[CI] Reorganize release pipeline: separate nightly vs release sections

Reorder the pipeline into clear sections for readability:

1. Build Python Wheels (always runs)
2. ROCm Wheel Pipeline (always runs)
3. Nightly Docker Images (NIGHTLY=1 only) - CUDA/Ubuntu builds,
   multi-arch manifests, DockerHub publish, ROCm image + publish
4. Release (manual) - version input, PyPI upload, CPU image builds,
   ROCm root index

Key changes:
- Extract CPU image builds (manual/blocked) from nightly-gated group
  into their own "Build release CPU Docker images" group so they remain
  available for actual releases without NIGHTLY=1
- Move ROCm wheel jobs (1-4) up next to CUDA wheel builds
- Remove redundant per-step NIGHTLY gates inside already-gated groups
- Rename groups: "Build release Docker images" -> "Build nightly Docker
  images", "Publish release images" -> "Publish nightly images"

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

.buildkite/release-pipeline.yaml

@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 steps:
-  - input: "Provide Release version here"
+  # =============================================================================
-    id: input-release-version
+  # Build Python Wheels (runs on every pipeline trigger)
-    fields:
+  # =============================================================================
-      - text: "What is the release version?"
-        key: release-version
 
   - group: "Build Python wheels"
     key: "build-wheels"
@@ -98,8 +96,257 @@ steps:
     commands:
       - "bash .buildkite/scripts/generate-and-upload-nightly-index.sh"
 
-  - group: "Build release Docker images"
+  # =============================================================================
+  # ROCm Wheel Pipeline (runs on every pipeline trigger)
+  # =============================================================================
+
+  # ROCm Job 1: Build ROCm Base Wheels (with S3 caching)
+  - label: ":rocm: Build ROCm Base Image & Wheels"
+    id: build-rocm-base-wheels
+    depends_on: ~
+    agents:
+      queue: cpu_queue_release
+    commands:
+      - |
+        set -euo pipefail
+
+        # Generate cache key
+        CACHE_KEY=$$(.buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh key)
+        ECR_CACHE_TAG="public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$${CACHE_KEY}-rocm-base"
+
+        echo "========================================"
+        echo "ROCm Base Build Configuration"
+        echo "========================================"
+        echo "  CACHE_KEY: $${CACHE_KEY}"
+        echo "  ECR_CACHE_TAG: $${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
+        echo "========================================"
+
+        # Login to ECR
+        aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | \
+          docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7
+
+        IMAGE_EXISTS=false
+        WHEELS_EXIST=false
+
+        # Check ECR for Docker image
+
+        if docker manifest inspect "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+          IMAGE_EXISTS=true
+          echo "ECR image cache HIT"
+        fi
+
+        # Check S3 for wheels
+        WHEEL_CACHE_STATUS=$(.buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh check)
+        if [ "$${WHEEL_CACHE_STATUS}" = "hit" ]; then
+          WHEELS_EXIST=true
+          echo "S3 wheels cache HIT"
+        fi
+
+
+        # Scenario 1: Both cached (best case)
+        if [ "$${IMAGE_EXISTS}" = "true" ] && [ "$${WHEELS_EXIST}" = "true" ]; then
+          echo ""
+          echo "FULL CACHE HIT - Reusing both image and wheels"
+          echo ""
+
+          # Download wheels
+          .buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh download
+
+          # Save ECR tag for downstream jobs
+          buildkite-agent meta-data set "rocm-base-image-tag" "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
+
+        # Scenario 2: Full rebuild needed
+        else
+          echo ""
+          echo " CACHE MISS - Building from scratch..."
+          echo ""
+
+          # Build full base image and push to ECR
+          DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker buildx build \
+            --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm_base \
+            --tag "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}" \
+            --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
+            --push \
+            .
