Ballast 0.4.11-beta: clearer account data and a more readable dashboard

This invited beta update includes all changes since the last published build, 0.4.7-beta, through 0.4.11-beta. The intermediate 0.4.8, 0.4.9 and 0.4.10 builds were local review checkpoints. This page describes the final behavior in 0.4.11.

Finance: see supported data and its limits

Risk & Health restores color-coded indicators and health bars. Missing dividend research no longer hides supported account health, margin or stress-test information.
Margin calculations use the appropriate account collateral and handle zero or negative equity. Individual panels can recover independently after a failed request.
Account and holding results retain their own data coverage. Missing history for one equity no longer blanks unrelated equities or an entire account. Unavailable realized-gain history stays labeled unknown.
Dividends now has a full-width blended view, annual and monthly income columns, and the monthly dividend goal bar for eligible margin accounts. Blended yield includes all equity capital, including non-paying equities.
An explicit broker fundamental record reporting no current dividend is shown as zero projected income. Missing or malformed research remains unknown. This applies to every equity; paying a dividend is not required to appear in holdings.
The covered-call income research list sits at the bottom and starts collapsed. Selecting an existing opportunity alert opens the related research card. Research does not place a trade.

Dividend figures are projections based on available data, not guaranteed payments. Supported account values and partial research are displayed separately; this update cannot reconstruct broker history the provider has not supplied.

Trading Bot: collapse lists while keeping rows readable

Open positions, core sleeve, bot account holdings and other asset lists collapse as whole lists. Each asset keeps its information across a normal row. Decision log and recent orders can collapse. Performance measurements, allocation visuals and heatmaps stay visible, and important warnings remain outside collapsed content.

A guide that fits how you read

The Tutorial & guide is easier to find and opens during first use after Terms acceptance. Lessons remain selectable, with previous/next navigation and explicit completion.

In the alongside view, the guide has a smaller header and a larger chapter area. Drag the gold left edge to widen it while keeping the highlighted dashboard visible. Drag the chapter separator to change the navigation height. Keyboard controls and saved browser dimensions are supported. Changed lessons remain available for review.

Quieter startup

The windowless launcher and setup flow show progress without leaving a terminal over the dashboard. Setup includes retry, cancellation and duplicate-launch protection. Use the Ballast shortcut or Start Ballast.pyw; the legacy batch launcher may still briefly show a console. Existing startup preferences are retained.

Markets follows your selected crypto

Crypto Pulse is now below Policy Sentiment. Alongside BTC and ETH, it shows enabled crypto selected for trading in the displayed paper or live mode. Symbols and cached results stay scoped to that mode. Unavailable market data stays unavailable rather than showing another asset's data. The separate BTC/ETH macro signal is unchanged.

Update and review

Use System → Update in your existing installation, or visit the Ballast 0.4.11-beta download page with your existing invitation code. Each release email includes the recipient's valid saved code. An update prompt offers the new version; each tester chooses when to install.

The managed update preserves credentials, account state, paper/live settings, existing balances, startup preferences and STOP. It does not opt you into new trading settings. Review the upgrade guide and installation evidence before maintenance. After updating, check the version in the title/System tab and review the updated lessons.

For feedback, include the displayed version, page, expected result and actual result. Redact account identifiers and private values from screenshots. Reply to your release email or contact Ballast support.

Verification and remaining evidence

The release passed 1,334 Python tests with one existing environment skip and 23 JavaScript suites. The extracted signed artifact passed 369 checks; one maintainer-only check was deselected. Three upstream warnings were recorded. Synthetic browser checks covered the affected layouts. These checks have a defined scope and do not promise error-free operation.

The signed 0.4.11-beta archive and its hash-bound reviewer evidence are available through the beta page. Windows Authenticode enrollment, independent review and clean-device acceptance remain open; the update signature is a separate mechanism. Broader web hosting and Mac, iOS and Android versions remain planning topics, not features in this Windows release.

The release history retains the earlier version records. This cumulative publication brief supplements the original build notes without changing the signed archive.