# Release 1.8

We are excited to announce **DataSpace 1.8**, a major release focused on making data exploration easier, faster, and more intuitive.

This release introduces our new AI-powered **Data Assistant**, declarative data **Health Checks**, and a significantly improved graph UI experience. In addition, we shipped a large number of UI, backend, and infrastructure improvements to make DataSpace more robust and reliable for daily use.

### Data Assistant

DataSpace 1.8 introduces a powerful new AI mode with our **Data Assistant**, designed to help you explore datasets, write complex queries, and generate insightful charts to instantly answer questions about your data.

<figure><img src="https://1439274090-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZPOu0da4Z2EpltdJNcki%2Fuploads%2FWHJ9O2dLqkV7x8tmy1JH%2Fdata_assistant.png?alt=media&#x26;token=a8d70995-f09f-4221-ba80-5746a01cbc5b" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Health Checks

We have also introduced declarative **Health Checks**, which can be defined directly in your transformations to validate data, generate reports, or fail builds when issues are detected.

<figure><img src="https://1439274090-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZPOu0da4Z2EpltdJNcki%2Fuploads%2FaQ2qPRKjPufE1kAY45m0%2Fhealth_checks.png?alt=media&#x26;token=ece50fcb-d482-422c-9b8d-e7d645e2fa61" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Enhanced Graph Layout

The graph UI has been significantly improved to provide a clearer and more structured view of complex pipelines. Nodes now align more consistently to the grid, use a more optimal automatic layout, and include additional visual indicators to better communicate execution status and state.

<figure><img src="https://1439274090-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FZPOu0da4Z2EpltdJNcki%2Fuploads%2FUHsBmmTovSepbVh8Yyh1%2Fnode_graph.png?alt=media&#x26;token=21124655-1fee-4c37-8e57-9e385740e95d" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

Across the full 1.8 release series, we shipped:

* **51** commits
* **143** file changes
* **11,730** additions and **4,508** deletions

These changes include frontend refinements, backend improvements, quality of life changes, dependency upgrades, infrastructure hardening, and many smaller fixes that together make DataSpace faster, safer, and more reliable.

We invite you to explore these new features and see how DataSpace 1.8 can simplify and enhance your daily work with data.