+
+          # Build wheel extraction stage
+          DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker buildx build \
+            --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm_base \
+            --tag rocm-base-debs:$${BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER} \
+            --target debs_wheel_release \
+            --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
+            --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
+            --load \
+            .
+
+          # Extract and upload wheels
+          mkdir -p artifacts/rocm-base-wheels
+          cid=$(docker create rocm-base-debs:$${BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER})
+          docker cp $${cid}:/app/debs/. artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/
+          docker rm $${cid}
+
+          .buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh upload
+
+          # Cache base docker image to ECR
+          docker push "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
+
+          buildkite-agent meta-data set "rocm-base-image-tag" "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
+
+          echo ""
+          echo " Build complete - Image and wheels cached"
+        fi
+
+    artifact_paths:
+      - "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl"
+    env:
+      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
+      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
+
+  # ROCm Job 2: Build vLLM ROCm Wheel
+  - label: ":python: Build vLLM ROCm Wheel - x86_64"
+    id: build-rocm-vllm-wheel
+    depends_on:
+      - step: build-rocm-base-wheels
+        allow_failure: false
+    agents:
+      queue: cpu_queue_release
+    timeout_in_minutes: 180
+    commands:
+      # Download artifacts and prepare Docker image
+      - |
+        set -euo pipefail
+
+        # Ensure git tags are up-to-date (Buildkite's default fetch doesn't update tags)
+        # This fixes version detection when tags are moved/force-pushed
+        echo "Fetching latest tags from origin..."
+        git fetch --tags --force origin
+
+        # Log tag information for debugging version detection
+        echo "========================================"
+        echo "Git Tag Verification"
+        echo "========================================"
+        echo "Current HEAD: $(git rev-parse HEAD)"
+        echo "git describe --tags: $(git describe --tags 2>/dev/null || echo 'No tags found')"
+        echo ""
+        echo "Recent tags (pointing to commits near HEAD):"
+        git tag -l --sort=-creatordate | head -5
+        echo "setuptools_scm version detection:"
+        pip install -q setuptools_scm 2>/dev/null || true
+        python3 -c "import setuptools_scm; print('  Detected version:', setuptools_scm.get_version())" 2>/dev/null || echo "  (setuptools_scm not available in this environment)"
+        echo "========================================"
+
+        # Download wheel artifacts from current build
+        echo "Downloading wheel artifacts from current build"
+        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl" .
+
+        # Get ECR image tag from metadata (set by build-rocm-base-wheels)
+        ECR_IMAGE_TAG="$$(buildkite-agent meta-data get rocm-base-image-tag 2>/dev/null || echo '')"
+        if [ -z "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}" ]; then
+          echo "ERROR: rocm-base-image-tag metadata not found"
+          echo "This should have been set by the build-rocm-base-wheels job"
+          exit 1
+        fi
+
+        echo "Pulling base Docker image from ECR: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
+
+        # Login to ECR
+        aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | \
+          docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7
+
+        # Pull base Docker image from ECR
+        docker pull "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
+
+        echo "Loaded base image: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
+
+        # Prepare base wheels for Docker build context
+        mkdir -p docker/context/base-wheels
+        touch docker/context/base-wheels/.keep
+        cp artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl docker/context/base-wheels/
+        echo "Base wheels for vLLM build:"
+        ls -lh docker/context/base-wheels/
+
+        echo "========================================"
+        echo "Building vLLM wheel with:"
+        echo "  BUILDKITE_COMMIT: $${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}"
+        echo "  BUILDKITE_BRANCH: $${BUILDKITE_BRANCH}"
+        echo "  BASE_IMAGE: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
+        echo "========================================"
+
+        # Build vLLM wheel using local checkout (REMOTE_VLLM=0)
+        DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
+          --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm \
+          --target export_vllm_wheel_release \
+          --output type=local,dest=rocm-dist \
+          --build-arg BASE_IMAGE="$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}" \
+          --build-arg REMOTE_VLLM=0 \
+          --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
+          --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
+          --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
+          --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
+          --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
+          .
