🚀 Virtual v0.10.0-alpha.3 — Virtual Camera Platform & Live HLS Streaming

⚠️ Alpha Release & Community Testing Notice

Virtual v0.10 is an active alpha pre-release.

If you encounter any bugs, regressions, or configuration issues, please open a GitHub issue with your configuration snippet and debug logs.

(Legacy v0.9 documentation is archived in README_v9.md).

🌟 What's New in v0.10.0-alpha.3

1. New Virtual Platform: camera (Camera)

Adds support for virtual security and CCTV cameras to test dashboard Picture Entity Cards, camera proxy streaming, automations, and live video feeds:

• Picture Entity Card Support (async_camera_image):
  • Configure image_url with remote HTTP/HTTPS URLs or local file paths (e.g. /local/camera.jpg or paths within the Home Assistant config directory).
  • Automatically negotiates content type (image/jpeg vs image/png) based on headers or file extensions.
  • Path traversal protection to ensure local file access resides strictly within the Home Assistant configuration directory.
  • Built-in embedded offline JPEG fallback placeholder so picture cards never display broken image icons.
• Live Stream Support (stream_source):
  • Defaults out-of-the-box to the public Mux Big Buck Bunny HLS test stream (https://test-streams.mux.dev/x36xhzz/x36xhzz.m3u8), allowing instant live video testing without needing physical cameras or complex RTSP servers.
  • Supports custom HLS (.m3u8), RTSP, or HTTP/MP4 streams.
  • Automatically enables CameraEntityFeature.STREAM; setting stream_url to none or "" cleanly disables streaming for snapshot-only mode.
• Power Controls (CameraEntityFeature.ON_OFF):
  • Full support for camera.turn_on and camera.turn_off.
• Dynamic Services:
  • virtual.set_image_url: Dynamically change snapshot URL or local file path in automations.
  • virtual.set_stream_url: Dynamically change live stream feed URL.

Front Porch:
  - platform: camera
    name: Front Porch Camera
    image_url: "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1518770660439-4636190af475?auto=format&fit=crop&w=640"
    stream_url: "https://test-streams.mux.dev/x36xhzz/x36xhzz.m3u8"

2. Virtual Device Editor Updates

• Added camera platform support (expanding the editor to all 17 supported platforms).
• Added the Security Camera pre-configured device template for one-click setup.
• Added visual form controls for image_url and stream_url.