diff --git a/.github/release-gates.json b/.github/release-gates.json
index f3c2afdd8..9b7c50d6b 100644
--- a/.github/release-gates.json
+++ b/.github/release-gates.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "pending_migrations": [
     {
       "pull_request": "https://github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/pull/14065",
-      "requirement": "Refresh and merge Dynamo's Planner and wheel-smoke migration to best_available(config), with required worker_type, nested estimator_config, and the released-wheel compatibility bridge. Validate against the canonical wheel before clearing this gate and releasing the API."
+      "requirement": "Publish a canonical nightly wheel, then validate and merge Dynamo's Planner and wheel-smoke migration to best_available(config), with required worker_type, nested estimator_config, and the released-wheel compatibility bridge. Clear this gate before a stable API release; it must not block development nightly publication."
     }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/.github/workflows/nightly-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/nightly-ci.yml
index 19d82cbed..91ab6401b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/nightly-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/nightly-ci.yml
@@ -130,20 +130,8 @@ jobs:
               }
             }
             core.setFailed('commit_sha is not on main or any release/* branch');
-      # Both scheduled and approved manual publication require completed migrations.
-      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ steps.target.outputs.sha }}
-          persist-credentials: false
-      # Keep the checker/current policy trusted while also checking the exact
-      # publication target's migration declarations. Neither can bypass the other.
-      - uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7
-        with:
-          ref: ${{ github.sha }}
-          path: release-policy
-          persist-credentials: false
-      - name: Require completed downstream API migrations
-        run: python3 release-policy/scripts/check_release_migrations.py --target-gates .github/release-gates.json
+      # Downstream migrations consume this development wheel before they can
+      # merge. Their completion is a stable-release prerequisite, not a nightly gate.
       # Computed once here so both arch legs stamp the same date even if the
       # run crosses a UTC midnight.
       - name: Compute unique nightly version
diff --git a/docs/ci.md b/docs/ci.md
index 2c08deb22..1539f8569 100644
--- a/docs/ci.md
+++ b/docs/ci.md
@@ -356,6 +356,14 @@ by its zero-padded ten-digit workflow run number, for example
 retries retain the same version, and later dates sort after earlier dates. Builds
 use pinned tooling and record checksums and provenance.
 
+Development nightlies must be available before downstream consumers can validate
+and merge an API migration. Pending entries in
+[the stable-release migration checklist](../.github/release-gates.json) therefore
+do not block scheduled or approved manual nightlies. Build, compliance, wheel-smoke,
+FPE qualification, and security requirements continue to apply. Publish the nightly,
+validate and merge the downstream migration against that wheel, then complete the
+migration checklist before a stable release.
+
 Python dependency licenses are checked in isolated jobs on both architectures
 before building or staging. Artifacts are then staged directly to internal
 Artifactory through the protected `automated-release` environment. Each wheel
diff --git a/docs/core-api.md b/docs/core-api.md
index 26c304e20..f69610193 100644
--- a/docs/core-api.md
+++ b/docs/core-api.md
@@ -328,18 +328,14 @@ past-KV coordinate rather than the op-level mean-context coordinate.
   role/options signatures and separate estimator constructors. This is a source
   migration: use `ForwardPassPerfModelConfig::new(...)` in Rust or the SDK config
   class in Python, and use the explicit migration helper for saved EngineConfig
-  values. Downstream Dynamo callers must migrate before this API is released;
+  values. Downstream Dynamo callers must migrate before this API's stable release;
   keep the crate and wheel versions aligned at the coordinated minor release.
-- Publication is blocked by [the release gate](../.github/release-gates.json)
-  until [Dynamo #14065](https://github.com/ai-dynamo/dynamo/pull/14065) is refreshed,
-  merged, and its Planner/wheel smoke validated against this API. Both scheduled
-  nightly CI and approved manual dispatch run `scripts/check_release_migrations.py`
-  before staging and the downstream publish trigger. Manual dispatch may select
-  a main/release commit, but both the workflow revision's policy and the selected
-  commit's migration declarations must pass before publication. The checker runs
-  from the workflow revision; missing or malformed target gates fail closed.
-  Clear the pending entry in a reviewed change only after the migration evidence
-  is available.
+- [The migration checklist](../.github/release-gates.json) and
+  `scripts/check_release_migrations.py` apply before stable publication. Clear the
+  pending entry in a reviewed change after downstream validation and merge.
+  There is currently no standalone stable-publication workflow in this repository;
+  that release process must invoke the checker for both its policy and target
+  declarations (`--target-gates`). Missing or malformed declarations fail closed.
 - The raw PyO3 class and ergonomic SDK wrapper intentionally share the name
   `RustForwardPassPerfModel`; callers should import from `aisimulate_core.sdk`
   unless they specifically need the JSON-oriented native binding.
diff --git a/scripts/check_release_migrations.py b/scripts/check_release_migrations.py
index ec395b9d4..4b6b415e1 100644
--- a/scripts/check_release_migrations.py
+++ b/scripts/check_release_migrations.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 # SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-"""Block release staging while source-controlled downstream migrations remain."""
+"""Check downstream migrations before stable publication; not a nightly gate."""
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def require_completed_migrations(path: Path = GATES) -> None:
             raise ValueError("each release gate needs a pull_request and requirement")
     if pending:
         details = "\n".join(f"- {item['pull_request']}: {item['requirement']}" for item in pending)
-        raise RuntimeError(f"Release publication is blocked by pending downstream migrations:\n{details}")
+        raise RuntimeError(f"Stable release publication is blocked by pending downstream migrations:\n{details}")
 
