NVDA 2026.1 and community add-ons: statistics and a call to action

[joseph....@gmail.com]

Dear NVDA community,

For folks subscribed to NVDA add-ons list, you will get a separate email addressed to you.

The following is a call to action on community add-ons compatibility with just released NVDA version:

On May 6, 2026, NV Access released NVDA 2026.1, the highly anticipated twentieth anniversary release of the screen reader. Among many changes, this is the first 64-bit NVDA screen reader release, requires Windows 10 and 11, and integrates MathCAT functionality.

For many of you, NVDA 2026.1 release may stir excitement and anxiety. Excitement because you can now say NVDA is a 64-bit screen reader and can work better with properly coded 64-bit apps. On the other hand, you might be anxious over compatibility of your favorite add-ons since this is a year.1 release. I want to address the latter in this letter to the community.

As of May 6, 2026 (at the time of this letter), we have 397 add-ons registered on the NV Access add-on store with 113 stable add-ons (28.4%) showing as compatible with NVDA 2026.1. If we include dev and beta channels, the compatible add-ons count rises to 143 (36.2%). In comparison, as of time of this writing, 309 stable add-ons (77.8%) are compatible with 2025.3.3.

I mention these statistics for two reasons. First, some of the crucial add-ons such as NAO, Place markers, and some speech synthesizer add-ons were updated on time. Some add-on authors did announce their intention to update add-ons such as Rui Fontes who wrote on a user community that add-ons such as SystrayList will be updated soon. Some add-ons such as Tiflotecnia voices can be found as beta or dev channel add-ons, and I expect updates will be pushed to stable channel users when ready.

However, we need to hear from add-on authors who seem to have stopped updating their add-ons. Some, including Braille Extender, had updates available in source code form (from repositories) and uses custom update processes to update add-ons. We lost contact with several add-on authors over the years. What’s making this more worrisome is that add-ons like Braille Extender are available from the NV Access add-on store but are outdated and will not work properly in NVDA 2026.1, including some that will not even load despite overriding incompatibility. We can improve the numbers and quality of the add-on store by getting authors to post updated versions of their ad-dons to the store sooner than later.

Second, only a fraction of NVDA add-ons can be found on the NV Access add-on store. While some chose to not publish to the store for various reasons, I believe it is advantageous in the long term to get more add-ons onto the store. Getting more add-ons to the store eases discoverability and makes add-on authors accountable to the NVDA community because users can easily contact them. While it is fine to install add-ons from external sources (that’s why that “channel” exists), we should work on getting more people to publish their add-ons to the store to show that add-ons are crucial to the NVDA user experience.

Therefore, I propose the following call for action:

As part of the activities to celebrate and reflect on NVDA’s twenty years of existence, let’s get more add-ons added to the NV Access add-on store and make them compatible with NVDA 2026.x. Specifically, I call on the community to:

1. Contact add-on authors about add-on compatibility with NVDA 2026.1. The more and forceful voices, the better (even though my work and words are influential, other community members should show agency by doing their own part as well).
2. Work on encouraging add-on authors to publish their add-ons or updates to the NV Access add-on store. For add-ons with custom update check processes, ask them to submit at least a snapshot version to the add-on store so people can update to releases compatible with NVDA 2026.x.

What keeps NVDA going is collaboration among stakeholders. NV Access and some of the loudest voices and active workers (including yours truly) should not be the only stakeholders celebrating and reflecting on NVDA’s twenty years of service. If you are an NVDA user and happen to rely on one or more add-ons, you are also a stakeholder in the NVDA project. If you are an NVDA add-on user, you should also participate in celebrating NVDA’s twentieth anniversary and work toward making the screen reader and its community better. One way for you to participate in asking add-on authors to update their add-ons. Even that action shows you do have a stake in this project. Let us do this work together: get more add-ons to the store, make more add-ons compatible with NVDA 2026.1, send feedback to add-on authors, especially for add-ons that hasn’t been updated in years.