+        echo "Built vLLM wheel:"
+        ls -lh rocm-dist/*.whl
+        # Copy wheel to artifacts directory
+        mkdir -p artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel
+        cp rocm-dist/*.whl artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/
+        echo "Final vLLM wheel:"
+        ls -lh artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/
+    artifact_paths:
+      - "artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/*.whl"
+    env:
+      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
+      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
+
+  # ROCm Job 3: Upload Wheels to S3
+  - label: ":s3: Upload ROCm Wheels to S3"
+    id: upload-rocm-wheels
+    depends_on:
+      - step: build-rocm-vllm-wheel
+        allow_failure: false
+    agents:
+      queue: cpu_queue_release
+    timeout_in_minutes: 60
+    commands:
+      # Download all wheel artifacts and run upload
+      - |
+        set -euo pipefail
+
+        # Download artifacts from current build
+        echo "Downloading artifacts from current build"
+        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl" .
+        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/*.whl" .
+
+        # Run upload script
+        bash .buildkite/scripts/upload-rocm-wheels.sh
+    env:
+      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
+      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
+
+  # ROCm Job 4: Annotate ROCm Wheel Release
+  - label: ":memo: Annotate ROCm wheel release"
+    id: annotate-rocm-release
+    depends_on:
+      - upload-rocm-wheels
+    agents:
+      queue: cpu_queue_release
+    commands:
+      - "bash .buildkite/scripts/annotate-rocm-release.sh"
+    env:
+      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
+
+  # =============================================================================
+  # Nightly: Build & Publish Docker Images (NIGHTLY=1 only)
+  # =============================================================================
+
+  - group: "Build nightly Docker images"
     key: "build-release-images"
+    if: build.env("NIGHTLY") == "1"
     steps:
       - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CUDA 12.9"
         depends_on: ~
@@ -192,44 +439,9 @@ steps:
           - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg CUDA_VERSION=13.0.1 --build-arg UBUNTU_VERSION=24.04 --build-arg GDRCOPY_OS_VERSION=Ubuntu24_04 --build-arg FLASHINFER_AOT_COMPILE=true --build-arg torch_cuda_arch_list='8.7 8.9 9.0 10.0+PTX 12.0 12.1' --build-arg INSTALL_KV_CONNECTORS=true --build-arg BUILD_BASE_IMAGE=nvidia/cuda:13.0.1-devel-ubuntu24.04 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu130-ubuntu2404 --target vllm-openai --progress plain -f docker/Dockerfile ."
           - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$BUILDKITE_COMMIT-$(uname -m)-cu130-ubuntu2404"
 
-      - block: "Build release image for x86_64 CPU"
+  - group: "Publish nightly images"
-        key: block-cpu-release-image-build
-        depends_on: ~
-
-      - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CPU"
-        depends_on:
-          - block-cpu-release-image-build
-          - input-release-version
-        agents:
-          queue: cpu_queue_release
-        commands:
-          - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg VLLM_CPU_X86=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version) --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:latest --progress plain --target vllm-openai -f docker/Dockerfile.cpu ."
-          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:latest"
-          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version)"
-        env:
-          DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
-
-      - block: "Build release image for arm64 CPU"
-        key: block-arm64-cpu-release-image-build
-        depends_on: ~
-
-      - label: "Build release image - arm64 - CPU"
-        depends_on: 
-          - block-arm64-cpu-release-image-build
-          - input-release-version
-        agents:
-          queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
-        commands:
-          - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
-          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version) --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:latest --progress plain --target vllm-openai -f docker/Dockerfile.cpu ."
