Merge pull request #323 from NearNodeFlash:fix/setup-release-env-pipestatus-and-submodules

Fix nnf_cmd exit code and update submodule pointers

Author: ajfloeder

.github/agents/release.agent.md

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ Before starting any release work, read these files completely:
 ## Core Rules
 
 - **ALWAYS wait for explicit user approval before proceeding to the next step.** After every step, state what you did, whether it succeeded, and the evidence. **WAIT for the user.**
+- **ONE command per turn.** Run the command for ONE repo, show the full output, state PASS or FAIL with evidence, then STOP. Do not run the next repo's command until the user explicitly says to proceed. This applies even when the plan shows a `for` loop — execute the loop body manually, one repo per turn.
 - **ALWAYS run commands in a terminal** so the user can see them.
 - **ALWAYS append `2>&1 | cat`** to every `release-all.sh` and `gh` command — no exceptions.
 - **ONE repo at a time.** Execute one phase per repo sequentially. **NEVER parallelize** across repos.

lustre-fs-operator

@@ -102,6 +102,8 @@ Source the release environment helper to auto-compute versions, detect the relea
 source ./setup-release-env.sh -B patch   # or -B minor / -B major
 ```
 
+> **Important:** Never pipe this `source` command (e.g. `source ... | cat`). Piping runs `source` in a subshell, which means the exported variables and function definitions (`nnf_cmd`, etc.) are lost to the calling shell. If you need to capture output, redirect to a file or run without the pipe.
+
 This exports `$PREVIOUS_RELEASE`, `$NNF_RELEASE`, `$RELEASE_TYPE`, and `$RELEASE_REVIEWERS`, and defines helper functions `nnf_cmd`, `nnf_create_pr`, `nnf_add_reviewers`, and `nnf_gh_repo`. Confirm the printed summary with the user before proceeding.
 
 List repos:
@@ -270,8 +272,6 @@ The `-i` flag displays image version changes inline. Use `-d` to display the ful
 
 Check each repo for correct tag, release notes, and artifacts (`manifests.tar` + `manifests-kind.tar` on `nnf-deploy`).
 
-
-
 ---
 
 ### Relevant files

nnf-dm

@@ -78,9 +78,12 @@ fi
 # Usage: nnf_cmd <phase> <repo>
 nnf_cmd() {
     local phase="$1" repo="$2"
-    local args=()
+    local args=() _rc
     [[ "$repo" == "nnf_sos" ]] && args+=("-M")
     ./release-all.sh -B "$RELEASE_TYPE" -P "$phase" -R "$repo" "${args[@]}" 2>&1 | cat
+    # bash uses PIPESTATUS[0]; zsh uses pipestatus[1] (lowercase, 1-indexed)
+    _rc=${PIPESTATUS[0]:-${pipestatus[1]}}
+    return "${_rc:-0}"
 }
 
 # --- Helper: create-pr + capture PR number -----------------------------------