Tag RC Docker images during build and run CI, E2E, and performance tests in parallel

[SurbhiJainUSC]

Description

This PR updates the Release Candidate Pipeline (rc_release.yml) so that RC tags (:${MAXTEXT_SHA} and :latest-rc) are applied directly during the image build/promotion step, allowing CI tests (run_ci_tests), Airflow E2E functional tests (run_e2e_tests), and performance tests to run in parallel once the RC images are built. Also passes a consistent image_date (YYYY-MM-DD) from caller workflows into build_and_push_docker_image.yml.

Changes

• [.github/workflows/build_and_push_docker_image.yml]
  • Accept image_date as a workflow input instead of computing date +%Y-%m-%d at the end of promote_and_tag, ensuring consistent date tags across matrix builds.
  • Add an optional is_rc boolean input (default false) to tag Release Candidate images with :latest-rc tag.
• [.github/workflows/rc_release.yml]
  • Pass image_date: ${{ needs.get_maxtext_sha.outputs.rc_date }} (YYYY-MM-DD) and is_rc: true to build_release_candidate_images.
  • Remove the separate tag_release_candidate_images job since RC tagging now happens in build_and_push_docker_image.yml.
  • Run run_ci_tests and run_e2e_tests in parallel directly after build_release_candidate_images, and pass image_tag: ${{ needs.get_maxtext_sha.outputs.short_sha }} to run_ci_tests.yml so passing images are tagged with :verified-ci-${SHA_RC}.

Tests

https://github.com/AI-Hypercomputer/maxtext/actions/runs/38986301715 - pushes RC image in maxtext-test-images repository, skips CI tests and E2E tests.

https://github.com/AI-Hypercomputer/maxtext/actions/runs/39297931486 - pushes RC image in maxtext-images repository, runs CI tests and triggers E2E tests

Checklist

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• I have made or will make corresponding changes to the doc if needed, including adding new documentation pages to the relevant Table of Contents (toctree directive) as explained in our documentation.

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

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