, the project has seen 468 code changes, plus many more for Chartbrew Cloud. You can see the entire list here.

Since then, the platform — and the community around it — has grown tremendously. Thanks to your feedback and support, I'm excited to finally launch Chartbrew v4 and make it available to everyone.

Let's dive right into what's new in v4.0!

Product Updates

Scheduled Snapshots and Deliveries

The long-awaited feature is here! You can now schedule automatic dashboard snapshots and deliver them straight to Email or Slack. Keep clients and teams in the loop without needing them to log into Chartbrew.

You can add a list of emails or slack channels, the frequency of snapshots, and even customise snapshots with: screen size, dark/light mode, hide branding, and hide headers. The snapshots are automatically scrolled to ensure all your charts appear in the picture. You will be able to see a preview directly in the Chartbrew dahsboard.

Fully Featured Dashboard Filters

Filters have been completely rebuilt from scratch. You can now create and save custom dashboard filters, add multiple date ranges, and even use variables like start_date and end_date inside your queries. The filters can either live on your browser only, or you can save them for your entire team. Filters now sync with public reports too, so clients can interact with dashboards easily.

New Dashboard and KPI Designs

Chartbrew v4 brings a refreshed UI across the board:

• Dashboards now have a "compact mode" for tighter, cleaner layouts.
• KPIs feature a new font, better growth labels, and sharper visuals.
• Pin your favorite dashboards for quicker access.
• Navigation and project organization have been cleaned up for a faster, smoother experience.

The free trial just got better

Starting with v4, the Chartbrew Cloud trial experience has been improved:

• You can now activate a 14-day free trial without a credit card.
• If you decide to add a payment method during the trial, you'll get an additional 16 days, extending your trial period to a total of 30 days.

This way, you can try everything without commitment and unlock even more time if you decide to continue. If you want to get started with the free trial, you can activate yours at app.chartbrew.com/signup. If you already have an account, but didn't activate the trial in the past, you can activate it after you log in and verify your email.

Other Improvements and Changes

• Added options to remove styling and headers from public reports.
• New queue system for dashboard snapshot updates.
• Major user dashboard and navigation improvements.
• Users can now pin favorite dashboards.
• Added new Chartbrew logos and cleaned up old assets.
• Added xl, xxl, and xxxl breakpoints for better dashboard responsiveness.
• Improved connection search when creating new datasets.
• URLs are now better formatted in tables.
• Added popover readers for long text fields.
• Improved first-time user guidance when no connections are created.
• Smarter error handling for missing connections in the UI.

Open source

Under the Hood Upgrades

Big improvements to the technical core and breaking changes if you're self-hosting and made code changes:

• NodeJS 22 is now the minimum supported version
• Docker image has been updated to use Node 22
• Migrated to Express v5
• Improved builds with Vite updates

License model

Chartbrew v4 introduces a new Functional Source License, Version 1.1, MIT Future License (FSL-1.1-MIT).

The FSL allows users to use, modify, and embed Chartbrew into their own applications, SaaS platforms, or internal tools, as long as Chartbrew itself is not the monetized product. This opens the door to deeper integrations while still protecting the project’s core value.

If you plan to offer Chartbrew as a paid hosted service or bundle it as a major dashboarding feature in your product, a commercial license is required.

Another major change: two years after the release of a version, the software automatically becomes licensed under the MIT license, ensuring long-term freedom for the community. Sentry wrote a good blog post about FSL here that resonates with Chartbrew.

For more details, you can review the full license text.

What's Next

Chartbrew v4 is a launchpad for an even bigger future. Coming soon:

• Advanced Embedding Options: Embed dashboards with smarter auth and better integration flexibility.
• AI Insights: Smarter dashboards that can highlight trends, anomalies, and provide proactive suggestions.
• Full White Labeling: Customize the full platform experience from login to reports.

Chartbrew is becoming the all-in-one solution for client reporting — fully branded, fully integrated, and easier than ever. Do you have any suggestions or ideas? Feel free to visit our public roadmap to vote or add new suggestions.

Thank You

To every customer, every self-hoster, every contributor — thank you.

Chartbrew v4 wouldn't exist without your support and feedback. The future looks bright, and I'm excited to keep building it together with you.

Raz, Founder @ Chartbrew