What's New in Instruqt 2.0

Instruqt 2.0 is not a coat of paint on the platform you already know. The content model, the authoring experience, and the way sandboxes are defined have all been rebuilt. There are 56 new or reworked capabilities, a set of new names for familiar concepts, ten features that now work differently, and a small number that have been removed.

Start with the new names

Almost every other change on this page depends on this vocabulary, so it is worth two minutes.

You used to say	In 2.0 it is	What is different
Track	Lab	The core unit of content
Challenge	Page, grouped into chapters	A page holds instructions, tasks, and quizzes together
Check	Task	Multiple conditions per task, each with its own fail message
Sandbox preset	Module	Reusable across labs and versioned through a registry. Modules arrive at general availability, not in Early Access
Custom resource	Terraform	Standard Terraform replaces the custom abstraction
Track level script	Exec resource	Declared as a resource, not a separate script file
Challenge script	Task or condition script	Tied to the individual condition it validates

The five shifts that explain the rest

Sandboxes are declared, not scripted. The base language moves from YAML to HCL. Resources are declared directly and reference each other, so the environment is explicit, reviewable, and far less dependent on setup scripts.

Pages replaced challenges. A page can carry instructions, several tasks, and quizzes at once, in any order. Chapters group pages into themes, so a lab has visible structure instead of one long sequence.

Version control is built in. Every lab is versioned from the moment it is created. No integration to configure, no separate tooling. Branches, version tags, and an optional connection to your own GitHub repository sit on top of that.

Reuse is a first class concept. Modules package any combination of sandbox resources, instructions, and tabs into one versioned unit, published to a registry your whole team pulls from. Modules are not part of Early Access. They arrive at general availability.

AI is part of authoring. The AI Lab Builder is available now at general availability. It plans and drafts a lab from a description of the outcome you want, backed by a knowledge base that researches your company, products, and users first.

Sandbox and infrastructure

The sandbox is now a set of typed resources you declare and reference, rather than configuration plus scripts.

Feature	What it does	Available
Declarative sandboxes	HCL replaces YAML. Resources are declared directly and reference each other, so the whole environment reads as one definition.	Early Access
Containers	CPU, memory, and GPU limits, plus health checks that can test HTTP, TCP, or run a command.	Early Access
Network	An isolated network that containers and other resources share, for communication between them or to segment parts of a lab.	Early Access
Exec	Runs a command on a remote system as part of setup, replacing what used to live in a track level script.	Early Access
Terraform	Runs Terraform as part of setup through a Terraform registry, replacing custom resources.	Early Access
Kubernetes cluster	Provisions a cluster as its own resource, so it can be referenced and ordered correctly against what depends on it.	Early Access
Kubernetes config	Represents a kubeconfig as its own resource, so cluster access can be declared and referenced like anything else.	Early Access
Template	Generates a configuration file or script from a template, instead of hardcoding values into a lab.	Early Access
Random generators	Built in generators for creature names, IDs, numbers, passwords, and UUIDs.	Early Access
Dynamic values	Four building blocks for moving values through a lab, including secrets for team managed values and variables for values a lab declares itself.	Early Access
Expression and literal fields	A toggle on any field, whether an ordinary resource setting or the value of a variable, so you can enter a fixed value or compute one.	Early Access
Native assets and files	Assets and files are part of a lab’s structure, whether you work in the UI or in code.	Early Access
Virtual browser	A new browser engine with meaningfully better performance, more reliable behavior, and working copy and paste.	GA
Sidecar	An additional container that runs alongside a main container for a specialized function, sharing its context.	Post GA
Ingress	Routes external traffic to a service over HTTP or HTTPS, giving it a real URL instead of a raw IP.	Post GA
Copy	Copies files or synchronizes a directory between host and container, instead of scripting the transfer.	Post GA
Helm	Deploys a Helm chart into a cluster as its own resource, ordered correctly against the cluster itself.	Post GA
HTTP	Makes an API call as part of setup, to seed data or confirm a service is ready before users arrive.	Post GA
Nomad cluster and job	Deploys a Nomad cluster and schedules a job on it, the Nomad equivalent of the Kubernetes resources.	Post GA
Certificates	Certificate CA and Certificate Leaf resources generate a full certificate chain declaratively.	Post GA
Pausing	Pausing a running lab, so a user can stop and pick it up later.	Post GA

Hotstarts are not available in Early Access. If your labs rely on hotstarts today, factor that into when you plan to move them across.

