homeassistant: cover the secret reference, document the content gap

Home Assistant reads configuration.yaml, http-config.yaml and
recorder-config.yaml from a 1Password-backed Secret, mounted with subPath.
Two different gaps hide behind that, and only one of them can be closed.

Repointing secrets.configSecretRef at a different vault item used to leave the
running pod on the old configuration. That is now covered: the pod template
carries checksum/secret-ref over the rendered OnePasswordItem. The annotation
is named apart from checksum/config on purpose - it only promises that the
config source changed, not the config itself - matching the pattern
minecraft-server introduced.

Changing the CONTENT of the item in the vault still does not restart anything,
and cannot: Helm never sees the content, so there is nothing to hash. The
operator's own auto-restart annotation is no way out either - onepassword-
operator 1.12.0 enumerates exactly one workload type in its secret-update
handler (appsv1.DeploymentList) and this workload is a StatefulSet, so the
annotation would be a silent no-op advertising a guarantee it cannot keep. It
is deliberately not set. values.yaml states the limitation and the manual
rollout restart it requires; the README guideline records the operator finding,
the annotation precedence trap, and the checksum/secret-ref pattern so neither
is rediscovered the hard way.

Major bump: runtime behavior changes - changing the secret reference now costs
a restart. For this release the effect is preventive, since it currently runs
at zero replicas via scaleDown.

README.md

@@ -141,6 +141,15 @@ These guidelines are **binding for every current and future chart** in this repo
 - **The annotation is content-based, not time-based**: the hash is taken over the rendered ConfigMap, so an unchanged config renders an identical hash and `helm upgrade` is a no-op. It never degenerates into a restart-on-every-upgrade.
 - Adding the annotation to an existing chart is a **major** bump (§2): runtime behavior changes — a config change now costs a restart. Name that cost in the PR (some workloads take minutes to come back).
 - **Secrets from `OnePasswordItem` cannot use this mechanism.** Helm never sees their content — the 1Password operator fills the Secret in-cluster after rendering, so there is nothing to hash. A chart that mounts such a Secret as a file documents the limitation in its `values.yaml` where it cannot close the gap.
+- **What *can* be covered is the secret's `op://` path**, via a **separately named** `checksum/secret-ref` annotation over the rendered `OnePasswordItem`:
+
+  ```yaml
+  checksum/secret-ref: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/<chart>.secret.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
+  ```
+
+  Repointing `secrets.<name>SecretRef` at a different vault item then takes effect instead of silently leaving the old credentials in the running pod. The separate name is deliberate: `checksum/config` promises "the config changed", `checksum/secret-ref` only "the config *source* changed" — merging them into one annotation would overstate the weaker guarantee. Reference implementations: `minecraft-server`, `homeassistant`.
+- **`operator.1password.io/auto-restart` only works for Deployments — do not set it on a StatefulSet.** Verified against onepassword-operator **1.12.0** (`pkg/onepassword/secret_update_handler.go`): `restartWorkloadsWithUpdatedSecrets` enumerates exactly one workload type, `appsv1.DeploymentList`, and `getPodTemplate` accepts only `*appsv1.Deployment`. The RBAC role grants `statefulsets`, and v1.11.0 generalized the restart code (`restartWorkload`, pod-template stamping via `operator.1password.io/last-restarted`), but the PR that would add StatefulSets is still open — so the annotation on a StatefulSet is a silent no-op. Setting it there is **worse than not setting it**: it advertises a guarantee that does not exist. Affected charts (`matrix-synapse`, `samba`, `homeassistant`) instead document the manual `kubectl rollout restart statefulset <release>-<chart>-sfs`. Re-check this when the operator version is bumped; a Deployment-based chart may set the annotation.
+- If a Deployment-based chart ever does set it, mind the precedence: the annotation on the **`OnePasswordItem`** is copied onto the Kubernetes Secret and read first, so a `false` there **overrides** a `true` on the workload — the opposite of what the operator's usage guide suggests. Lookup order is Secret (from the `OnePasswordItem`) → workload → namespace → the operator-global `AUTO_RESTART` env var. The trigger is the 1Password item's **version counter**, not its content, so a re-save with identical values still restarts.
 
 ### 10. Environment variables
 

homeassistant/Chart.yaml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description: A Helm chart to deploy Home Assistant on Kubernetes
 icon: https://www.home-assistant.io/images/home-assistant-logo.svg
 type: application
 
-version: 4.2.0+up2026.8.3
+version: 5.0.0+up2026.8.3
 
 appVersion: "2026.8.3"
 

homeassistant/templates/homeassistant.sfs.yaml

@@ -15,6 +15,18 @@ spec:
       labels:
         app: "{{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Chart.Name }}"
       name: "{{ .Release.Name }}-{{ .Chart.Name }}-sfs"
+      annotations:
+        # Deliberately NOT a hash of the secret's content: the Kubernetes Secret
+        # is materialized by the 1Password operator, so Helm never sees what is
+        # in it. This hash covers the rendered OnePasswordItem, i.e. the op://
+        # item path - repointing secrets.configSecretRef at a different item now
+        # takes effect instead of silently leaving the old configuration in the
+        # running pod. A change of the item's CONTENT inside the vault is not
+        # covered; see the comment on secrets in values.yaml for why that gap
+        # cannot be closed here and what it means operationally.
+        # The name differs from checksum/config on purpose - that one promises
+        # "the config changed", this one only "the config source changed".
+        checksum/secret-ref: {{ include (print $.Template.BasePath "/homeassistant-core-config.secret.yaml") . | sha256sum }}
     spec:
       automountServiceAccountToken: false
       securityContext:

homeassistant/values.yaml

@@ -122,5 +122,32 @@ core:
 # - config
 # - http-config
 # - recorder-config
+#
+# Changing the op:// path below IS covered: the StatefulSet carries a
+# checksum/secret-ref annotation over the rendered OnePasswordItem, so pointing
+# this value at a different vault item restarts the pod.
+#
+# Known limitation (#82): changing the CONTENT of that item in the vault does
+# NOT restart Home Assistant. The operator updates the Kubernetes Secret, but
+# the running pod keeps the old files - they are mounted with subPath, which the
+# kubelet never refreshes, and Home Assistant reads its configuration only at
+# start. The change then takes effect at some unrelated later restart, possibly
+# months afterwards, and a broken value surfaces long after the edit that caused
+# it. That is especially likely for this release, which is currently kept at
+# zero replicas via scaleDown: whoever brings it back up gets whatever the vault
+# holds at that moment.
+#
+# The checksum/config mechanism the other charts use cannot close this gap:
+# Helm never sees the content (the operator fills the Secret in-cluster after
+# rendering), so there is nothing to hash. The operator's own
+# "operator.1password.io/auto-restart" annotation does not close it either - it
+# only ever restarts Deployments, never StatefulSets. Verified against
+# onepassword-operator 1.12.0: pkg/onepassword/secret_update_handler.go lists
+# exactly one workload type (appsv1.DeploymentList), and the PR adding
+# StatefulSets is still open. Setting the annotation here would look like a fix
+# and do nothing, so this chart deliberately does not set it.
+#
+# After changing the item, restart Home Assistant by hand:
+#   kubectl rollout restart statefulset <release>-homeassistant-sfs
 secrets:
   configSecretRef: null