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Removed pypvs Dependency - Direct Varserver Client

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@smcneece smcneece released this 04 Mar 15:31
v2026.03.1
e4f0693

Release Date: March 2026
Type: Technical improvement / Bug fix

What's New

Fixed (hopefully): Inverters Disappear After Nighttime Restart

If Home Assistant restarted at night while inverters were offline, inverters would never populate in the morning - requiring another manual restart during daylight hours to recover. This has been fixed.

Root cause: The pypvs library has a probe() function that runs once at startup to discover which devices are present. If inverters are offline when probe() runs (nighttime restart), it permanently marks them as not available and never re-checks. This was filed as an issue with the pypvs project in January 2026 with no response.

The fix: Replaced the pypvs library with a direct implementation of the PVS varserver HTTP API. The new client queries inverters on every poll cycle and handles an empty response gracefully - no permanent state, no probe() step. Inverters populate automatically at sunrise regardless of when HA last restarted.

Removed: pypvs External Dependency

The integration no longer requires the pypvs library. This eliminates a third-party dependency that appeared to be abandoned (open issues unacknowledged for 6+ weeks as of this release).

The varserver API is simple and well-documented. The new varserver_client.py implements it directly in ~380 lines: authenticate, query devices, return data. Same functionality, no external dependency.

Impact on users: None visible. All sensor data, battery controls, and entity names are unchanged. The only difference is inverters now recover automatically after a nighttime restart.

UI Improvement: Configure Page Hint Text (Issue #53)

Added hint text to the Configure page so users know to submit the first page to reach Notification & Advanced settings. Previously the settings page existed but users couldn't easily find it and had to edit config files directly.

Documentation Updates

  • README: Clarified Raspberry Pi bridge/proxy guidance for new firmware users -- updated messaging to lead with "no bridge needed, PVS connects directly over WiFi"
  • README: Added IP reservation reminder to WiFi WAN connection instructions
  • TROUBLESHOOTING.md: Added "Old Firmware Only" callout to PVS USB Power section so new firmware users aren't confused by Raspberry Pi hardware guidance that doesn't apply to them
  • TROUBLESHOOTING.md: Clarified that RPi proxies are not compatible with new firmware while VLAN/LAN port setups still work

Upgrade Instructions

  • HACS Users: Standard HACS update process
  • Manual Install: Copy files and restart Home Assistant

No configuration changes required. No breaking changes. All existing entity history is preserved.

Note: The pypvs package will remain in your HA Python environment but is no longer used and will not be updated. It is small and harmless to leave in place. If you want to remove it, SSH into your HA instance and run pip uninstall pypvs, then restart Home Assistant.

For detailed documentation, see the README and TROUBLESHOOTING guides.

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