fix(helm): align 26.08-RC1 defaults with Test Plan image matrix

docs/docs/extraction/multimodal-extraction.md

@@ -49,17 +49,17 @@ NeMo Retriever Library detects tables as structured page elements, processes the
 
 Charts and infographic regions are classified with other page layout elements (tables, text blocks, titles) and processed through layout detection and OCR. `extract_charts` and `extract_infographics` are enabled by default. Outputs use the same metadata schema as other extracted objects.
 
-!!! important "Chart modality requires the default layout path"
-    [Nemotron Parse v1.2](https://huggingface.co/nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-Parse-v1.2) semantic classes do not include `Chart` or `Infographic`. The model labels regions as `Text`, `Table`, `Picture`, `Caption`, `List-item`, `Section-header`, and similar types instead.
+!!! important "Chart modality and Nemotron Parse"
+    Local Hugging Face inference still uses [Nemotron Parse v1.2](https://huggingface.co/nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-Parse-v1.2). That model does not emit `Chart` or `Infographic` semantic classes. It labels regions as `Text`, `Table`, `Picture`, `Caption`, `List-item`, `Section-header`, and similar types instead.
 
-    When you set `method="nemotron_parse"`:
+    The optional Helm self-hosted Parse NIM defaults to [Nemotron Parse v2.0](https://huggingface.co/nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-Parse-2.0), which adds chart-aware `<class_Chart>` output. Even with v2.0, prefer the default **pdfium** layout path (page-elements detection and OCR) when you need reliable chart and infographic modality rows for filtered retrieval.
+
+    When you set `method="nemotron_parse"` on the local v1.2 path:
 
     - The pipeline does not produce `chart` or `infographic` modality rows, even when `extract_charts=True` or `extract_infographics=True`.
     - Chart- and infographic-filtered retrieval (for example, queries scoped to figure or chart content) returns no hits.
     - Chart-heavy and infographic-heavy pages are typically emitted as `Picture` or other non-chart modalities.
 
-    For chart and infographic detection and modality-specific retrieval, use the default **pdfium** layout path (page-elements detection and OCR), not `method="nemotron_parse"`.
-
 Chart-labeled PDF regions are **not** routed through the Omni caption stage; they remain on the layout-and-OCR path. For scope and validation guidance, refer to [Image captioning](#image-captioning).
 
 For natural-language infographic descriptions, optionally enable [image captioning](#image-captioning) and set `caption_infographics=True` when you need VLM captions on infographic regions.

docs/docs/extraction/prerequisites-support-matrix.md

@@ -124,17 +124,19 @@ Optional advanced features (audio and video transcription, Nemotron Parse, Omni
 
 The production Helm chart reconciles NIM microservices through `nimOperator.<key>.enabled`. Four core NIMs are **enabled by default** and auto-wired into the retriever service; optional NIMs reconcile only when you opt in. For chart keys, image overrides, and enablement, refer to the [NeMo Retriever Helm chart README](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo-Retriever/blob/main/nemo_retriever/helm/README.md#nim-operator-sub-stack) and [Recommended minimal install](https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo-Retriever/blob/main/nemo_retriever/helm/README.md#recommended-minimal-install-2608).
 
+The chart service image defaults to `nvcr.io/nvstaging/nim/nrl-service:26.08-RC1` for this release candidate. Override `service.image.repository` and `service.image.tag` only when you pin a different build.
+
 | Helm flag | NIM | Default image (`repository:tag`) | Role | Enabled by default |
 |-----------|-----|----------------------------------|------|--------------------|
 | `page_elements` | [nemotron-page-elements-v3](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-page-elements-v3) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-object-detection:2.0.1` | Page layout and element detection | Yes |
 | `table_structure` | [nemotron-table-structure-v1](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-table-structure-v1) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-object-detection:2.0.1` | Table structure extraction | Yes |
 | `ocr` | [nemotron-ocr-v2](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-ocr-v2) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-ocr-v2:2.0.1` | Image OCR | Yes |
 | `vlm_embed` | [llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2:2.3.0` | Multimodal (VL) embedding | Yes |
 | `rerankqa` | [llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2:2.3.0` | Reranking for improved retrieval accuracy | No |
-| `nemotron_parse` | [nemotron-parse](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-parse) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v1.2:1.7.0-variant` | Optional PDF `method="nemotron_parse"` (default PDF extraction uses **pdfium**). You can select Parse v2.0 with an image override. | No |
-| `nemotron_3_nano_omni_30b_a3b_reasoning` | [nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:1.7.0-variant` | Image captioning when you enable the caption stage | No |
+| `nemotron_parse` | [nemotron-parse](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-parse) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0:2.0.8-variant` | Optional PDF `method="nemotron_parse"` (default PDF extraction uses **pdfium**). You can select Parse v1.2 with an image override. | No |
+| `nemotron_3_nano_omni_30b_a3b_reasoning` | [nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:2.0.4-variant` | Image captioning when you enable the caption stage | No |
 | `audio` | [parakeet-1-1b-ctc-en-us](https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/speech/latest/reference/support-matrix/index.html) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/parakeet-1-1b-ctc-en-us:1.5.0` | [Audio and video](audio-video.md) transcription | No |
-| `answer_llm` | [llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5:2.0.5` | Optional `/v1/answer` generation LLM (not part of the default extraction pipeline) | No |
+| `answer_llm` | [llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1](https://build.nvidia.com/nvidia/llama-3_3-nemotron-super-49b-v1) | `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1:1.10.1` | Optional `/v1/answer` generation LLM (not part of the default extraction pipeline) | No |
 