 
 def main(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> int:
diff --git a/tests/test_ci_workflow_contracts.py b/tests/test_ci_workflow_contracts.py
index d8c9bc1ae..ae095562d 100644
--- a/tests/test_ci_workflow_contracts.py
+++ b/tests/test_ci_workflow_contracts.py
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 ACTION_ROOT = REPOSITORY_ROOT / ".github" / "actions"
 
 
-def test_release_migration_gate_blocks_publication_until_reviewed_clearance(tmp_path):
+def test_stable_release_migrations_require_reviewed_clearance(tmp_path):
     from scripts.check_release_migrations import GATES, require_completed_migrations
 
     with pytest.raises(RuntimeError, match="dynamo/pull/14065"):
@@ -56,25 +56,29 @@ def test_release_migration_gate_blocks_publication_until_reviewed_clearance(tmp_
     with pytest.raises(FileNotFoundError):
         require_completed_migrations(path)
 
-    jobs = _workflow("nightly-ci.yml")["jobs"]
+
+def test_nightly_can_publish_the_wheel_needed_by_pending_downstream_migrations():
+    workflow = _workflow("nightly-ci.yml")
+    serialized_workflow = json.dumps(workflow)
+    assert "check_release_migrations.py" not in serialized_workflow
+    assert "release-gates.json" not in serialized_workflow
+    jobs = workflow["jobs"]
     guard = jobs["changes-guard"]
-    index = next(i for i, step in enumerate(guard["steps"]) if "check_release_migrations.py" in step.get("run", ""))
-    assert next(i for i, step in enumerate(guard["steps"]) if step.get("id") == "target") < index
-    assert index < next(i for i, step in enumerate(guard["steps"]) if step.get("id") == "decide")
-    assert "if" not in guard["steps"][index]
-    checkouts = [step for step in guard["steps"][:index] if step.get("uses", "").startswith("actions/checkout@")]
-    assert len(checkouts) == 2
-    assert checkouts[0]["with"]["ref"] == "${{ steps.target.outputs.sha }}"
-    assert "path" not in checkouts[0]["with"]
-    assert checkouts[1]["with"]["ref"] == "${{ github.sha }}"
-    assert checkouts[1]["with"]["path"] == "release-policy"
-    assert all("if" not in step and step["with"]["persist-credentials"] == "false" for step in checkouts)
-    assert guard["steps"][index]["run"] == (
-        "python3 release-policy/scripts/check_release_migrations.py --target-gates .github/release-gates.json"
-    )
-    assert "build-artifacts" in jobs["trigger-gitlab-security"]["needs"]
-    assert "changes-guard" in jobs["build-artifacts"]["needs"]
-    assert "needs.changes-guard.outputs.should-build == 'true'" in jobs["build-artifacts"]["if"]
+    commands = "\n".join(_run_commands(job) for job in jobs.values() if "steps" in job)
+    assert "check_release_migrations.py" not in commands
+    assert "release-gates.json" not in commands
+    assert not any(step.get("uses", "").startswith("actions/checkout@") for step in guard["steps"])
+    steps = [step.get("id") for step in guard["steps"]]
+    assert steps.index("target") < steps.index("version") < steps.index("decide")
+    assert guard["outputs"]["dev-version"] == "${{ steps.version.outputs.dev-version }}"
+    build = jobs["build-artifacts"]
+    assert "scripts/apply_dev_version.py" in _run_commands(build)
+    assert {"changes-guard", "manual-approval", "python-compliance"} <= set(build["needs"])
+    assert "needs.changes-guard.outputs.should-build == 'true'" in build["if"]
+    publish = jobs["trigger-gitlab-security"]
+    assert {"build-artifacts", "manual-approval", "fpe-support-matrix", "license-evidence"} <= set(publish["needs"])
+    for name in ("build-artifacts", "fpe-support-matrix", "license-evidence"):
+        assert f"needs.{name}.result == 'success'" in publish["if"]
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
@@ -87,7 +91,7 @@ def test_release_migration_gate_blocks_publication_until_reviewed_clearance(tmp_
         ("clear", "malformed", 1),
     ],
 )
-def test_publication_checks_current_policy_and_selected_target(tmp_path, monkeypatch, current, target, expected):
+def test_stable_publication_checks_current_policy_and_selected_target(tmp_path, monkeypatch, current, target, expected):
     from scripts import check_release_migrations as checker
 
     paths = {}