## Release range

- Previous release: `v0.0.114` at `ffb09d2596fb2658f8dff881d5e1e425dd1767d6`
- Candidate: `324a886fd05b01f6756bae0371ea503c651fbd11`
- Candidate selection: current-main
- Commits: 198
- Risky files detected: 571

## QA context

### Risky areas

- Sandbox / policy / SSRF
- Workflow / enforcement
- Installer / bootstrap
- Credentials / inference
- Onboarding / host glue

### Suggested test focus

- Fresh install and upgrade paths
- Onboarding wizard and sandbox creation
- Policy enforcement, network egress, and SSRF protections
- CI checks, pre-commit hooks, and DCO declarations
- Credential storage and inference provider routing

## Canonical release entry

- Path: `docs/changelog/2026-08-28.mdx`
- Entry:

## v0.0.115

NemoClaw v0.0.115 strengthens Portable Hermes recovery, sandbox lifecycle authority, managed messaging credentials, and installer recovery.
It also improves managed local inference and adds bounded experimental planning for an externally managed OpenShell target.

- Portable Hermes recovery now revalidates the exact receipt-owned Podman container, OpenShell gateway, executable, policy, route, and runtime identities before each operation.
  If recovery starts a stopped receipt-owned container and authenticated Hermes health remains unavailable, it launches the receipt-recorded `nemoclaw-start` command once and waits for authenticated health.
  If the container was already running, recovery only waits for authenticated health and does not launch another startup process.
  A failed recovery rolls back only the exact container that recovery started.
  Related changes: [PR #10315](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10315), [PR #10376](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10376), [PR #10441](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10441), [PR #10456](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10456), and [PR #10499](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10499).
- Stock Docker-driver onboarding for OpenClaw, Hermes, and LangChain Deep Agents Code now requires the release's exact managed image.
  Registry or catalog failures stop before sandbox creation instead of falling back to a local stock-image build; explicit custom Dockerfiles remain separate.
  Existing and recreated sandboxes retain exact image, policy, route-reservation, and lifecycle authority checks.
  Related changes: [PR #10113](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10113), [PR #10320](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10320), [PR #10321](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10321), [PR #10322](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10322), [PR #10332](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10332), [PR #10396](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10396), and [PR #10422](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10422).
- Messaging setup now binds revision-scoped credentials to canonical OpenShell providers before sandbox creation or rebuild.
  This restores runtime credential delivery for maintained Slack, Discord, Google Chat, and Telegram paths while preserving endpoint-specific policy matching and fail-closed provider ownership.
  Related changes: [PR #10170](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10170), [PR #10271](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10271), [PR #10273](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10273), [PR #10275](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10275), [PR #10277](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10277), [PR #10307](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10307), and [PR #10314](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10314).
- The Hermes installer accepts `--defer-onboarding` or `NEMOCLAW_DEFER_ONBOARDING=1` only for NVIDIA-hosted inference when no supported credential and no sandbox exist.
  It installs NemoClaw and Hermes without creating a provider, sandbox, or completed onboarding state; any credential or existing sandbox keeps the normal validation and recovery path.
  Related change: [PR #10299](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10299).
- The experimental managed llama.cpp path now offers NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B-A3B on qualified DGX Spark Arm64 and Linux x86_64 NVIDIA GPU hosts and recommends it during onboarding.
  Meta Muse Glimmer remains available on DGX Spark only by explicit selection, and existing Muse-owned installations are not migrated.
  Local NVIDIA NIM selection now enforces the documented usable-memory limit, including the DGX Spark unified-memory cap.
  Related changes: [PR #10122](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10122) and [PR #10292](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10292).
- `nemoclaw upgrade-sandboxes --check` now exits nonzero when it reports actionable stale, unknown-version, backup-recovery, or missing-sandbox state.
  Sandbox destruction and stale-container cleanup have bounded waits and preserve registry or lifecycle authority when deletion cannot be confirmed.
  Non-portable managed Hermes uninstall also removes its exact owned state volume and stops before state retirement on Docker failure.
  Related changes: [PR #10128](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10128), [PR #10133](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10133), and [PR #10224](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10224).
- The experimental direct blueprint runner can validate and sanitize a plan for an externally managed OpenShell target.
  Planning validates the HTTPS endpoint, workspace, expected release range, CA bundle, and authentication-file metadata without reading credential contents, connecting to the gateway, authenticating, or applying changes.
  Related change: [PR #10045](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10045).
- Security and diagnostics now reject config reads through a symlinked config directory, redact URL userinfo credentials in debug bundles, bind sandbox mutations and cancellation recovery to durable exact identity, and classify incomplete onboarding without reporting success.
  Related changes: [PR #10041](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10041), [PR #10127](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10127), [PR #10146](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10146), and [PR #10396](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10396).

## Documentation coverage

- Latest included cumulative docs PR: [#10055](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/pull/10055), merged 2026-08-28T03:21:03Z as `324a886fd05b01f6756bae0371ea503c651fbd11`; final PR commit `6f0dd20be3a732b913b7feb6a4bc62564f07b035`.
- Final PR commit and merge commit: `6f0dd20be3a732b913b7feb6a4bc62564f07b035` and `324a886fd05b01f6756bae0371ea503c651fbd11`.
- Final automated refresh coverage commit: `4e0e663a9a4cf6bac8df8972ea23dfc26ce3c309`.
- Later commits and merged PRs: none between the documentation merge and planned candidate.
- Changed paths: `docs/changelog/2026-08-23.mdx`, `docs/changelog/2026-08-28.mdx`, `docs/get-started/quickstart-hermes.mdx`, `docs/inference/choose-local-inference-server.mdx`, `docs/inference/set-up-llama-cpp.mdx`, `docs/manage-sandboxes/recover-rebuild-sandboxes.mdx`, and `docs/reference/commands.mdx`.
- Review and checks: approved human review; all required checks passed; independent documentation review passed; exact-head Advisor run [33138139204](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/actions/runs/33138139204) succeeded.
- Open managed docs PRs: none observed at decision time.
- Maintainer decision: Proceed with the candidate as shown.

## Base and managed image evidence

- Base-image candidate: `324a886fd05b01f6756bae0371ea503c651fbd11`
- Evidence: exact-candidate E2E run [33138704569](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/actions/runs/33138704569), successful `base-image-publication` job [98744468178](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/actions/runs/33138704569/job/98744468178), completed 2026-08-28T03:23:41Z.

## General E2E decision

- Displayed full run: [33111284865](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/actions/runs/33111284865), attempt 1; SHA `7409b8fcef5749fda938fcd09072bd50ba90fe73` (different from candidate); created and started 2026-08-27T20:01:28Z; last updated 2026-08-27T21:34:16Z; about 7h 46m old at inspection; completed with failure.
- Release qualification: failed, [job 98679841227](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/actions/runs/33111284865/job/98679841227), started 2026-08-27T21:33:35Z and completed 2026-08-27T21:33:42Z.
- Non-success results: OpenShell dev artifact; MCP bridge for Deep Agents, Hermes, and OpenClaw; Hermes GPU startup variants; Exact staging Brev Launchable; Shields recovery; Arm64 and x86-64 upgrade; Pi AMD64 and ARM64 candidates; OpenClaw rebuild; plus skipped non-selected jobs.
- Requested reruns: none.
- Maintainer choice: Proceed with the status as shown.

Exceptions: The newest full E2E run failed on a different commit; the maintainer is approving the release with some failing E2E tests after manual validation.