🎉 KidsChores v0.5.0-beta3 - Transformative Architecture & Performance

Release Date: February 6, 2026

Here is an enhanced version of your release notes. This rewrite shifts the focus from "general advice" to specific, ordered instructions that prioritize getting the integration working before users waste time fixing their dashboards.

It explicitly highlights the "Use existing data" choice and the Internal Restore tool, which are the two most critical pieces of information for preventing support tickets.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Fix for Missing Entities & Errors (HA 2026.2)

Your data (Points & Chore History) are SAFE, but the integration may fail to load or show errors due to strict new Home Assistant entity naming rules.

STOP: Do not try to fix your Dashboard or Automations yet. You must fix the integration connection first.

🛠️ How to Fix (Try in Order):

Option 1: The "Soft Reset" (Recommended)
This forces the integration to reload your data cleanly, bypassing the migration errors.

1. Remove the KidsChores integration completely.
2. Restart Home Assistant.
3. Re-add the integration.
4. CRITICAL: When prompted, select "Use existing data".

Option 2: Internal Restore (If Option 1 fails)
If the above does not work, use the integration's built-in recovery tool (this is not a standard Home Assistant backup):

1. Go to the integration's Configure button.
2. Select General Options.
3. Choose "Restore from pre-migration backup".
4. Restart Home Assistant.

✅ Next Steps (After Integration is Fixed):

Once you see entities working in Developer Tools:

1. Dashboard: Use the new Dashboard Generator in options (easiest) or update your YAML with new entity IDs.
2. Automations: Update entity references to the new format.

📖 **Click here for the Full Troubleshooting & Backup Guide**

⚠️ BREAKING CHANGE: Entity IDs Will Change

What You Need to Do:

1. Automations/Scripts: Update entity references after upgrade
2. Dashboard: Use new Dashboard Generator (one-click) or update entity IDs
3. If issues occur: Backup → Remove integration → Reinstall → Restore data file
   Backup and Restore Wiki

Benefits: Native HA integration, device grouping, rename any entity freely

📖 Full migration guide: See breaking changes section in release notes

📚 Comprehensive Documentation Overhaul

KidsChores now has extensive documentation to support users at every level—from quick-start guides to deep technical references. Whether you're setting up your first chore or building custom automations, we've got you covered:

• 📖 Complete Wiki - 50+ pages covering installation, configuration, examples, and troubleshooting with step-by-step guides for NFC tags, calendar scheduling, automatic approvals, and advanced dashboard customization
• 🏗️ Architecture Guide - Deep dive into the storage-only data model, coordinator patterns, and platinum-quality code structure
• 👨‍💻 Development Standards - For contributors and advanced users: constants architecture, error handling, type system patterns, and async best practices

⚠️ Note: Wiki documentation is being updated to reflect the new entity ID format (kidname_kidschores_* instead of kc_kidname_*). Some examples may still show the old format.

New to KidsChores? Start with our Quick Start Guide and Dashboard Generation walkthrough.

🌟 Major Features (11 Highlights)

1. 🎯 Platinum Architecture Refactoring

Massive internal improvements:

• Coordinator reduced 97%: ~13,000 → <350 lines
• Manager/Engine separation for clarity
• Signal-first communication (no circular dependencies)
• 1210 tests passing (100%)

2. 🚀 Dashboard Generator System

Revolutionary one-click dashboard creation:

• Remote template download or local fallback
• Translation-ready - switches with HA's language for parents and kids
• Zero manual YAML editing required
• Perfect for new users and quick setup
• Look for "Manage Dashboard" in the integration configuration menu
• There is no requirement to use the auto dashboard, all sensors are exposed for use by other cards and automations

3. ↩️ Undo Functionality

Kids can undo mistaken claims:

• 5-minute window after claiming
• No point loss or penalties
• Simple undo using the disapproval button (No stats recorded if clicked by kid)
• Auto dashboard handles button switch so kid can just click on claimed chore to undo
• User-requested feature!