-          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:latest"
-          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version)"
-        env:
-          DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
-
-  - group: "Publish release images"
     key: "publish-release-images"
+    if: build.env("NIGHTLY") == "1"
     steps:
       - label: "Create multi-arch manifest - CUDA 12.9"
         depends_on:
@@ -291,7 +503,6 @@ steps:
       - label: "Publish nightly multi-arch image to DockerHub"
         depends_on:
           - create-multi-arch-manifest
-        if: build.env("NIGHTLY") == "1"
         agents:
           queue: small_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
@@ -309,7 +520,6 @@ steps:
       - label: "Publish nightly multi-arch image to DockerHub - CUDA 13.0"
         depends_on:
           - create-multi-arch-manifest-cuda-13-0
-        if: build.env("NIGHTLY") == "1"
         agents:
           queue: small_cpu_queue_release
         commands:
@@ -324,298 +534,10 @@ steps:
           DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
           DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: "vllmbot"
 
-  - group: "Publish wheels"
+  # ROCm nightly Docker image
-    key: "publish-wheels"
-    steps:
-      - block: "Confirm update release wheels to PyPI (experimental, use with caution)?"
-        key: block-upload-release-wheels
-        depends_on:
-          - input-release-version
-          - build-wheels
-
-      - label: "Upload release wheels to PyPI"
-        depends_on:
-          - block-upload-release-wheels
-        id: upload-release-wheels
-        agents:
-          queue: small_cpu_queue_release
-        commands:
-          - "bash .buildkite/scripts/upload-release-wheels-pypi.sh"
-
-  # =============================================================================
-  # ROCm Release Pipeline (x86_64 only)
-  # =============================================================================
-  #
-  # vLLM version is determined by the Buildkite checkout (like CUDA pipeline).
-  # To build a specific version, trigger the build from that branch/tag.
-  #
-  # Environment variables for ROCm builds (set via Buildkite UI or schedule):
-  #
-  # Note: ROCm version is determined by BASE_IMAGE in docker/Dockerfile.rocm_base
-  #
-  # =============================================================================
-
-  # ROCm Job 1: Build ROCm Base Wheels (with S3 caching)
-  - label: ":rocm: Build ROCm Base Image & Wheels"
-    id: build-rocm-base-wheels
-    depends_on: ~
-    agents:
-      queue: cpu_queue_release
-    commands:
-      - |
-        set -euo pipefail
-
-        # Generate cache key
-        CACHE_KEY=$$(.buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh key)
-        ECR_CACHE_TAG="public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$${CACHE_KEY}-rocm-base"
-
-        echo "========================================"
-        echo "ROCm Base Build Configuration"
-        echo "========================================"
-        echo "  CACHE_KEY: $${CACHE_KEY}"
-        echo "  ECR_CACHE_TAG: $${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
-        echo "========================================"
-        
-        # Login to ECR
-        aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | \
-          docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7
-        
-        IMAGE_EXISTS=false
-        WHEELS_EXIST=false
-        
-        # Check ECR for Docker image
-
-        if docker manifest inspect "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
-          IMAGE_EXISTS=true
-          echo "ECR image cache HIT"
-        fi
-        
-        # Check S3 for wheels
-        WHEEL_CACHE_STATUS=$(.buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh check)
-        if [ "$${WHEEL_CACHE_STATUS}" = "hit" ]; then
-          WHEELS_EXIST=true
-          echo "S3 wheels cache HIT"
-        fi
-
-        
-        # Scenario 1: Both cached (best case)
-        if [ "$${IMAGE_EXISTS}" = "true" ] && [ "$${WHEELS_EXIST}" = "true" ]; then
-          echo ""
-          echo "FULL CACHE HIT - Reusing both image and wheels"
-          echo ""
-
-          # Download wheels
-          .buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh download
-          
-          # Save ECR tag for downstream jobs
-          buildkite-agent meta-data set "rocm-base-image-tag" "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
-          
-        # Scenario 2: Full rebuild needed
-        else
-          echo ""
-          echo " CACHE MISS - Building from scratch..."
-          echo ""
-          
-          # Build full base image and push to ECR
-          DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker buildx build \
-            --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm_base \
-            --tag "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}" \
-            --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
-            --push \
-            .
