From 4ff35a69a1f7b3d9b63241ef23215f38585c6022 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: John Pettitt <j@p.tt>
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:46:24 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Hide a null attribute with hide_unavailable (#452)

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Reviewed-by: John Pettitt @jpettitt
---
 CHANGELOG.md      |  1 +
 README.md         |  2 ++
 src/index.test.js | 17 +++++++++++++++++
 src/util.js       |  4 +++-
 src/util.test.js  | 11 +++++++++++
 5 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1e0d02b..dc8b9c4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 **Fixed:**
 - Templates in the row's own `tap_action` / `hold_action` / `double_tap_action` (e.g. a templated `navigation_path`) were passed raw to Home Assistant when tapping the row's icon or name, so navigation went to the literal Jinja. Only the main state value and additional entities resolved them (#460)
+- `hide_unavailable` with an `attribute` now also hides when the attribute is `null`, the way integrations report "not set" - it showed as Unknown (or blank with a timestamp `format`) instead of hiding (#452)
 
 ## 4.12.0
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a1babe4..89686bf 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -247,6 +247,8 @@ For example, only show the alarm exit-state sensor while the alarm is armed:
 
 `hide_if` and `hide_unavailable` at the top level hide the main entity's state value (the row itself stays visible); `default` is shown in its place when set.
 
+With an `attribute` set, `hide_unavailable` also hides when that attribute is missing or `null` (which HA shows as Unknown); an empty list or string still shows.
+
 ### Templating
 
 Display options accept Jinja **templates**, rendered by Home Assistant server-side and updated live whenever the entities they reference change. Any supported option whose value contains `{{ }}` or `{% %}` is treated as a template: `name`, `icon`, `icon_color`, `color`, `secondary_info` text, `hide_if`, a `template` option that replaces the displayed value entirely, any `styles` value, and any value inside `tap_action`/`hold_action`/`double_tap_action`. The `entity` variable holds the owning entity's id, and `vars` lets you name values reused across a row.
diff --git a/src/index.test.js b/src/index.test.js
index 65edeff..2eb2793 100644
--- a/src/index.test.js
+++ b/src/index.test.js
@@ -898,6 +898,23 @@ describe('multiple-entity-row', () => {
         expect(row.config.secondary_info).toBeUndefined();
     });
 
+    // The #452 follow-up: a null attribute rendered "Open: Unknown" instead of hiding.
+    it('hides an object-form secondary_info whose attribute is null', async () => {
+        el.setConfig({
+            entity: 'binary_sensor.windows',
+            secondary_info: { attribute: 'open_windows', name: 'Open:', hide_unavailable: true },
+        });
+        el.hass = buildHass({
+            'binary_sensor.windows': {
+                entity_id: 'binary_sensor.windows',
+                state: 'off',
+                attributes: { open_windows: null },
+            },
+        });
+        await flushRender(el);
+        expect(el.shadowRoot.querySelector('hui-generic-entity-row').secondaryText).toBeFalsy();
+    });
+
     // Generic keywords are the one secondary_info HA renders natively - those must keep
     // passing through, with no secondaryText override.
     it('passes a generic secondary_info keyword through to the row config', async () => {
diff --git a/src/util.js b/src/util.js
index b949720..0c8fbd6 100644
--- a/src/util.js
+++ b/src/util.js
@@ -21,12 +21,14 @@ export const fireEvent = (node, type, detail) => {
 
 export const isUnavailable = (stateObj) => !stateObj || UNAVAILABLE_STATES.includes(stateObj.state);
 
+// A null attribute counts as missing: integrations report "not set" that way, and HA displays it
+// as Unknown (#452). An empty list or string is a real value and stays visible.
 export const hideUnavailable = (stateObj, config) =>
     config.hide_unavailable &&
     (isUnavailable(stateObj) ||
         (config.attribute &&
             ![LAST_CHANGED, LAST_UPDATED].includes(config.attribute) &&
-            stateObj.attributes[config.attribute] === undefined));
+            stateObj.attributes[config.attribute] == null));
 
 export const hideIf = (stateObj, config, hass) => {
     if (hideUnavailable(stateObj, config)) {
diff --git a/src/util.test.js b/src/util.test.js
index 0c78697..6102a6e 100644
--- a/src/util.test.js
+++ b/src/util.test.js
@@ -74,6 +74,17 @@ describe('hideUnavailable', () => {
         const stateObj = { state: 'on', attributes: { brightness: 100 } };
         expect(hideUnavailable(stateObj, { hide_unavailable: true, attribute: 'brightness' })).toBe(false);
     });
+
+    // #452: integrations report an unset attribute as null, which HA displays as Unknown.
+    it('is true when the configured attribute is null', () => {
+        const stateObj = { state: 'off', attributes: { open_windows: null } };
+        expect(hideUnavailable(stateObj, { hide_unavailable: true, attribute: 'open_windows' })).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it.each([[[]], [''], [0], [false]])('is false for the present but empty-ish attribute %j', (value) => {
+        const stateObj = { state: 'off', attributes: { open_windows: value } };
+        expect(hideUnavailable(stateObj, { hide_unavailable: true, attribute: 'open_windows' })).toBe(false);
+    });
 });
 
 describe('hideIf', () => {