4. ⚡ Ephemeral Statistics Cache

10x performance boost:

• Statistics moved to RAM (not written to disk every change)
• 5-second debounce protects SSDs
• 70% smaller storage files
• Raspberry Pi optimized

5. 🔄 Revolutionary Recurring Settings

Extreme scheduling flexibility:

• Multi-per-day: "3 times per day" with custom intervals
• Per-kid schedules: Different times for each child
• Rotating patterns: Alternating days/weeks
• Override inheritance: Kid-specific exceptions

6. 🎯 Schedule-Aware Streak System

Accurate streak tracking for ALL frequency types:

• Weekly/monthly/custom streaks work correctly (not just daily)
• Gap calculation respects schedule (not just day-to-day)
• Bi-weekly "Mow lawn" → 4-week streak displays correctly

7. ⏰ Smart Overdue Handling (Now Default)

Late approval no longer loses time:

• Immediate reset when approved after due date
• No more lost windows (24+ hours recovered)
• Critical for multi-claim chores
• Busy parent friendly!

8. 🛠️ Complete CRUD API

Full automation capabilities:

• Create, update, delete chores and rewards via services
• 100% parity with UI config flows
• Perfect for bulk imports and automation

9. 🗑️ Unified Data Reset Service

One service replaces Several legacy services:

• Multi-scope: Global, per-kid, or per-item
• Automatic backups before reset
• Granular control over what gets reset
• Preserves historical stats

10. 🔔 Intelligent Notification System

Enterprise-grade reliability:

• Race condition protection (double-approval bug fixed)
• Tag-based grouping (no notification spam)
• Persistent state across restarts
• Action buttons with context awareness
• Clears for other parents after approval
• Kids and Adults have actions button
  • Kids can claim due or overdue chores
  • Parents can snooze or skip (reschedule) overdue chores

11. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Chores: Parent Task Assignment

Scope expansion - not just for kids anymore!

• Parents can be assigned chores (3 capability tiers)
• Shadow kid system (opt-in, minimal entities)
• Link/unlink services preserve history
• Transforms "KidsChores" → "Family Chores"

12. 📅 Due Window Feature

New intermediate state for better UX:

• DUE state appears before OVERDUE (configurable window)
• Visual distinction between "due soon" and "actually overdue"
• Gentle reminders without penalty pressure
• Configurable per chore: 15min, 30min, 1hr, 2hr, 4hr, 8hr, 12hr windows
• Helps kids learn time management without stress

🏗️ Internal Improvements

• Statistics Engine: Uniform 5-bucket structure, 97% test coverage
• Backup & diagnostics: Enhanced data export/import
• Config entry lifecycle: Proper async setup/teardown
• Chore timer refactor: Accurate due window calculations

🌍 Internationalization

13 languages synchronized via Crowdin:

• Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, Greek, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian Bokmål, Dutch, Swedish

📊 Statistics

Lines of Code:

• Coordinator: -97% (~13,000 → <350 lines) 🎉
• New managers: +2,500 lines
• New engines: +1,800 lines
• Net: Massive reorganization, dramatically improved maintainability

Feature Additions:

• 11 major user-facing features
• 1 critical timing fix (Parent-Lag-Proof)
• 7 architectural improvements (Platinum phases)
• 1 critical race condition fix

Quality:

• 1210/1210 tests passing (100%)
• Ruff linting: ✅ All checks passed
• MyPy type checking: ✅ Zero errors
• Architectural boundaries: ✅ 10/10 checks

🎁 Why Beta3 is Transformative

1. Revolutionary UX - Dashboard Generator eliminates setup pain
2. Scope transformation - Parents can now be assigned tasks
3. Performance revolution - 10x faster, SSD-friendly, Raspberry Pi optimized
4. Smart defaults - Overdue handling works intuitively
5. Complete automation - Full API for advanced users
6. Enterprise reliability - Race conditions eliminated
7. Platinum quality - 97% coordinator reduction, 100% test coverage

📦 Installation

HACS (Recommended):

1. HACS → Integrations → ⋮ (menu) → Custom repositories
2. Add: https://github.com/ad-ha/kidschores-ha
3. Category: Integration
4. Install → Restart HA

Manual:

1. Download kidschores.zip from this release
2. Extract to config/custom_components/
3. Restart Home Assistant

🔗 Resources

• Full Release Notes: BETA3_RELEASE_CHANGES.md
• Documentation: Wiki
• Dashboard: kidschores-ha-dashboard
• Issues: Report bugs

⚠️ Known Issues

None at release time. Report any issues on GitHub.

Full Changelog: v0.5.0-beta2...v0.5.0-beta3