chore: prepare for release v0.18.0

[github-actions]

🚀 Release v0.18.0

This PR was automatically created by the release workflow.

Changes included:

• ✅ Updated version to v0.18.0
• ✅ Updated CHANGELOG.md with latest changes
• ✅ Updated version references in README.md

---

After merging this PR, a tag will be created and a GitHub release will be published.

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

Automated release preparation PR that bumps version from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0 across the codebase.

Key Changes:

• Version updated in pyproject.toml package metadata
• README.md main branch tracking statement updated to reference v0.18.0
• Comprehensive CHANGELOG.md entry added with 77 changes across features, bug fixes, documentation, testing, and miscellaneous tasks
• Notable features: bot thinking/reasoning traces, LFU caching system, multiple embedding provider integrations (Azure OpenAI, Cohere, Google), Cisco AI Defense integration
• Breaking changes marked in bug fixes and refactor sections

Minor Issue:

• One CHANGELOG entry (line 21, #1436) uses inconsistent link formatting compared to other entries

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with minimal risk - standard automated release preparation
• All changes are mechanical version bumps and changelog updates following established patterns. The only issue is a minor formatting inconsistency in one changelog entry that doesn't affect functionality
• No files require special attention - all changes are standard release preparation tasks

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
pyproject.toml	5/5	Version bumped from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0 - clean and correct
README.md	5/5	Version references updated from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0 in main branch tracking statement
CHANGELOG.md	4/5	New release notes added for v0.18.0 with comprehensive changes; line 21 missing proper issue link format

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant GHA as GitHub Actions
    participant Repo as Repository
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    participant Tag as Git Tag
    participant Release as GitHub Release
    
    GHA->>Repo: Trigger release workflow
    GHA->>Repo: Update pyproject.toml (0.17.0 → 0.18.0)
    GHA->>Repo: Update README.md version references
    GHA->>Repo: Generate CHANGELOG.md entries
    GHA->>PR: Create release PR
    PR->>Repo: Await review & merge to develop
    Note over PR,Repo: PR #1491 merged
    Repo->>Tag: Create v0.18.0 tag
    Tag->>Release: Publish GitHub release
    Release->>Release: Trigger PyPI publish workflow

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[github-actions]

Documentation preview

https://nvidia-nemo.github.io/Guardrails/review/pr-1491

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

This PR prepares the repository for the v0.18.0 release by adding a new changelog section documenting 76 changes across the project.

Key additions to the changelog:

• 15 new features including bot thinking/reasoning trace support, multiple caching enhancements (LFU caching, LLM metadata caching), new embedding providers (Azure OpenAI, Cohere, Google), and Cisco AI Defense integration
• 7 bug fixes addressing runtime issues, streaming behavior, and configuration validation
• 5 documentation updates covering caching, bot reasoning guardrails, and configuration examples
• Type safety improvements across multiple modules (tracing, logging, cli, embeddings, server, llm)
• Breaking changes clearly marked with [**breaking**] tags for reasoning trace extraction and streaming behavior

The changelog follows the project's established format with categorized sections (Features, Bug Fixes, Refactor, Documentation, Styling, Testing, Miscellaneous Tasks) and properly formatted GitHub issue links. All 46 unique issue references use the correct markdown link format ([#XXXX](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo-Guardrails/issues/XXXX)).

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with no risk - it only adds documentation to the changelog
• The PR makes a single, straightforward change to CHANGELOG.md by adding a properly formatted v0.18.0 release section. All issue links follow the correct format, the structure matches previous release sections, and no functional code is modified. The previous comment about issue #1436 formatting has been addressed.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
CHANGELOG.md	5/5	Added v0.18.0 release section with 76 changelog entries properly formatted with issue links

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant GHA as GitHub Actions
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    participant CHANGELOG as CHANGELOG.md
    participant Repo as Repository

    GHA->>PR: Create release PR (v0.18.0)
    GHA->>CHANGELOG: Add v0.18.0 section
    Note over CHANGELOG: 76 changelog entries<br/>organized by category
    PR->>Repo: Ready for merge to develop
    Note over PR: After merge, tag will be<br/>created and release published

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

This PR prepares for the v0.18.0 release by updating version references across the repository and adding comprehensive release notes to the CHANGELOG.

