feat: add release notes overlay with Markdown rendering

- Replace truncated plaintext release notes with full-screen overlay
  rendered via `marked` library
- Server reconnection does a hard page reload instead of custom event

.gitea/workflows/release.yml

@@ -12,6 +12,9 @@ jobs:
     outputs:
       release_id: ${{ steps.create.outputs.release_id }}
     steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
       - name: Create Gitea release
         id: create
         env:
@@ -30,12 +33,31 @@ jobs:
           REPO=$(echo "${{ gitea.repository }}" | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
           DOCKER_IMAGE="${SERVER_HOST}/${REPO}"
 
+          # Scan for RELEASE_NOTES.md (check repo root first, then recursively)
+          NOTES_FILE=$(find . -maxdepth 3 -name "RELEASE_NOTES.md" -type f | head -1)
+          if [ -n "$NOTES_FILE" ]; then
+            export RELEASE_NOTES=$(cat "$NOTES_FILE")
+            echo "Found release notes: $NOTES_FILE"
+          else
+            export RELEASE_NOTES=""
+            echo "No RELEASE_NOTES.md found"
+          fi
+
           # Build release body via Python to avoid YAML escaping issues
           BODY_JSON=$(python3 -c "
-          import json, sys
+          import json, sys, os, textwrap
+
           tag = '$TAG'
           image = '$DOCKER_IMAGE'
-          body = f'''## Downloads
+          release_notes = os.environ.get('RELEASE_NOTES', '')
+
+          sections = []
+
+          if release_notes.strip():
+              sections.append(release_notes.strip())
+
+          sections.append(textwrap.dedent(f'''
+          ## Downloads
 
           | Platform | File | Description |
           |----------|------|-------------|
@@ -58,9 +80,9 @@ jobs:
           1. Change the default API key in config/default_config.yaml
           2. Open http://localhost:8080 and discover your WLED devices
           3. See INSTALLATION.md for detailed configuration
-          '''
+          ''').strip())
-          import textwrap
+
-          print(json.dumps(textwrap.dedent(body).strip()))
+          print(json.dumps('\n\n'.join(sections)))
           ")
 
           RELEASE=$(curl -s -X POST "$BASE_URL/releases" \

server/package-lock.json

@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@
       "license": "ISC",
       "dependencies": {
         "chart.js": "^4.5.1",
-        "elkjs": "^0.11.1"
+        "elkjs": "^0.11.1",
+        "marked": "^17.0.5"
       },
       "devDependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.27.4",
@@ -495,6 +496,17 @@
         "@esbuild/win32-x64": "0.27.4"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/marked": {
+      "version": "17.0.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/marked/-/marked-17.0.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6hLvc0/JEbRjRgzI6wnT2P1XuM1/RrrDEX0kPt0N7jGm1133g6X7DlxFasUIx+72aKAr904GTxhSLDrd5DIlZg==",
+      "bin": {
+        "marked": "bin/marked.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">= 20"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/typescript": {
       "version": "5.9.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript/-/typescript-5.9.3.tgz",
@@ -744,6 +756,11 @@
         "@esbuild/win32-x64": "0.27.4"
       }
     },
+    "marked": {
+      "version": "17.0.5",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/marked/-/marked-17.0.5.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-6hLvc0/JEbRjRgzI6wnT2P1XuM1/RrrDEX0kPt0N7jGm1133g6X7DlxFasUIx+72aKAr904GTxhSLDrd5DIlZg=="
+    },
     "typescript": {
       "version": "5.9.3",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/typescript/-/typescript-5.9.3.tgz",

server/package.json

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
   },
   "dependencies": {
     "chart.js": "^4.5.1",
-    "elkjs": "^0.11.1"
+    "elkjs": "^0.11.1",
+    "marked": "^17.0.5"
   }
 }

server/src/wled_controller/static/css/modal.css

@@ -448,6 +448,79 @@
     min-height: 0;
 }
 
+/* ── Release notes content ─────────────────────────────────── */
+
+.release-notes-content {
+    flex: 1;
+    overflow-y: auto;
+    padding: 1rem 1.5rem;
+    font-size: 0.9rem;
+    line-height: 1.6;
+    color: var(--text-color);
+    background: var(--bg-secondary);
+    border-radius: 8px;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content h2,
+.release-notes-content h3,
+.release-notes-content h4 {
+    margin: 1.2em 0 0.4em;
+    color: var(--text-color);
+}
+
+.release-notes-content h2 { font-size: 1.2rem; }
+.release-notes-content h3 { font-size: 1.05rem; }
+.release-notes-content h4 { font-size: 0.95rem; }
+
+.release-notes-content pre {
+    background: #0d0d0d;
+    color: #d4d4d4;
+    padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
+    border-radius: 6px;
+    overflow-x: auto;
+    font-size: 0.82rem;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content code {
+    background: var(--bg-tertiary, #2a2a2a);
+    padding: 0.15em 0.4em;
+    border-radius: 3px;
+    font-size: 0.88em;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content pre code {
+    background: none;
+    padding: 0;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content a {
+    color: var(--primary-color);
+}
+
+.release-notes-content hr {
+    border: none;
+    border-top: 1px solid var(--border-color);
+    margin: 1rem 0;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content table {
+    width: 100%;
+    border-collapse: collapse;
+    margin: 0.5rem 0;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content th,
+.release-notes-content td {
+    border: 1px solid var(--border-color);
+    padding: 0.4rem 0.6rem;
+    text-align: left;
+    font-size: 0.85rem;
+}
+
+.release-notes-content th {
+    background: var(--bg-tertiary, #2a2a2a);
+}
+
 /* ── Log viewer base ───────────────────────────────────────── */
 
