Nova DSO Tracker v5.0.0

[mrantonSG]

This is a major release featuring a complete architecture refactor and a comprehensive design system overhaul. Because of the scale of these changes, your feedback is especially valuable — if you encounter any issues, please report them so they can be addressed quickly.

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Architecture Refactor

The codebase has been reorganized from a monolithic structure into a modular package:

• nova/models.py — All SQLAlchemy models (DbUser, AstroObject, Location, Project, JournalSession, Component, Rig, etc.) are now in a dedicated module.
• nova/config.py — Constants, paths, and shared cache dictionaries are centralized here.
• nova/helpers.py — Shared utilities including database access, YAML I/O, and settings loading.
• nova/workers/ — Background daemon threads (weather, heatmap, updates) are now isolated in their own package.
• nova/blueprints/ — Blueprint stubs are in place for future route organization.

The entry point nova.py is now just 14 lines — it imports the app from the nova/ package. This refactor improves maintainability and makes future contributions easier.

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Design System & Dark Mode Overhaul

A new CSS design token system (static/css/tokens.css) provides consistent styling across the entire application:

• Typography scale — Standardized font sizes and line heights
• Spacing scale — Consistent margins and padding
• Shadow tokens — Unified elevation system
• Color tokens — Centralized color variables for both light and dark modes
• Interactive states — Button hover/active states, form validation styles

Dark mode has been completely overhauled with consistent theming across:

• Dashboard and object lists
• Charts and graphs (including month/year views)
• Configuration forms
• Modals and dialogs
• Journal and project pages

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Frontend Asset Modularization

JavaScript and CSS have been extracted from inline templates into dedicated files:

• static/js/ — Modular JS files (dashboard.js, graph_view.js, config_form.js, modal-manager.js, etc.)
• static/css/ — CSS files organized by feature (base.css, tokens.css, dashboard.css, etc.)

This improves browser caching, makes debugging easier, and keeps templates cleaner.

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Memory Management: Bounded Caches

A new BoundedCache class prevents unbounded memory growth during long uptimes:

• All internal caches (weather, moon separation, nightly curves, etc.) now have maximum sizes
• When a cache reaches its limit, the oldest 10% of entries are evicted
• This ensures the application remains stable during extended operation

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Bug Fixes

• Fixed modal scroll and focus behavior
• Fixed dark mode inconsistencies across multiple views
• Fixed shared tag and shared items UI issues
• Fixed heatmap data loading
• Fixed undefined alias tokens in graph_view.css

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For Developers

If you're running Nova from source:

• The import structure has changed — nova.py is now a thin entry point
• Workers use lazy imports to avoid circular dependencies
• The cache dictionaries are now BoundedCache instances (drop-in dict replacement)
• Blueprint decorators are applied, but route functions remain in nova/__init__.py for now (migration in progress)

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Upgrade Notes

• No database migration required — your existing instance/app.db will work as-is
• No configuration changes required — existing .env files remain compatible
• Docker users: pull the new image when available

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As mentioned, this was a substantial refactor. If you notice anything that doesn't work as expected, please open an issue on GitHub or reach out directly. Your feedback helps ensure a stable experience for everyone.

Thanks for using Nova DSO Tracker!

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This discussion was created from the release Nova DSO Tracker v5.0.0.