 The `page_elements` and `table_structure` services share the combined `nemotron-object-detection:2.0.1` image and select distinct models. For air-gapped, mirrored, or allowlisted deployments, pull that image once. Do not treat the older standalone `nemotron-page-elements-v3` or `nemotron-table-structure-v1` container images as the current Helm defaults.
 
@@ -170,9 +172,9 @@ When you call [NVIDIA-hosted NIMs](deployment-options.md#when-to-use-nvidia-host
 | nemotron-ocr-v2 | `https://ai.api.nvidia.com/v1/cv/nvidia/nemotron-ocr-v2` | Chart default OCR SKU; library CPU actors default to this URL when no OCR invoke URL is set. **Local OCR language selectors (`--ocr-lang`, API `ocr_lang`) are not sent on remote requests** — hosted OCR v2 uses its own language behavior |
 | llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2 | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/embeddings` with model ID `nvidia/llama-nemotron-embed-vl-1b-v2` | Core multimodal embedding |
 | llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2 | `https://ai.api.nvidia.com/v1/retrieval/nvidia/llama-nemotron-rerank-vl-1b-v2/reranking` | Optional VL reranker |
-| nemotron-parse | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions` with model ID `nvidia/nemotron-parse` | Optional `method="nemotron_parse"`. Hosted Build, self-hosted Parse v1.2, and self-hosted Parse v2.0 use different request contracts. Refer to [Nemotron Parse: hosted Build endpoint vs self-hosted NIM](#nemotron-parse-hosted-vs-self-hosted) |
+| nemotron-parse | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions` with model ID `nvidia/nemotron-parse` | Optional `method="nemotron_parse"`. Hosted Build, self-hosted Parse v2.0, and self-hosted Parse v1.2 use different request contracts. Refer to [Nemotron Parse: hosted Build endpoint vs self-hosted NIM](#nemotron-parse-hosted-vs-self-hosted) |
 | nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions` with model ID `nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning` | Optional image captioning |
-| llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5 | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions` with model ID `nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1.5` | Optional `/v1/answer` (Helm `answer_llm`) and OpenAI-compatible agentic RAG endpoint mode; not part of the default extraction pipeline. Agentic query/harness runs default to local in-process vLLM instead. Helm auto-wires to the in-cluster NIM when `nimOperator.answer_llm` is enabled |
+| llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1 | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions` with model ID `nvidia/llama-3.3-nemotron-super-49b-v1` | Optional `/v1/answer` (Helm `answer_llm`) and OpenAI-compatible agentic RAG endpoint mode; not part of the default extraction pipeline. Agentic query/harness runs default to local in-process vLLM instead. Helm auto-wires to the in-cluster NIM when `nimOperator.answer_llm` is enabled |
 | parakeet-1-1b-ctc-en-us | `grpc.nvcf.nvidia.com:443` (function ID from [build.nvidia.com](https://build.nvidia.com/)) | Optional ASR; refer to [Parakeet hosted inference](audio-video.md#parakeet-hosted-inference-build-nvidia) |
 
 <a id="nemotron-parse-hosted-vs-self-hosted"></a>
@@ -182,12 +184,12 @@ When you call [NVIDIA-hosted NIMs](deployment-options.md#when-to-use-nvidia-host
     NVIDIA Build and self-hosted Nemotron Parse use distinct request contracts:
 