-          
-          # Build wheel extraction stage
-          DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker buildx build \
-            --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm_base \
-            --tag rocm-base-debs:$${BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER} \
-            --target debs_wheel_release \
-            --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
-            --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
-            --load \
-            .
-          
-          # Extract and upload wheels
-          mkdir -p artifacts/rocm-base-wheels
-          cid=$(docker create rocm-base-debs:$${BUILDKITE_BUILD_NUMBER})
-          docker cp $${cid}:/app/debs/. artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/
-          docker rm $${cid}
-          
-          .buildkite/scripts/cache-rocm-base-wheels.sh upload
-
-          # Cache base docker image to ECR
-          docker push "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
-          
-          buildkite-agent meta-data set "rocm-base-image-tag" "$${ECR_CACHE_TAG}"
-          
-          echo ""
-          echo " Build complete - Image and wheels cached"
-        fi
-        
-    artifact_paths:
-      - "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl"
-    env:
-      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
-      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
-
-  # ROCm Job 2: Build vLLM ROCm Wheel
-  - label: ":python: Build vLLM ROCm Wheel - x86_64"
-    id: build-rocm-vllm-wheel
-    depends_on:
-      - step: build-rocm-base-wheels
-        allow_failure: false
-    agents:
-      queue: cpu_queue_release
-    timeout_in_minutes: 180
-    commands:
-      # Download artifacts and prepare Docker image
-      - |
-        set -euo pipefail
-
-        # Ensure git tags are up-to-date (Buildkite's default fetch doesn't update tags)
-        # This fixes version detection when tags are moved/force-pushed
-        echo "Fetching latest tags from origin..."
-        git fetch --tags --force origin
-        
-        # Log tag information for debugging version detection
-        echo "========================================"
-        echo "Git Tag Verification"
-        echo "========================================"
-        echo "Current HEAD: $(git rev-parse HEAD)"
-        echo "git describe --tags: $(git describe --tags 2>/dev/null || echo 'No tags found')"
-        echo ""
-        echo "Recent tags (pointing to commits near HEAD):"
-        git tag -l --sort=-creatordate | head -5
-        echo "setuptools_scm version detection:"
-        pip install -q setuptools_scm 2>/dev/null || true
-        python3 -c "import setuptools_scm; print('  Detected version:', setuptools_scm.get_version())" 2>/dev/null || echo "  (setuptools_scm not available in this environment)"
-        echo "========================================"
-
-        # Download wheel artifacts from current build
-        echo "Downloading wheel artifacts from current build"
-        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl" .
-
-        # Get ECR image tag from metadata (set by build-rocm-base-wheels)
-        ECR_IMAGE_TAG="$$(buildkite-agent meta-data get rocm-base-image-tag 2>/dev/null || echo '')"
-        if [ -z "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}" ]; then
-          echo "ERROR: rocm-base-image-tag metadata not found"
-          echo "This should have been set by the build-rocm-base-wheels job"
-          exit 1
-        fi
-        
-        echo "Pulling base Docker image from ECR: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
-        # Login to ECR
-        aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | \
-          docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7
-        
-        # Pull base Docker image from ECR
-        docker pull "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
-        echo "Loaded base image: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
-        # Prepare base wheels for Docker build context
-        mkdir -p docker/context/base-wheels
-        touch docker/context/base-wheels/.keep
-        cp artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl docker/context/base-wheels/
-        echo "Base wheels for vLLM build:"
-        ls -lh docker/context/base-wheels/
-
-        echo "========================================"
-        echo "Building vLLM wheel with:"
-        echo "  BUILDKITE_COMMIT: $${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}"
-        echo "  BUILDKITE_BRANCH: $${BUILDKITE_BRANCH}"
-        echo "  BASE_IMAGE: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        echo "========================================"
-
-        # Build vLLM wheel using local checkout (REMOTE_VLLM=0)
-        DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
-          --file docker/Dockerfile.rocm \
-          --target export_vllm_wheel_release \
-          --output type=local,dest=rocm-dist \
-          --build-arg BASE_IMAGE="$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}" \
-          --build-arg REMOTE_VLLM=0 \
-          --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 \
-          --build-arg USE_SCCACHE=1 \
-          --build-arg SCCACHE_BUCKET_NAME=vllm-build-sccache \
-          --build-arg SCCACHE_REGION_NAME=us-west-2 \
-          --build-arg SCCACHE_S3_NO_CREDENTIALS=0 \
-          .