Key changes:

• Version bumped from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0 in pyproject.toml and README.md
• Added v0.18.0 release section to CHANGELOG.md with 70+ documented changes
• Previous formatting issue with issue #1436 link has been resolved

Release highlights for v0.18.0:

• 14 new features including bot reasoning/thinking support, LFU caching system, and multiple embedding provider integrations (Azure OpenAI, Cohere, Google)
• 7 bug fixes including critical fixes for parallel rails and streaming
• Significant documentation improvements and type-cleaning efforts
• Dropped Python 3.9 support

The PR is automatically generated by the release workflow and follows the standard release preparation process.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with minimal risk as it's an automated release preparation with standard version updates
• This is a standard automated release PR that only updates version numbers and changelog documentation. The changes are confined to metadata files (pyproject.toml, README.md, CHANGELOG.md) with no code modifications. The only minor item to verify is the release date in the changelog (shows 2025-11-04 vs today 2025-11-05), which is a trivial formatting matter that doesn't affect functionality.
• No files require special attention - all changes are standard release preparation updates

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
CHANGELOG.md	4/5	Version 0.18.0 release notes added with comprehensive feature list, bug fixes, and documentation updates - date shows 2025-11-04 (minor discrepancy)

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant GHA as GitHub Actions
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    participant Files as Repository Files
    participant Release as Release Process
    
    GHA->>Files: Update pyproject.toml version to 0.18.0
    GHA->>Files: Update README.md version references to 0.18.0
    GHA->>Files: Generate CHANGELOG.md with v0.18.0 entries
    GHA->>PR: Create automated release PR
    
    Note over PR: Review and approval needed
    
    PR->>Release: After merge to develop
    Release->>Release: Create git tag v0.18.0
    Release->>Release: Publish GitHub release
    Release->>Release: Deploy to PyPI

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

Automated release preparation for v0.18.0 that updates version references and adds comprehensive changelog entries.

• Updated version to 0.18.0 in pyproject.toml and README.md
• Added 69 changelog entries for v0.18.0 covering new features, bug fixes, refactors, documentation, testing, and misc tasks
• Applied formatting corrections based on review feedback (link formatting for issue references)
• Updated release date to 2025-11-05 to reflect actual release date

All version references are consistent across files. The changelog follows the project's established format with proper emoji prefixes, categorization, and GitHub issue links.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge with no risk - standard automated release preparation
• This is an automated release preparation PR with straightforward changes: version bumps in pyproject.toml and README.md, and CHANGELOG.md updates. All previous review comments have been addressed (formatting fix for #1436 link and date correction to Nov 5). The changes follow the established release process and formatting conventions. No logic changes or code modifications are involved.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
CHANGELOG.md	5/5	Added v0.18.0 release notes with 69 entries covering features, bug fixes, documentation, and more - all formatting is correct and consistent

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant GHA as GitHub Actions
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    participant Files as Repository Files
    participant Review as Review Process
    
    GHA->>PR: Create automated release PR
    GHA->>Files: Update CHANGELOG.md with v0.18.0 entries
    GHA->>Files: Update pyproject.toml version to 0.18.0
    GHA->>Files: Update README.md version reference
    
    Review->>PR: Review comments added
    Note over Review,PR: Formatting issue for #1436<br/>Date verification (Nov 4 vs Nov 5)
    
    PR->>Files: Apply formatting fix for #1436
    PR->>Files: Update date to 2025-11-05
    PR->>Files: Remove trailing whitespace
    
    Review->>PR: Final review
    Note over Review: All changes verified<br/>Ready for merge

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

This PR prepares the codebase for the v0.18.0 release by updating version references and adding comprehensive changelog entries.