Postscript: A personal plea to some add-on authors, specifically to Braille Extender maintainers: I have asked maintainers of this add-on several times about publishing an update to the add-on store to no avail. I am publicly calling on maintainers of this (and similar) add-on to publish updates to the store, preferably by themselves. Otherwise, I will invoke my “trusted submitter” status to publish an updated Braille Extender to the add-on store as a last resort option. Yes, I am indeed pressuring you to do this because you should show accountability by listening to repeated feedback to update add-ons; I even advised you to post a stable snapshot release to the store so people can update to latest compatible add-on release. I do not wish to exercise the last resort option, but if it comes down to that, then I will inform the community once that happens. You know that I do not take on the “trusted submitter” role lightly as I have my own add-ons to maintain and perform other life activities. But I believe it is time for me to act on behalf of users who have become tired of no updates to Braille Extender on the add-on store, and you know that when I say I will act, I do so (or at least come close to). You are warned, and I am warning Braille Extender maintainers one last time in the name of the NVDA community.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Joseph

[Mister Kayne]

Dear Joseph and the NVDA Community,

Thank you for this comprehensive update and the clear "call to action." As NVDA celebrates its twentieth anniversary, it is a great time for us as stakeholders to ensure the tools we rely on daily continue to evolve alongside the core screen reader.

I have recently updated to NVDA 2026.1 (version 2026.1.0.55743). While the 64-bit transition and MathCAT integration are exciting steps forward, I wanted to provide feedback regarding my experience with specific add-ons in this environment.

First, I would like to specifically share my gratitude for the commitment mentioned regarding Rui Fontes and the SysTrayList add-on. Knowing that an update is in the works is a great relief, and I sincerely thank the author for their continued dedication to the community.

In the spirit of your call to action, I am reaching out regarding the speechHistory-v2025.1.nvda-addon. When attempting to install it on this latest build (2026.1.0.55743), I receive a message stating it is incompatible. It appears the add-on was last updated for the 2025 releases and has not yet been bridged to the new 64-bit architecture.

I have had a difficult time reaching the developer directly. As I am not very familiar with navigating the GitHub interface, I am finding it a bit of a hurdle to report the issue or check for development snapshots there. If anyone in the community has a direct line to the maintainer or knows of a compatible update for the 2026.1 cycle, I would be very grateful for the information.

Let’s continue to work together to bridge these compatibility gaps for this milestone release.

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[Sean Randall]

Speech history is one of those addons that has pulled me out of the fire on plenty of occasions, but one I don't ordinarily use in a typical day of computer usage. In fact I think I took away the hotkeys to review the history and just use the browsable dialog when I need it, so it's really been a set and forget one for me. 

If it is abandoned I'll happily take it on for future compatibility and maintenance .  

Thanks

Sean

On 8 May 2026, at 14:59, Mister Kayne <mister...@outlook.com> wrote:



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[Andrew Downie]

As the time for the first release of the year draws near I get nervous about which addons will not be updated.  There are times when I find the Speech History addon extremely valuable, especially when something is announced but getting to it to copy is a pain.

I am a naughty boy and am running Speech History on 2026.1.  I did test it thoroughly on portable beta releases before putting it onto the installed copy though.

But it does illustrate the issue of people finding addons really helpful andd then not being maintained.  One I really miss is an excellent OCR tool.

Andrew

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[Sean Randall]

:) NAO is still my favorite in the OCR arena and it's been updated now.  

Thanks

Sean

On 10 May 2026, at 03:06, Andrew Downie <doveta...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Richard Wells]

Another nasty one I found was the Audacity add-on. When it is installed,
Audacity will not gain focus. Removing the add-on fixed it.

1. Contact add-on authors about add-on compatibility with NVDA 2026.1.

The more and forceful voices, the better (even though my work and words
are influential, other community members should show agency by doing
their own part as well).

2. Work on encouraging add-on authors to publish their add-ons or

[Andrew Downie]

Thanks Sean.  Yes, that's the one and this slacko didn't check.

Andrew

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/nvaccess.org/d/msgid/nvda-users/D179D4BD-E21F-4C90-B089-CB4301A68449%40seanrandall.me.