chore: bump version to 0.3.1

- Update package.json version
- Update artifacthub-pkg.yml version and archive URL
- Add PROJECT_ASSESSMENT.md for tracking improvements
- Add deployment/ directory with plugin loading fix documentation

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Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-Authored-By: Happy <yesreply@happy.engineering>

deployment/PLUGIN_LOADING_FIX.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# Headlamp Plugin Loading Issue - Root Cause and Fix
+
+## Problem
+Headlamp v0.39.0 was not loading plugins installed via the plugin manager. Plugins appeared in Settings → Plugins but:
+- No sidebar entries appeared
+- No plugin settings were available
+- Plugin JavaScript was not being executed in the browser
+
+## Root Cause
+When `config.watchPlugins: true` (the default), Headlamp treats catalog-managed plugins in `/headlamp/plugins/` as "development directory" plugins. This causes:
+- Backend serves plugin metadata correctly
+- Backend logs show "Treating catalog-installed plugin in development directory as user plugin"
+- **Frontend does NOT execute the plugin JavaScript**
+- Plugin registrations (`registerSidebarEntry`, `registerRoute`, etc.) never happen
+
+## Solution
+Set `config.watchPlugins: false` in the Headlamp HelmRelease values:
+
+```yaml
+spec:
+  values:
+    config:
+      watchPlugins: false
+    pluginsManager:
+      enabled: true
+      configContent: |
+        plugins:
+          - name: polaris
+            source: https://artifacthub.io/packages/headlamp/polaris/headlamp-polaris-plugin
+          # ... other plugins
+```
+
+## Why This Works
+With `watchPlugins: false`:
+- Headlamp no longer treats catalog-managed plugins as "development" plugins
+- Frontend properly loads and executes plugin JavaScript on startup
+- Plugin registrations happen correctly
+- All plugin features (sidebar, routes, settings, etc.) work as expected
+
+## Testing
+After applying this fix:
+1. Verify plugins are installed: `kubectl logs -n kube-system <headlamp-pod> -c headlamp-plugin`
+2. Verify watchPlugins is false: `kubectl logs -n kube-system <headlamp-pod> -c headlamp | grep "Watch Plugins"`
+3. Hard refresh browser (Cmd+Shift+R / Ctrl+Shift+F5) to clear cached JavaScript
+4. Verify plugin sidebar entries appear
+5. Verify plugin functionality works
+
+## Additional Notes
+- This appears to be a bug/limitation in Headlamp v0.39.0
+- The `watchPlugins` feature is intended for development scenarios where plugins are being actively modified
+- For production deployments with catalog-managed plugins, `watchPlugins: false` is the correct configuration
+- Once plugins are loaded, subsequent restarts or updates work correctly as long as `watchPlugins` remains false
+
+## References
+- Headlamp Helm Chart: https://github.com/headlamp-k8s/headlamp/tree/main/charts/headlamp
+- Plugin Manager: https://github.com/headlamp-k8s/headlamp/tree/main/plugins/headlamp-plugin
+- Issue discovered: 2026-02-11
+- Fix applied: 2026-02-12