ci: build release artifacts in release workflows

Move release publishing away from tag-triggered CI artifact lookup by having release workflows verify main CI, build tagged artifacts in-run, and publish from those exact outputs. This cuts duplicate release work and keeps the release docs, assets, and wheel uploads tied to the same workflow execution.

Made-with: Cursor

Author: cpcloud

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/release_checklist.yml

@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ body:
         - label: "Finalize the doc update, including release notes (\"Note: Touching docstrings/type annotations in code is OK during code freeze, apply your best judgement!\")"
         - label: Update the docs for the new version
         - label: Create a public release tag
-        - label: Wait for the tag-triggered CI run to complete, and use that run ID for release workflows
+        - label: Confirm the tagged commit already has a green CI run on main, then run the release workflow for that tag
         - label: If any code change happens, rebuild the wheels from the new tag
         - label: Upload wheels to PyPI
         - label: Update the conda recipe & release conda packages

.github/RELEASE-core.md

@@ -108,16 +108,14 @@ git push origin cuda-core-v0.6.0
 
 ---
 
-## Wait for the tag-triggered CI run to complete
+## Verify the tagged commit already passed CI on `main`
 
-Pushing the tag triggers a CI run automatically. Monitor it in the
-**Actions** tab on GitHub.
+Before running release, confirm that the tagged commit already has a
+successful `CI` run on `main`. The release workflow now checks this as a
+preflight step, but it is still worth verifying up front.
 
-- **All CI tests should succeed.** If any fail, investigate and rerun as
-  needed.
-- Note the **run ID** of the successful tag-triggered run. The release
-  workflow can auto-detect it from the tag, but you can also provide it
-  explicitly.
+- **All CI tests on `main` should already be green.** If any fail, fix them
+  before tagging or release will be blocked.
 
 ---
 
@@ -129,9 +127,8 @@ publish to TestPyPI, then publish the same wheel set to PyPI.
 1. Go to **Actions > CI: Release** and run the workflow with:
    - **Component**: `cuda-core`
    - **The release git tag**: `cuda-core-v0.6.0`
-
-   The workflow automatically looks up the successful tag-triggered CI run
-   for the selected release tag.
+   The workflow builds the release artifacts directly from the selected tag
+   after verifying that the tagged commit already passed `CI` on `main`.
 
 2. Wait for the workflow to complete. It will:
    - publish the selected wheels to TestPyPI

.github/workflows/build-docs.yml

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ on:
         default: ""
         type: string
       run-id:
-        description: "The GHA run ID that generated validated artifacts"
+        description: "The workflow run ID that produced the artifacts to document"
         required: false
         default: ${{ github.run_id }}
         type: string
@@ -109,6 +109,7 @@ jobs:
           echo "CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACTS_DIR=$(realpath "$REPO_DIR/cuda_bindings/dist")" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
       - name: Download cuda-python build artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python' }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           name: cuda-python-wheel
@@ -117,11 +118,13 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Display structure of downloaded cuda-python artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python' }}
         run: |
           pwd
           ls -lahR .
 
       - name: Download cuda-pathfinder build artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-pathfinder' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python' }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           name: cuda-pathfinder-wheel
@@ -130,19 +133,20 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Display structure of downloaded cuda-pathfinder artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-pathfinder' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python' }}
         run: |
           pwd
           ls -lahR cuda_pathfinder
 
       - name: Download cuda.bindings build artifacts
-        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release }}
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release && (inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-bindings' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python') }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           name: ${{ env.CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACT_NAME }}
           path: ${{ env.CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACTS_DIR }}
 
       - name: Download cuda.bindings build artifacts
-        if: ${{ inputs.is-release }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.is-release && (inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-bindings' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python') }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           pattern: ${{ env.CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACT_NAME }}
@@ -152,19 +156,20 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Display structure of downloaded cuda.bindings artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-bindings' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' || inputs.component == 'cuda-python' }}
         run: |
           pwd
           ls -lahR $CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACTS_DIR
 
       - name: Download cuda.core build artifacts
-        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release }}
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release && (inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core') }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           name: ${{ env.CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACT_NAME }}
           path: ${{ env.CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACTS_DIR }}
 
       - name: Download cuda.core build artifacts
-        if: ${{ inputs.is-release }}
+        if: ${{ inputs.is-release && (inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core') }}
         uses: actions/download-artifact@70fc10c6e5e1ce46ad2ea6f2b72d43f7d47b13c3  # v8.0.0
         with:
           pattern: ${{ env.CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACT_NAME }}
@@ -174,25 +179,38 @@ jobs:
           github-token: ${{ github.token }}
 
       - name: Display structure of downloaded cuda.core build artifacts
+        if: ${{ !inputs.is-release || inputs.component == 'all' || inputs.component == 'cuda-core' }}
         run: |
           pwd
           ls -lahR $CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACTS_DIR
 
-      - name: Install all packages
+      - name: Install documentation packages
         run: |
-          pushd cuda_pathfinder
-          pip install *.whl
-          popd
+          shopt -s nullglob
 
-          pushd "${CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACTS_DIR}"
-          pip install *.whl
-          popd
+          pathfinder_wheels=(cuda_pathfinder/*.whl)
+          if (( ${#pathfinder_wheels[@]} > 0 )); then
+            pip install "${pathfinder_wheels[@]}"
+          elif [[ "${{ inputs.is-release }}" == "true" && "${{ inputs.component }}" == "all" ]]; then
+            pip install cuda-pathfinder
+          fi
 
-          pushd "${CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACTS_DIR}"
-          pip install *.whl
-          popd
+          bindings_wheels=("${CUDA_BINDINGS_ARTIFACTS_DIR}"/*.whl)
+          if (( ${#bindings_wheels[@]} > 0 )); then
+            pip install "${bindings_wheels[@]}"
+          fi
 
-          pip install cuda_python*.whl
+          core_wheels=("${CUDA_CORE_ARTIFACTS_DIR}"/*.whl)
+          if (( ${#core_wheels[@]} > 0 )); then
+            pip install "${core_wheels[@]}"
+          elif [[ "${{ inputs.is-release }}" == "true" && "${{ inputs.component }}" == "all" ]]; then
+            pip install cuda-core
+          fi
+
+          python_wheels=(cuda_python*.whl)
+          if (( ${#python_wheels[@]} > 0 )); then
+            pip install "${python_wheels[@]}"
+          fi
 
       # This step sets the PR_NUMBER/BUILD_LATEST/BUILD_PREVIEW env vars.
       - name: Get PR number