-        echo "Built vLLM wheel:"
-        ls -lh rocm-dist/*.whl
-        # Copy wheel to artifacts directory
-        mkdir -p artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel
-        cp rocm-dist/*.whl artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/
-        echo "Final vLLM wheel:"
-        ls -lh artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/
-    artifact_paths:
-      - "artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/*.whl"
-    env:
-      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
-      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
-
-  # ROCm Job 3: Upload Wheels to S3
-  - label: ":s3: Upload ROCm Wheels to S3"
-    id: upload-rocm-wheels
-    depends_on:
-      - step: build-rocm-vllm-wheel
-        allow_failure: false
-    agents:
-      queue: cpu_queue_release
-    timeout_in_minutes: 60
-    commands:
-      # Download all wheel artifacts and run upload
-      - |
-        set -euo pipefail
-
-        # Download artifacts from current build
-        echo "Downloading artifacts from current build"
-        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-base-wheels/*.whl" .
-        buildkite-agent artifact download "artifacts/rocm-vllm-wheel/*.whl" .
-
-        # Run upload script
-        bash .buildkite/scripts/upload-rocm-wheels.sh
-    env:
-      DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
-      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
-
-  # ROCm Job 4: Annotate ROCm Wheel Release
-  - label: ":memo: Annotate ROCm wheel release"
-    id: annotate-rocm-release
-    depends_on:
-      - upload-rocm-wheels
-    agents:
-      queue: cpu_queue_release
-    commands:
-      - "bash .buildkite/scripts/annotate-rocm-release.sh"
-    env:
-      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
-
-  # ROCm Job 5: Generate Root Index for ROCm Wheels (for release only)
-  # This is the job to create https://wheels.vllm.ai/rocm/ index allowing
-  # users to install with `uv pip install vllm --extra-index-url https://wheels.vllm.ai/rocm/`
-  - block: "Generate Root Index for ROCm Wheels for Release"
-    key: block-generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
-    depends_on: upload-rocm-wheels
-
-  - label: ":package: Generate Root Index for ROCm Wheels for Release"
-    depends_on: block-generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
-    id: generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
-    agents:
-      queue: cpu_queue_release
-    commands:
-      - "bash tools/vllm-rocm/generate-rocm-wheels-root-index.sh"
-    env:
-      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
-      VARIANT: "rocm721"
-
-  # ROCm Job 6: Build ROCm Release Docker Image
   - label: ":docker: Build release image - x86_64 - ROCm"
     id: build-rocm-release-image
+    if: build.env("NIGHTLY") == "1"
     depends_on:
       - step: build-rocm-base-wheels
         allow_failure: false
@@ -625,11 +547,11 @@ steps:
     commands:
       - |
         set -euo pipefail
-        
+
         # Login to ECR
         aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | \
           docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7
-        
+
         # Get ECR image tag from metadata (set by build-rocm-base-wheels)
         ECR_IMAGE_TAG="$$(buildkite-agent meta-data get rocm-base-image-tag 2>/dev/null || echo '')"
         if [ -z "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}" ]; then
@@ -637,23 +559,23 @@ steps:
           echo "This should have been set by the build-rocm-base-wheels job"
           exit 1
         fi
-        
+
         echo "Pulling base Docker image from ECR: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
+
         # Pull base Docker image from ECR
         docker pull "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
+
         echo "Loaded base image: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
+
         # Pass the base image ECR tag to downstream steps (nightly publish)
         buildkite-agent meta-data set "rocm-base-ecr-tag" "$${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
-        
+
         echo "========================================"
         echo "Building vLLM ROCm release image with:"
         echo "  BASE_IMAGE: $${ECR_IMAGE_TAG}"
         echo "  BUILDKITE_COMMIT: $${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}"
         echo "========================================"
-        
+
         # Build vLLM ROCm release image using cached base
         DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build \
           --build-arg max_jobs=16 \
@@ -666,10 +588,10 @@ steps:
           --target vllm-openai \
           --progress plain \
           -f docker/Dockerfile.rocm .
