prepare-code-freeze

# Prepare Code Freeze ## Companion Guidance Use `update-project-version` for version semantics, `maintain-ci` if the freeze changes nightly or release-branch automation, `prepare-pr` before opening the PR, and `create-rc-tag` to create the initial release candidate. ## Workflow Assume `upstream` is the NVIDIA repository remote (`NVIDIA/NeMo-Fabric`) and `origin` is a maintainer's fork. 1. Confirm the target release version from `upstream/main:Cargo.toml`. Derive the release branch as `release/<major>.<minor>`. 2. Prompt for `<next-version>` if the user did not provide it. This is the version that `main` moves to after the release branch is cut. 3. Fetch the latest `main` and create the release branch from `upstream/main`: ```bash git fetch upstream main git branch release/<major>.<minor> upstream/main git push upstream release/<major>.<minor> ``` If the remote release branch already exists, verify it points where expected before continuing. 4. Create a PR branch from latest `upstream/main`, for example `chore/version-bump-<major>.<minor>`. 5. Run `just set-version <next-version>` to bump all release-versioned package surfaces on `main`. 6. Search documentation source for references to the old version and update current-version install commands, package examples, and configuration examples to `<next-version>` where appropriate: ```bash rg -n '<old-version>' README.md docs examples adapters \ --glob '!docs/reference/api/**' || true ``` Review matches before changing them. Leave intentional historical references alone, such as release notes, changelogs, generated build output, and third-party dependency attribution entries. 7. Validate with targeted checks: ```bash just set-version <next-version> cargo check --workspace --locked just build-all just wheels just --fmt --check rg -n '<old-version>' README.md docs examples adapters \ --glob '!docs/reference/api/**' || true git diff --check ``` Any remaining documentation matches for `<old-version>` should be intentional and called out in the PR description. 8. Open a PR targeting `main` using `.github/pull_request_template.md`. The PR must mention: - the new release branch - the nightly alpha branch config update - the `just set-version <next-version>` bump - documentation old-version reference updates or intentional leftovers - that release-bound PRs now target the new `release/*` branch - PR title should be: `chore: bump development version to <next-version>` 9. After the code-freeze workflow completes successfully, invoke `create-rc-tag` with the target release version from step 1 and `RC_NUM=1`. The version must correspond to `release/<major>.<minor>` (for example, pass `1.2.0` for `release/1.2`), not `<next-version>`. ## Guardrails - Do not create an RC tag for `<next-version>`; create RC 1 only for the target release version associated with `release/<major>.<minor>`. - Do not target the code-freeze PR at the release branch. It targets `main`. - Do not leave uncommitted user changes mixed into the code-freeze PR branch.