Panel Assistant 0.2.1 is 0.2.0b1 published as a full release, with one fix: the Install link in the Panel Assistant sidebar now opens the USB installer; in 0.2.0b1 it opened nothing, or the old integration's installer where that was still installed. HACS offers it without Show beta versions turned on. It stays in 0.x deliberately: the direction is settled, but the internals are still changing.
Which ha-paneld versions you can install: Panel Assistant only lists ha-paneld releases that carry a signed installation descriptor. The current stable ha-paneld, v0.9.6, has none, so until the next stable release the list offers only release candidates, marked as test versions. When installing over the network, the newest release candidate is preselected; on the USB page you pick one yourself.
If you are on 0.1.x, or on a build installed straight from the branch, follow "Updating from 0.1.x" in the README, which removes the old download and adds this one.
What you can do with it:
- Install ha-paneld on a panel over USB, from the computer you are browsing on. Open Panel Assistant in the sidebar, pick a version and follow the wizard; it hands over to the panel's own setup at the end. Chrome or Edge, and your Home Assistant does not need a certificate.
- Install over the network, if the panel has Android Debug Bridge enabled.
- Add a panel that already runs ha-paneld by entering its address. If the panel's own setup is unfinished, Home Assistant offers to open it and connects the panel once it is done.
- See each panel's device details and its ha-paneld version, and install a newer version from the panel's update entity.
Known limits: installing reaches the panel directly, over USB or Android Debug Bridge, and expects a panel without ha-paneld. Updating an installed panel goes through ha-paneld's own update API, from that panel's update entity. MQTT still carries panel controls and entities. Please report what breaks.
Questions and panel-specific tips are welcome in the Panel Assistant Discord, linked from the README.