[HACS] Beta update metadata shows commit SHAs and broken release link

[CaneTLOTW]

Context

External tester feedback in #2 on v0.6.0-beta.10 exposed two HACS update-entity behaviours:

1. Home Assistant update notifications showed commit SHAs instead of the beta release tag.
2. The update/release announcement link returned GitHub 404.

Root cause audit

This is not an SV Dashboard runtime/package defect.

Commit SHA instead of beta tag

HACS 2.x tracks prereleases only when the per-repository Pre-release option/switch is enabled (show_beta = true). If it is off, a repository with only GitHub prereleases can fall back to last_commit for the displayed available version. Because this repository currently has beta GitHub releases only and the repository default branch is develop, the update entity can therefore surface a develop commit SHA rather than v0.6.0-beta.N.

For beta testing, the clean path is to enable the HACS Pre-release switch for SV Dashboard before the next beta is published. Then HACS should resolve the newest prerelease tag instead of the branch commit.

Broken release URL

HACS 2.0.5 constructs update-entity release URLs as:

https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/releases/<latest_version>

GitHub release pages use:

https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/releases/tag/<tag>

The first form is confirmed 404 for SV Dashboard beta.10, while the second resolves correctly. This URL is generated by HACS itself; hacs.json/SV Dashboard metadata does not expose a repository-side override for it.

beta.11 verification plan

• publish v0.6.0-beta.11 as a normal GitHub prerelease (do not fake it as stable)
• ask the DS4 tester to enable HACS Pre-release for SV Dashboard before HACS refresh/update
• verify the HA update entity shows v0.6.0-beta.11 instead of a commit SHA
• record whether HACS release notes render correctly inside Home Assistant
• expect the external release-link URL to remain an upstream HACS limitation unless HACS fixes its release_url construction
• keep main unchanged; this beta remains on develop

Stable-release note

Before first stable promotion, review repository default-branch/release-channel policy so unaccepted develop commits are not accidentally presented as normal HACS updates. Do not change the repository default branch as part of this beta minifix without a separate explicit decision.

Related: #2

[CaneTLOTW]

Root cause reproduced against HACS 2.0.x source and the SV beta.10 release metadata.

• Commit SHA display: HACS uses the prerelease tag only when the per-repository Pre-release option (show_beta) is enabled. With prereleases disabled and no stable SV release yet, it can fall back to the develop commit SHA.
• 404 release link: HACS constructs https://github.com/<owner>/<repo>/releases/<version>, while GitHub's release-page URL is .../releases/tag/<tag>. The beta.10 HACS-style URL is confirmed 404; the canonical .../releases/tag/v0.6.0-beta.10 page resolves correctly. This is upstream HACS behavior and has no hacs.json override.

PR #42 prepares v0.6.0-beta.11 as a deliberately minimal update-channel verification build: package/top-level frontend resource version bump plus documentation/release-checklist guidance. No Hybrid/Hero/entity logic changes and no fake stable release/default-branch workaround.

After beta.11 is published, verification is: enable Pre-release for SV Dashboard in HACS, refresh, and confirm the update entity advertises v0.6.0-beta.11 rather than a commit SHA. The external release link may still 404 until HACS fixes its URL construction.

[CaneTLOTW]

beta.11 verification candidate is now published.

• PR Prepare v0.6.0-beta.11 HACS update-channel verification #42: merged to develop
• exact develop SHA: 1a558a6f04e61060e82b1b92d5ed5033ff815495
• prerelease: v0.6.0-beta.11
• PR validation: Source/frontend PASS · Hassfest PASS · HACS PASS
• post-merge develop validation: Source/frontend PASS · Hassfest PASS · HACS PASS
• publisher verified the release tag resolves to the exact SHA and is marked prerelease

#41 remains open until the external tester confirms the HACS Pre-release switch makes the update entity advertise v0.6.0-beta.11 instead of a commit SHA. The HACS-generated external release-link 404 is expected to remain upstream behavior unless HACS changes its URL construction.

[chmtc94]

@CaneTLOTW

It wouldn't have hurt (alas) to refresh my memory on how to enable the beta channel for a HACS integration 😉

For future reference, here is the method I rediscovered—previously used for the Stellantis Vehicles integration:

• HA Menu / Settings / Devices & Services / Entities
• Filter the list by integration = HACS
• Click on the "pre-release" entity for the integration where you want to enable the beta channel. This entity is a switch that is disabled by default. You must first activate this switch entity if it isn't already active. It may take a few seconds for activation to complete.
• Once the switch is enabled, toggle it to the desired position to enable or disable the beta channel for the associated integration.

Once enabled, everything works perfectly: the version displays correctly in the update notification, and the link to the version's documentation works as expected 😉👍

This should allow to close this issue 😉

Following screenshots :