✅ Release Asset Validation (Post-Publish): PASSED

Assets were revalidated after publication due to a release edit.

Status: Live release assets re-validated ✅
Validated: 2026-07-04 13:35:30 UTC
Workflow: Pulse Release Pipeline #283

Validation Summary

• All required assets present ✓
• Checksums verified ✓
• Version strings correct ✓
• Binary architectures validated ✓

Pulse v6.0.0 Release Notes

v6.0.0 is the first stable release of Pulse v6. It promotes the current
pulse/v6-release branch into the default supported v6 release after seven
release candidates and accumulated post-RC7 fixes.

Pulse v6 keeps the platform-shaped top-level navigation existing v5 operators
already know (Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS, vSphere, Machines, plus
Alerts, Patrol, and Settings), rebuilds the runtime behind it on a unified
resource model and contract (/api/resources), ships first-class vSphere and
TrueNAS support, adds the Patrol intelligence and agent-substrate surfaces,
keeps the governed v5-to-v6 upgrade and Unified Agent continuity path, and
ships the corrected self-hosted commercial model that was validated across the
RC line.

The v6 line briefly shipped a unified Infrastructure / Workloads /
Storage / Recovery top-level layout across rc.1 through rc.5. Operator
feedback consistently preferred the platform-shaped navigation v5 already had,
so I reverted the frontend information architecture in rc.6 and kept that
platform-shaped direction through the final release branch while preserving the
unified resource model on the backend. Same backend, the navigation shape you
already know.

Pulse v5 Support Transition

Pulse v5 entered maintenance-only support on 2026-07-04.
I will ship only critical security, data-loss, licensing or billing blocker,
installer or updater failure, and safe migration blocker fixes for existing v5 users until 2026-10-02.
After 2026-10-02, Pulse v5 is end-of-support and new fixes land on v6 unless
I publish an explicit exception.

What Is In v6.0.0

Platform-shaped frontend on a unified backend

The top-level navigation is platform-shaped. Each backing source has its own
top-level page (Proxmox, Docker, Kubernetes, TrueNAS, vSphere, Machines),
alongside Alerts, Patrol, and Settings. Behind those pages, Pulse v6 runs on
a unified resource model: a single canonical Resource type normalising data
across the backing sources, served from /api/resources. The platform-shaped
pages consume that contract and add platform-shaped presentation.

vSphere is a first-class platform in v6, parallel to Proxmox, Docker,
Kubernetes, and TrueNAS. Machines (the v5 "Hosts" page) carries Pulse
Agent resources as their own top-level page, with native detail UX
for IP, disk I/O, RAID, network, and SMART temperature.

Patrol intelligence and the agent substrate

Patrol is a top-level intelligence surface with in-place verbs on findings
(Investigate, Why, Verify fix, Create rule, Mark resolved), structured
investigation records that carry operator-facing Impact and rollback, a first-
class resolved-finding lifecycle, capacity-forecast action templates, and a
reliability finding that fires when an alert starts flapping. Patrol consumes
an HTTP alert bridge for PDM (Proxmox Datacenter Manager).

Pulse v6 also exposes a stable HTTP contract for external agents
(/api/agent/capabilities, /api/agent/resource-context/{id},
/api/agent/fleet-context, /api/agent/events) so Claude Desktop, Claude
Code, custom MCP clients, and plain HTTP consumers can drive Pulse with the
same situated context Patrol and Assistant have. Worked examples ship in
cmd/pulse-mcp (MCP adapter) and cmd/agent-probe (plain HTTP).

Recovery and infrastructure onboarding

Backup, snapshot, and replication state is served from /api/recovery/*
(PBS snapshots, ZFS snapshots, replication tasks) and consumed by the
platform-shaped pages that present it. Infrastructure onboarding is split by
ownership inside Settings:

• Settings → Infrastructure → Install on a host for direct Unified Agent
  deployment
• Settings → Infrastructure → Platform connections for API-backed systems
  such as Proxmox, TrueNAS, and VMware

Self-hosted packaging is corrected from the early RC posture

Self-hosted core monitoring is no longer sold by monitored-system count on the
current public v6 plans.