Key Changes:

• Updated version from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0 in pyproject.toml and README.md
• Added detailed v0.18.0 changelog section documenting 8 features, 7 bug fixes, 1 refactor, 3 documentation updates, 5 testing improvements, and 3 miscellaneous tasks
• Release date set to 2025-11-05 (matches current date)
• Previous formatting issues have been addressed through multiple correction commits

Review Notes:
The changelog formatting follows the established pattern consistently with proper markdown, GitHub issue links, and categorization. All version references are correctly updated across files.

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge - it's a standard release preparation containing only documentation and version metadata updates
• This is an automated release preparation PR with straightforward changes: version number updates in configuration files and a well-formatted changelog entry. The changes have undergone multiple review rounds and corrections (evident from the 9+ correction commits). No functional code changes are included, only metadata updates. The release date is accurate, changelog formatting is consistent, and all previous review comments have been addressed.
• No files require special attention

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
CHANGELOG.md	5/5	Added v0.18.0 release section with comprehensive changelog entries covering features, bug fixes, refactorings, documentation, testing, and miscellaneous tasks

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant GHA as GitHub Actions
    participant Workflow as Release Workflow
    participant Files as Repository Files
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    
    GHA->>Workflow: Trigger release workflow
    Workflow->>Files: Update pyproject.toml version to 0.18.0
    Workflow->>Files: Update README.md version reference to 0.18.0
    Workflow->>Files: Generate CHANGELOG.md entry for 0.18.0
    Files->>Workflow: Changes prepared
    Workflow->>PR: Create PR #1491 (chore: prepare for release v0.18.0)
    PR->>PR: Apply manual corrections (formatting, date)
    PR->>PR: Ready for merge to develop branch
    Note over PR: After merge: tag v0.18.0 created, GitHub release published

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Overview

Greptile Summary

This automated release PR prepares version 0.18.0 with comprehensive changelog updates documenting the release.

Changes made:

• Updated CHANGELOG.md with v0.18.0 section including 8 new features, 7 bug fixes, 1 refactor, 3 documentation updates, 5 testing improvements, and 6 miscellaneous tasks
• Updated version references in README.md from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0
• Updated version in pyproject.toml from 0.17.0 to 0.18.0
• Corrected release date to 2025-11-06 (matches today's date)

Key highlights in this release:

• Bot reasoning/thinking event support
• New embedding providers (Azure OpenAI, Cohere, Google)
• LFU caching for content safety, topic control, and jailbreak detection
• Breaking changes for reasoning trace handling and streaming behavior
• Cisco AI Defense integration

Confidence Score: 5/5

• This PR is safe to merge - it's a standard automated release preparation with proper version updates and changelog documentation
• This is an automated release PR that follows the standard release workflow pattern. All version references are updated consistently across CHANGELOG.md, README.md, and pyproject.toml. The release date has been corrected to match today's date (2025-11-06). The changelog is comprehensive and properly formatted with GitHub issue links. No code changes are included, only documentation and version metadata updates. Previous review comments about date and formatting have been addressed.
• No files require special attention - this is a straightforward release preparation PR

Important Files Changed

File Analysis

Filename	Score	Overview
CHANGELOG.md	5/5	Added v0.18.0 release section with comprehensive changelog entries, properly formatted with links and emoji indicators

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant RW as Release Workflow
    participant PR as Pull Request #1491
    participant CH as CHANGELOG.md
    participant RM as README.md
    participant PY as pyproject.toml
    participant Repo as Repository

    RW->>PR: Create release PR
    RW->>CH: Add v0.18.0 section
    Note over CH: Add features, bug fixes,<br/>refactors, docs, tests,<br/>miscellaneous tasks
    RW->>RM: Update version reference<br/>(0.17.0 → 0.18.0)
    RW->>PY: Update version<br/>(0.17.0 → 0.18.0)
    PR->>Repo: After merge
    Repo->>Repo: Tag v0.18.0 created
    Repo->>Repo: GitHub release published

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