LCARdS 2026.04.13.1

A bit of a smaller release that fixes issues a couple frontend issues, and with a bit more focus on the backend/internals to help support future features/requests.

New Features

Elbow Card - Expanded Zone Definitions

Zone auto-calculation for elbow cards has been expanded with new configurations for L-corner (left and right) and open/contained presets. All standard zone names (vertical_bar, horizontal_bar, body, full, and layout-specific aliases like left_bar, right_bar) are now consistently defined across all elbow geometry variants. (#340)

Preview Features System

A new Preview Features toggle has been added to the LCARdS integration configuration (Settings → Devices & Services → LCARdS → Configure).

New features are already included in the release — opting-in with this setting will surface their configuration across the UI so you can control them. Without it, the features operate behind the scenes with established defaults - you simply won't see the settings. To see which features are currently behind the gate - check the Preview Features section of the About tab in the LCARdS Config Panel.

Why a gate instead of a dev build?
Preview features are functional and tested, but their config schema or UI may shift before they are promoted to stable. The gate lets you opt in knowing that small breaking changes could arrive in a subsequent release.

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Updates & Fixes

• Fix (Animations): while-condition lifecycle handling corrected — conditions now properly start/stop looping animations when the entity state changes without requiring a page reload. check_on_load now defaults to true, so a looping animation with a while condition activates immediately on card load if the condition is already met (#341)
• Update (Config Panel): The Storage tab is now only shown to HA admin users. Non-admin users no longer see the backend storage explorer.

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Preview Features

Per-Device & Per-User Settings

A new fully scoped-settings system for the backend is included in this release. This enables persistent storage with APIs for per-user/per-device settings. The first feature to utilize this new system is the Sound system.

Per-Device & Per-User Sound

Sound settings can be configured independently per browser session and per HA user. A wall-mounted kiosk can run at lower volume than a desktop; a specific user can disable sounds entirely without affecting anyone else. All of this is configurable centrally from the Config Panel — no need to make changes from the target device.

Users & Devices Management

Each browser/device receives a stable unique identity that persists across page reloads. Devices can be given friendly display names ("Kitchen Tablet", "Bedroom Tablet") for easy to use referencing.

A new Users & Devices tab appears in the LCARdS Config Panel that provides a central view of all registered devices and users with stored scoped settings, and provides the ability to manage their overrides without needing to be on the target device.

Targeted HA Services

All lcards.* HA services (alert modes, clear alert, reload page, log level) can now be targeted at specific devices or users rather than broadcasting to all sessions. Four targeting fields are supported:

• target_device_ids — target by device/browser UUID
• target_user_ids — target by HA user ID
• target_device_names — target by friendly device name (case-insensitive, resolved server-side)
• target_user_names — target by HA user display name (case-insensitive, resolved server-side)

Omitting all fields broadcasts to everyone — fully backward-compatible with existing automations.

Targeted Alert Modes

Alert modes (red/yellow/blue alert etc.) can now be triggered on individual devices or users without changing the global alert state. A red alert on the kitchen tablet doesn't affect any other screen, and clearing it stays local.

Full Changelog: 2026.04.11.2...2026.04.13.1