     - **Hosted Build** (`https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/chat/completions`) resolves to model ID `nvidia/nemotron-parse` and uses an image-only tool-call contract.
-    - **Self-hosted Parse v1.2** uses `nvidia/nemotron-parse-v1.2` and the tagged text-prompt contract. The Helm chart defaults to `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v1.2:1.7.0-variant`.
-    - **Self-hosted Parse v2.0** uses `nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0` and its v2.0 contract. It is an optional Helm image override, not the chart default.
+    - **Self-hosted Parse v2.0** uses `nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0` and its v2.0 contract. The Helm chart defaults to `nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0:2.0.8-variant`.
+    - **Self-hosted Parse v1.2** uses `nvidia/nemotron-parse-v1.2` and the tagged text-prompt contract. It is an optional Helm image override.
 
     To use hosted Build, set `nemotron_parse_invoke_url` to the Build chat-completions URL and set `method="nemotron_parse"`. You can normally omit `nemotron_parse_model` so the library selects the model automatically. If you set `nemotron_parse_model` explicitly, it must match the endpoint contract. Mixed Build and self-hosted endpoint lists require an explicit model.
 
-    When the chart manages the Parse NIM, it wires the model that matches the selected v1.2 or v2.0 image. To select Parse v2.0, enable Parse and set `nimOperator.nemotron_parse.image.repository=nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0` and `nimOperator.nemotron_parse.image.tag=2.0.8-variant`. For a direct external v2.0 endpoint, set `nemotron_parse_model="nvidia/nemotron-parse-v2.0"` explicitly with its invoke URL.
+    When the chart manages the Parse NIM, it wires the model that matches the selected v2.0 or v1.2 image. To select Parse v1.2, enable Parse and set `nimOperator.nemotron_parse.image.repository=nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-parse-v1.2` and `nimOperator.nemotron_parse.image.tag=1.7.0-variant`. For a direct external Parse endpoint, set `nemotron_parse_model` explicitly with its invoke URL.
 
     For model/endpoint mismatch symptoms, refer to [Nemotron Parse model and endpoint mismatch](troubleshoot.md#nemotron-parse-model-endpoint-mismatch).
 
@@ -237,7 +239,7 @@ Model repositories and NIM references are linked in [Core and Advanced Pipeline
 
 ⁴ Self-hosted [audio/video extraction](audio-video.md) through Parakeet ASR (`parakeet-1-1b-ctc-en-us:1.5.0`, `nimOperator.audio`) is **not supported** on **B200**, other **Blackwell** GPUs (compute capability 12.0), including RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell and RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell, or **H200 NVL**. Core PDF and multimodal extraction on those GPUs is unchanged. Video workflows that depend on Parakeet for speech transcription are affected the same way. `NIMService` for `nimOperator.audio` may stay not Ready or enter `CrashLoopBackOff` while building the Riva/TensorRT engine (for example ONNX Runtime IR version, cuDNN visibility, or FP8 tactic errors). Use a supported dedicated GPU (for example H100 or A100), [hosted Parakeet on build.nvidia.com](audio-video.md#parakeet-hosted-inference-build-nvidia), or set `nimOperator.audio.enabled=false`.
 
-³ Opt-in Omni captioning uses the [nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning](https://docs.api.nvidia.com/nim/reference/nvidia-nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning) NIM (`nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:1.7.0-variant`). BF16 requires at least 80 GB total GPU memory for this NIM deployment; refer to the [VLM NIM support matrix](https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/vision-language-models/latest/support-matrix.html#nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning). L40S requires two GPUs. A100 40GB, A10G, and RTX PRO 4500 are below the minimum.
+³ Opt-in Omni captioning uses the [nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning](https://docs.api.nvidia.com/nim/reference/nvidia-nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning) NIM (`nvcr.io/nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning:2.0.4-variant`). BF16 requires at least 80 GB total GPU memory for this NIM deployment; refer to the [VLM NIM support matrix](https://docs.nvidia.com/nim/vision-language-models/latest/support-matrix.html#nemotron-3-nano-omni-30b-a3b-reasoning). L40S requires two GPUs. A100 40GB, A10G, and RTX PRO 4500 are below the minimum.
 
 ⁵ **Total GPUs** is combined VRAM co-residency for the four core models. The default Helm chart still requests `nvidia.com/gpu: 1` per NIMService. Without GPU sharing, plan for four allocatable GPU slots across eligible nodes. Refer to [Kubernetes Helm GPU scheduling](#kubernetes-helm-gpu-scheduling).