Debugging and validation

Two features aimed squarely at the time between “it broke” and “I know why.”

Feature	What it does	Available
Validation	The instruqt lab validate command checks a lab’s definition, its resource references, and its task mappings before the lab ever runs.	Early Access
Logs	A rebuilt logs experience with more information, real controls to filter and slice it, and a layout built for finding a cause quickly.	Early Access

Content structure

How a lab is assembled, and what a user sees on screen at each step.

Feature	What it does	Available
Pages	Challenges are now pages. A single page can combine instructions, multiple validations, and quizzes.	Early Access
Chapters	Folders for pages, grouped by theme, so you can label the journey itself and not just its steps.	Early Access
Layouts	Set per page, so the screen changes as a user moves through a lab: one tab for a reading step, a terminal and an editor for a hands on one.	Early Access
Persistent tabs	A tab is created once and assigned to a layout, carrying the user’s actual state forward across every page it appears on.	Early Access
Notes tab	Notes are a tab type, so they can be placed anywhere in a layout, as many as you need, only where they help.	Early Access
Cloud credentials tab	Natively exposes the credentials for a given cloud account, so a user sees what they need without you writing it out.	Early Access
Labs without instructions	A lab does not need instructions at all, which turns it into an open ended environment rather than a guided one.	Early Access
Sandboxless labs	A lab type with no sandbox attached, just instructional content, quizzes, and presentation material.	Post GA

Content components

The pieces you drop onto a page. Tasks and quizzes together are called activities, and you can place as many of them on a page as the content needs.

Feature	What it does	Available
Activities	The group name for tasks and quizzes, covering everything you ask a user to do or answer. Both sit inline on a page, in any order, and can be mixed on the same page.	Early Access
Tasks	Tasks replace checks as a real component on a page rather than a button. A task holds multiple conditions, each with its own fail message.	Early Access
Quizzes	Inline on any page, multiple questions on one screen, with new types including text input and number input.	Early Access
Completion component	Placed at the end of a lab with a customizable message, buttons, and links, so you control where a user goes next.	Early Access
Feedback component	Feedback sits directly in the content, on a page or in a notes tab, with customizable question text. A lab can include several.	GA
Embedded PDFs	A PDF is embedded directly into a lab and renders inline.	Early Access
Embedded Google Slides	A Google Slides URL renders inline, the same way a PDF does.	Early Access

Collaboration and version control

Version control is not only an integration you switch on. It is how labs work.

Feature	What it does	Available
Built in version control	Every lab is versioned from creation, with no GitHub setup and no separate tools. Every change is captured with who made it and when.	Early Access
Branches	Any lab can have multiple branches, each a complete working version that can be played and shared on its own.	Early Access
Version tags	Mark a known good version of a lab, so content that drifts out of date can be pinned, compared, and rolled back.	Early Access
GitHub integration	Connect a lab to your own repository, monorepos included, so lab content lives alongside the rest of your code and syncs both ways.	Early Access
Edit mode	Separates viewing a lab from actively editing it, so it is always clear whether you are looking or changing.	Early Access

Reuse and scale

Built for teams maintaining many labs rather than a handful. Modules and the module registry are not available in Early Access. Both arrive at general availability.

Feature	What it does	Available
Modules	A reusable package built from any collection of elements: sandbox resources, instructions, tabs, and more, versioned as a unit.	GA
Module registry	A central space where every module for your team lives, versioned and tracked as it changes.	GA
Lab templates	Save an existing lab as a template and use it as a scaffold for future labs, built to be copied safely.	Early Access

Creator experience

The day to day of building, and the part most people notice first.

