Release Notes

Breaking Changes
- Minimum Python version raised from 3.7 to 3.9 (supports 3.9 through 3.14)
- Python 3.7 and 3.8 are no longer supported (both reached end-of-life)

Dependency Upgrades
- paho-mqtt upgraded from 1.x to 2.1+ (no user config changes needed)
- redis-py upgraded from 3.x to 5.0–6.x (no user config changes needed)
- pyyaml updated to 6.0+

Packaging
- New pyproject.toml (PEP 621) as primary packaging config
- Dependencies now pinned to compatible ranges in requirements.txt
- setup.py retained as thin shim for backwards compatibility

Extension Updates
- dht: Version pin removed from adafruit-circuitpython-dht (latest compatible)
- i2c: Replaced GitHub fork with official adafruit-circuitpython-charlcd from PyPI
- picamera: Migrated from legacy picamera to picamera2 (Bullseye+ required)
- t9602: Migrated from smbus to smbus2 for Python 3.9–3.14 support
- nanpy: Git URL replaced with PyPI package name

Deprecated Extensions
- dht_legacy: Depends on abandoned Adafruit_DHT library, incompatible with Python 3.9+. Migrate to the dht extension.
- nanpy: Library unmaintained since 2020, may not work on Python 3.9+. No direct replacement.

Bug Fixes
- Fixed undefined variable in exception handler (importer.py)
- Fixed annotation/assignment syntax error in custom extension registration (importer.py)
- Added missing import os in install_package() (utils.py)
- Fixed mutable default argument in state_manager.py (datetime.now() evaluated per-call)

Core
- Complete architecture rewrite with extension-based system
- New component lifecycle (init, update, reload, unload)
- Improved configuration validation and error handling
- Added namespace support for extensions
- Centralized manager pattern for all component types
- New worker pool with configurable update intervals
- Python 3.7+ required

Events
- New event system with typed event classes
- Event bus with pub/sub pattern via Redis
- Component-scoped event channels
- Event history and replay support

Extensions
- Dynamic extension loading at runtime
- Extension descriptor (extension.json) support
- Extension interface system for component variants
- Built-in extension discovery and validation

State
- Centralized state management via Redis
- State change events and listeners
- Classifier-based state key prefixes
- State persistence across restarts

Actions
- New action system with component-scoped targeting
- Action chaining and sequencing
- Dot-notation action addressing (e.g., .pump.turn_on)
- Custom action handlers in extensions

Sensors
- Refactored sensor base class
- New sensor interfaces: GPIO, I2C, SPI, Nanpy
- Added sensor classifiers (temperature, humidity, moisture, etc.)
- Improved polling and read error handling

Controls
- Unified control component model
- Improved relay control with safety checks
- PWM support for variable-speed controls
- Control state persistence

Camera
- New camera component type
- PiCamera interface support
- RTSP stream interface
- Capture and record actions

Triggers
- Refactored trigger evaluation engine
- Trigger groups with AND/OR operators
- Threshold-based triggering with comparisons
- Cron-based scheduling triggers

Automation Sequences
- New sequence system for multi-step automations
- Step-based execution with duration and conditions
- Sequence state tracking and resume support
- Threshold checks between sequence steps

Toggles
- Simplified toggle component
- Toggle state persistence
- Improved on/off/toggle actions

Socket
- WebSocket support for real-time updates
- Socket-based event streaming
- Client connection management

Nodes
- Refactored node communication
- Arduino node improvements
- Serial and I2C node interfaces

Displays
- New character display component
- Message queue system with duration control
- Dynamic message content with [key] replacement
- I2C and Nanpy display interfaces

Logger
- Structured logging with component context
- Configurable log levels per component
- Log rotation and file management