Legacy Pro+ remains continuity-only for existing holders. It is not a public
self-hosted checkout tier.

Existing paid customer continuity is explicit

• Existing lifetime customers remain valid, with self-hosted monitoring volume
  not metered under the current v6 policy.
• Legacy recurring Pulse Pro subscribers who were already active before the
  public v6 pricing cutover keep their existing recurring price while that
  subscription stays active.
• Supported legacy paid migrations can still exchange into the v6 activation
  model without repurchasing.
• If a self-hosted v6 install still shows a bounded monitored-system cap after
  activation or migration, treat that as a bug rather than intended policy.

Commercial account and upgrade surfaces match the current model

Pulse Account, the in-product Plans & Billing surface, and related pricing
copy now describe self-hosted upgrades as plan selection plus paid extras
instead of buying more monitored-system capacity.

Pulse Cloud launches with v6

Pulse Cloud is the hosted version of Pulse. Each Cloud account gets a
dedicated, isolated workspace at *.cloud.pulserelay.pro with managed hosting,
daily automated backups, and Relay pre-configured for Pulse Mobile pairing. All
Cloud tiers include the full Pro feature set.

A 14-day trial is included on every Cloud plan, no credit card required. An
early-signup founding rate of $19/month is available on Cloud Starter; see
docs/architecture/v6-pricing-and-tiering.md for current eligibility. Cloud
signup is handled at cloud.pulserelay.pro. Full Cloud setup, migration, and
FAQ live in docs/CLOUD.md. The MSP multi-tenant ladder remains a separate
hosted product; see the MSP section of the pricing doc.

Upgrade Guidance For Existing v5 Users

1. Back up the current system and keep direct console access available.
2. Re-test bookmarks and saved links. The platform-shaped top-level pages
   (/proxmox, /docker, /kubernetes, /truenas, /vmware, /standalone)
   are the canonical v6 routes. The unified /infrastructure, /workloads,
   /storage, and /recovery routes that briefly shipped across rc.1-rc.5
   are retired in rc.6 and onward; any bookmark or runbook pointing at those
   should move to the platform-shaped equivalent.
3. Re-test custom automation or dashboards that depended on v5-style
   /api/state or websocket payloads.
4. Re-test recovery workflows and any backup-era assumptions.
5. Verify license activation or paid-license migration immediately after first
   boot on upgraded systems.
6. Upgrade Unified Agents separately from the server. Moving the Pulse server
   to v6 does not by itself upgrade installed agents; after the server upgrade,
   use Settings → Infrastructure → Install on a host to generate the current
   install or upgrade command for each agent host, then confirm each agent
   reports its v6 version.

Operator References

• docs/UPGRADE_v6.md
• docs/releases/V6_CHANGELOG.md
• docs/PULSE_PRO.md

Installation

Docker (recommended):

docker pull rcourtman/pulse:6.0.0

Docker Compose:
Update your docker-compose.yml to use rcourtman/pulse:6.0.0

See the Installation Guide for complete setup instructions.

Paid Pulse Pro, Relay, and eligible legacy customers: public GitHub release assets and the public rcourtman/pulse Docker image are community builds. They do not include the private Pulse Pro runtime hooks. Use https://pulserelay.pro/download.html with your activation key to get the private Pulse Pro Docker image or Linux/LXC archive.

Promotion Metadata

• Promotion channel: stable
• Candidate stable tag: v6.0.0
• Promoted prerelease tag: v6.0.0-rc.7
• Rollback target: v5.1.35
• Rollback command: ./scripts/install.sh --version v5.1.35
• Planned GA date: 2026-07-04
• Planned v5 end-of-support date: 2026-10-02
• Hotfix exception: false