Feature	What it does	Available
New creator UI	Exposes what used to be hidden or implicit, with a genuinely better authoring experience built on top of it.	Early Access
Markdown editor	Shows content close to how a user will actually see it, instead of the raw markdown behind it.	Early Access
Command center	A search bar, or cmd+k, that finds anything in a lab and jumps you straight to it.	Early Access
Resource usage visibility	A label on any resource shows everywhere else it is used in the lab, and clicking through takes you there.	Early Access
Inline comments and notes	Team documentation attached to a resource, explaining why it exists or what it is for.	Early Access
Assets and files in the UI	A dedicated tab shows a lab’s full structure: assets, files, and scripts together.	Early Access
In product documentation	Tooltips surface the relevant documentation where you are working, with a link through to the full page.	Early Access
Dark and light mode	Choose the theme that suits how and when you work.	Early Access

AI

Feature	What it does	Available
AI Lab Builder	Describe what a lab should achieve and who it is for. It plans the structure, then builds it with you inside the product.	GA
Knowledge base	Research that happens before anything gets built, covering your company, your products, your users, and the context around them.	GA

What works differently

These capabilities still exist, but the way you use them has changed.

Previously	Now	What this means for you
Scripts	Exec resources and declarative sandboxes	Setup splits into two parts: exec resources for genuinely imperative steps, and declarative definitions for the environment. The environment becomes reviewable like infrastructure code, and there is less scripting overall, so setup is less fragile.
Challenges	Pages and chapters	A page is more flexible than a challenge. Tasks can go anywhere on a page, several can sit together, and quizzes belong on pages too. Chapters group pages so topics are visibly separated.
Quizzes	Inline quizzes	No dedicated page required. Place a quiz where it is relevant, put several on one page, and use the new question types for more nuanced assessment. Quizzes and tasks are now both activities.
Feedback in labs	Feedback component	Feedback is no longer a fixed part of a lab. It is a component you place, as many times as you like, with question text you write. Because the request sits in the content, more users answer it.
Happiness score	Average of all feedback components	The score is the average of every rating from every feedback component in a lab rather than one fixed rating at the end. Each rating records the page it was given on, so you can see which page moves satisfaction, and you collect signal from users who never reach the end. See the Lab feedback report.
Final page	Completion component	The end of a lab is a component like any other, with a message, button label, and link you control, so you can connect a finished lab to whatever comes next.
Sandbox presets	Modules	A module packages a sandbox the way a preset did, and then goes further: it can bundle instructions, tabs, and other parts of a lab into one reusable, versioned unit shared across many labs. Modules are not available in Early Access, they arrive at general availability.
Custom resources	Terraform	Custom resources were always Terraform underneath. Now Terraform is exposed directly, so existing Terraform knowledge applies instead of a proprietary abstraction doing the same job.
CLI	Git, with GitHub integration	GitHub integration syncs changes directly, so pushing and pulling happen through a normal git workflow. Every change is recorded, conflicts resolve through a pull request instead of one side losing work, and you can author in your own editor. The CLI still scaffolds a new lab from a template.
Track ID	Computed id, resource.lab.{slug}	The identifier is derived from the resource type and name instead of being a random string, so it is predictable, readable, and tied to the slug.

Not in 2.0

These have been removed with no direct equivalent. Some could return based on customer demand.

Feature	Where it stands
Loading between challenges	Pages and resources all load at the start of a lab, so there is nothing to load between pages.
Notes as a loading page	Because loading happens up front, there is no notes page to read while you wait.
Loading customization	Notes only, full access, and default or custom loading messages are not carried forward.
Lab teaser	No equivalent in 2.0. It could return if customers ask for it.
Challenge description	No equivalent. Page and chapter structure covers how content is organized instead.
Hotstart for sandbox presets	Sandbox presets are gone, so this goes with them. Hotstarts for modules may follow later, depending on demand.

Reading the availability column

Early Access means available now, in the Early Access release.

GA means it is not in Early Access and arrives at general availability.

Post GA means it is planned for after general availability.