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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "TPEN 3.0 Early Access Now Open!" |
| 3 | +date: "2026-03-17" |
| 4 | +categories: |
| 5 | + - "announcements" |
| 6 | +author: "TPEN Team" |
| 7 | +coverImage: "https://github.com/CenterForDigitalHumanities/blog/assets/1119165/174f0db0-a677-4fad-aa48-f3584f583f4a" |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +tldr: | |
| 10 | + **🚀 TPEN 3.0 Early Access is live!** |
| 11 | + - Public trials now open—create, transcribe, and collaborate |
| 12 | + - Interfaces will remain stable for two months |
| 13 | + - Feedback invited via built-in tools, GitHub, and email |
| 14 | + - Roadmap: testing harnesses, new services, and more interfaces coming soon |
| 15 | +--- |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +We are excited to announce that **TPEN 3.0 Early Access is now open to everyone!** |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +After a year of development and feedback from our partners, we are inviting the public to try out the next generation of the TPEN platform. This is your opportunity to explore new features, test workflows, and help us shape the future of digital transcription and annotation. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## What to Expect |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +- **Stable Interfaces:** For the next two months, we will not proactively change or disrupt any user interfaces. This is your chance to experience TPEN 3.0 as it is, provide feedback, and get comfortable with the new environment. |
| 24 | +- **Open Trials:** Anyone can create an account, start projects, and collaborate. All core features are available for use and testing. |
| 25 | +- **Active Feedback Channels:** Use the built-in bug report and feature request tools in the interface, or reach out directly via [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/CenterForDigitalHumanities/TPEN3/issues) or email (see the About page). |
| 26 | +- **Easy TPEN 2.8 Import:** If you have existing projects in TPEN 2.8, you can easily import them into TPEN 3.0 to continue your work without interruption or changing your data on the old platform. |
| 27 | +- **Getting Started Guide:** Check out our [Getting Started Guide]({{site.url}}/getting-started) for step-by-step instructions on how to create projects, transcribe, and collaborate. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +We have worked hard to build an infrastructure that focuses on open knowledge, modularity, and interoperability. What the 2.8 release was for interface development ([announcement](https://blog.rerum.io/t-pen-updating-the-transcription-interface-part-1/)) the 3.0 release is for data and services portability. We do not want you to be trapped inside our ecosystem or endure one of our generically designed tools when you have a pipeline that requires something else. If you try out TPEN 3.0, you will initially find an interface that may underwhelm you if the 2.8 interface has been suiting your needs. However, the underlying services and data structures are so much more flexible and powerful that you may even be able to vibe code your own modules to address your niche need without waiting for that big grant to come through to build another new platform. |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +## Roadmap: What's Next? |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +While the user interface will remain stable for the next two months, our team will be focused on: |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +- **Expanding Testing Harnesses:** Improving our automated testing, review, and release to ensure reliability and performance. |
| 36 | +- **Service Expansion:** Adding and refining backend services to support more workflows and integrations. |
| 37 | +- **New Interfaces:** Planning and building additional interfaces or companion tools for specialized transcription, annotation, and project management needs. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +We are committed to transparency and collaboration. Your feedback will directly influence our priorities and improvements as we move toward a full public launch. To that end, we have [published a few topics](https://github.com/CenterForDigitalHumanities/TPEN3/discussions/71) in our discussions forum to gather feedback on what priorities we pursue next. Join the conversation! The features with the most buzz and test cases offered will be the first to be implemented. As we have previously discussed, our federal funding has been removed, so we are relying on the community to help us prioritize and build the features that will be most useful to you. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +## Pricing and Collaboration |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +You will not find pricing information on our platform. Our core services will remain free and in service to scholars, students, and anyone interested in digital transcription. If you have a project that has more complicated needs, reach out to us and we can discuss how we can support you. Some partners who have requested custom development or hosting have helped support this project for others and some smaller projects have received pro bono development to advance human knowledge. We are open to discussing how we can support your project and how you can support the project in return. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +Thank you for being part of the TPEN community and for helping us build the future of digital transcription! |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +— The TPEN Team |
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