-        
+
         # Push to ECR
         docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}-rocm
-        
+
         echo ""
         echo " Successfully built and pushed ROCm release image"
         echo "   Image: public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-release-repo:$${BUILDKITE_COMMIT}-rocm"
@@ -696,3 +618,84 @@ steps:
     env:
       DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
       DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: "vllmbot"
+
+  # =============================================================================
+  # Release: Publish Wheels & Build CPU Images (manual, requires release version)
+  # =============================================================================
+
+  - input: "Provide Release version here"
+    id: input-release-version
+    fields:
+      - text: "What is the release version?"
+        key: release-version
+
+  - group: "Publish release wheels"
+    key: "publish-wheels"
+    steps:
+      - block: "Confirm update release wheels to PyPI (experimental, use with caution)?"
+        key: block-upload-release-wheels
+        depends_on:
+          - input-release-version
+          - build-wheels
+
+      - label: "Upload release wheels to PyPI"
+        depends_on:
+          - block-upload-release-wheels
+        id: upload-release-wheels
+        agents:
+          queue: small_cpu_queue_release
+        commands:
+          - "bash .buildkite/scripts/upload-release-wheels-pypi.sh"
+
+  - group: "Build release CPU Docker images"
+    steps:
+      - block: "Build release image for x86_64 CPU"
+        key: block-cpu-release-image-build
+        depends_on: ~
+
+      - label: "Build release image - x86_64 - CPU"
+        depends_on:
+          - block-cpu-release-image-build
+          - input-release-version
+        agents:
+          queue: cpu_queue_release
+        commands:
+          - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
+          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --build-arg VLLM_CPU_X86=true --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version) --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:latest --progress plain --target vllm-openai -f docker/Dockerfile.cpu ."
+          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:latest"
+          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version)"
+        env:
+          DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
+
+      - block: "Build release image for arm64 CPU"
+        key: block-arm64-cpu-release-image-build
+        depends_on: ~
+
+      - label: "Build release image - arm64 - CPU"
+        depends_on:
+          - block-arm64-cpu-release-image-build
+          - input-release-version
+        agents:
+          queue: arm64_cpu_queue_release
+        commands:
+          - "aws ecr-public get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7"
+          - "DOCKER_BUILDKIT=1 docker build --build-arg max_jobs=16 --build-arg GIT_REPO_CHECK=1 --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version) --tag public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:latest --progress plain --target vllm-openai -f docker/Dockerfile.cpu ."
+          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:latest"
+          - "docker push public.ecr.aws/q9t5s3a7/vllm-arm64-cpu-release-repo:$(buildkite-agent meta-data get release-version)"
+        env:
+          DOCKER_BUILDKIT: "1"
+
+  - block: "Generate Root Index for ROCm Wheels for Release"
+    key: block-generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
+    depends_on: upload-rocm-wheels
+
+  - label: ":package: Generate Root Index for ROCm Wheels for Release"
+    depends_on: block-generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
+    id: generate-root-index-rocm-wheels
+    agents:
+      queue: cpu_queue_release
+    commands:
+      - "bash tools/vllm-rocm/generate-rocm-wheels-root-index.sh"
+    env:
+      S3_BUCKET: "vllm-wheels"
+      VARIANT: "rocm721"