 .log-viewer-output {

server/src/wled_controller/static/js/app.ts

@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ import {
     loadUpdateStatus, initUpdateListener, checkForUpdates,
     loadUpdateSettings, saveUpdateSettings, dismissUpdate,
     initUpdateSettingsPanel, applyUpdate,
+    openReleaseNotes, closeReleaseNotes,
 } from './features/update.ts';
 
 // ─── Register all HTML onclick / onchange / onfocus globals ───
@@ -572,6 +573,8 @@ Object.assign(window, {
     dismissUpdate,
     initUpdateSettingsPanel,
     applyUpdate,
+    openReleaseNotes,
+    closeReleaseNotes,
 
     // appearance
     applyStylePreset,

server/src/wled_controller/static/js/core/api.ts

@@ -228,8 +228,9 @@ export async function loadServerInfo() {
         const wasOffline = _serverOnline === false;
         _setConnectionState(true);
         if (wasOffline) {
-            // Server came back — reload data
+            // Server came back — hard reload to ensure fresh data
-            window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('server:reconnected'));
+            location.reload();
+            return;
         }
 
         // Auth mode detection

server/src/wled_controller/static/js/features/update.ts

@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ interface UpdateStatus {
 }
 
 let _lastStatus: UpdateStatus | null = null;
+let _releaseNotesBody = '';
 
 // ─── Version badge highlight ────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -383,18 +384,33 @@ function _renderUpdatePanel(status: UpdateStatus): void {
         progressBar.parentElement!.style.display = show ? '' : 'none';
     }
 
-    // Release notes preview
+    // Release notes button visibility
-    const notesEl = document.getElementById('update-release-notes');
+    const notesGroup = document.getElementById('update-release-notes-group');
-    if (notesEl) {
+    if (notesGroup) {
         if (status.has_update && status.release && status.release.body) {
-            const truncated = status.release.body.length > 500
+            _releaseNotesBody = status.release.body;
-                ? status.release.body.slice(0, 500) + '...'
+            notesGroup.style.display = '';
-                : status.release.body;
-            notesEl.textContent = truncated;
-            notesEl.parentElement!.style.display = '';
         } else {
-            notesEl.textContent = '';
+            _releaseNotesBody = '';
-            notesEl.parentElement!.style.display = 'none';
+            notesGroup.style.display = 'none';
         }
     }
 }
+
+// ─── Release Notes Overlay ─────────────────────────────────
+
+export function openReleaseNotes(): void {
+    const overlay = document.getElementById('release-notes-overlay');
+    const content = document.getElementById('release-notes-content');
+    if (overlay && content) {
+        import('marked').then(({ marked }) => {
+            content.innerHTML = marked.parse(_releaseNotesBody) as string;
+            overlay.style.display = 'flex';
+        });
+    }
+}
+
+export function closeReleaseNotes(): void {
+    const overlay = document.getElementById('release-notes-overlay');
+    if (overlay) overlay.style.display = 'none';
+}

server/src/wled_controller/static/locales/en.json

@@ -1931,6 +1931,7 @@
     "update.last_check": "Last check",
     "update.never": "never",
     "update.release_notes": "Release Notes",
+    "update.view_release_notes": "View Release Notes",
     "update.auto_check_label": "Auto-Check Settings",
     "update.auto_check_hint": "Periodically check for new releases in the background.",
     "update.enable": "Enable auto-check",

server/src/wled_controller/static/locales/ru.json

@@ -1860,6 +1860,7 @@
     "update.last_check": "Последняя проверка",
     "update.never": "никогда",
     "update.release_notes": "Примечания к релизу",
+    "update.view_release_notes": "Открыть примечания к релизу",
     "update.auto_check_label": "Автоматическая проверка",
     "update.auto_check_hint": "Периодически проверять наличие новых версий в фоновом режиме.",
     "update.enable": "Включить автопроверку",

server/src/wled_controller/static/locales/zh.json

@@ -1858,6 +1858,7 @@
     "update.last_check": "上次检查",
     "update.never": "从未",
     "update.release_notes": "发布说明",
+    "update.view_release_notes": "查看发布说明",
     "update.auto_check_label": "自动检查设置",
     "update.auto_check_hint": "在后台定期检查新版本。",
     "update.enable": "启用自动检查",

server/src/wled_controller/templates/modals/settings.html

@@ -239,12 +239,9 @@
                     </div>
                 </div>
 
-                <!-- Release notes preview -->
+                <!-- Release notes button -->
-                <div class="form-group" style="display:none">
+                <div class="form-group" id="update-release-notes-group" style="display:none">
-                    <div class="label-row">
+                    <button class="btn btn-secondary" onclick="openReleaseNotes()" style="width:100%" data-i18n="update.view_release_notes">View Release Notes</button>
-                        <label data-i18n="update.release_notes">Release Notes</label>
-                    </div>
-                    <pre id="update-release-notes" style="max-height:200px;overflow-y:auto;font-size:0.82rem;white-space:pre-wrap;word-break:break-word;padding:0.5rem;background:var(--bg-secondary);border-radius:var(--radius-sm);border:1px solid var(--border-color);"></pre>
                 </div>
 
                 <!-- Settings -->
@@ -309,3 +306,12 @@
     </div>
     <pre id="log-viewer-output" class="log-viewer-output"></pre>
 </div>
+
+<!-- Release Notes Overlay (full-screen, same pattern as log overlay) -->
+<div id="release-notes-overlay" class="log-overlay" style="display:none;">
+    <button class="log-overlay-close" onclick="closeReleaseNotes()" title="Close" data-i18n-aria-label="aria.close">&#x2715;</button>
+    <div class="log-overlay-toolbar">
+        <h3 data-i18n="update.release_notes">Release Notes</h3>
+    </div>
+    <div id="release-notes-content" class="release-notes-content"></div>
+</div>