Prepare Code Freeze

Use this skill when the user asks to start, prepare, or automate a NeMo Relay code freeze.

Companion Guidance

Use update-project-version for version bump semantics and prepare-pr before opening the PR.

Workflow

This workflow assumes upstream is the NVIDIA repository remote (NVIDIA/NeMo-Relay). The origin remote can be a maintainer's personal fork.

1. Confirm or infer the target release version from upstream/main:Cargo.toml.

Derive the release branch as release/<major>.<minor>.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. Create a PR branch from latest upstream/main, for example

docs/code-freeze-<major>.<minor>.

1. Update .github/nightly-alpha-branches.yaml to include the new release

branch.

1. Run just set-version <next-version> to bump all release-versioned package

surfaces on main. Regenerate the dynamic worker-plugin fixture lockfile so its path dependencies use the new workspace version:

``bash cargo generate-lockfile --manifest-path crates/core/tests/fixtures/worker_plugin/Cargo.toml ``

1. 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 fern --glob '!docs/_build/**' || 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 Leave intentional historical references alone, such as release notes, changelogs, generated build output, and third-party dependency attribution entries.

1. Validate with targeted checks:

``bash ruby -e 'require "yaml"; YAML.loadfile(".github/nightly-alpha-branches.yaml"); YAML.loadfile(".github/workflows/nightly-alpha-tag.yaml")' just set-version <next-version> cargo generate-lockfile --manifest-path crates/core/tests/fixtures/workerplugin/Cargo.toml cargo build --locked --manifest-path crates/core/tests/fixtures/workerplugin/Cargo.toml rg -n '<old-version>' README.md docs fern --glob '!docs/_build/**' || true git diff --check ``

Any remaining documentation matches for <old-version> should be intentional and called out in the PR description.

1. Open a PR targeting main using .github/pullrequesttemplate.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

Guardrails

• Do not create release tags. Code freeze only creates the branch and the main

PR.

• 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.