[#1341] Add section explaining SDK release process

Author: ReeceHumphreys

docs/source/Plugins/installing.rst

@@ -38,15 +38,26 @@ automatically.  Once installed, use it like any built-in Basilisk module:
 Version Compatibility
 ---------------------
 
-A plugin wheel is compiled against a specific Basilisk version.  Always
-install matching versions to avoid ABI incompatibilities:
+A plugin wheel is compiled against a specific Basilisk version.  The plugin's
+own version number is controlled by the plugin developer and does not need to
+match Basilisk's version.  What matters is that the wheel was built against the
+same BSK headers as the Basilisk release you have installed.
+
+Always verify you have the correct Basilisk version before installing a plugin.
+The plugin's documentation should state which Basilisk version it targets:
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-    pip install "bsk==2.9.1" "my-plugin==2.9.1"
+    pip install "bsk==2.9.1" "my-plugin"
+
+If the installed Basilisk version does not match what the plugin was compiled
+against, CMake will error at configure time with an error message.
 
-If the versions do not match, the plugin's CMake build will error with a
-clear message telling you which versions to align.
+.. note::
+   A plugin built with ``bsk-sdk==2.X.Y`` only works with Basilisk ``2.X.Y``.
+   Upgrading Basilisk means rebuilding the plugin against the matching SDK
+   version. We are exploring ways to make version compatibility easier in the
+   future.
 
 Installing the SDK (for plugin authors)
 ----------------------------------------

docs/source/Plugins/overview.rst

@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ Quick Start
 
 .. code-block:: cmake
 
-    cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.18)
+    cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.26)
     project(my_plugin LANGUAGES C CXX)
 
     find_package(Python3 REQUIRED COMPONENTS Interpreter Development.Module NumPy)
@@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ Quick Start
     sim.AddModelToTask("task", mod)
 
 A complete working example is provided in the
-`bsk-sdk repository <https://github.com/AVSLab/bsk_sdk/tree/develop/examples/custom-atm-plugin>`_.
+`bsk-sdk repository <https://github.com/AVSLab/bsk_sdk/tree/master/examples/custom-atm-plugin>`_.
 
 Version Compatibility
 ---------------------

docs/source/Plugins/writing.rst

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ write the module itself.  This page covers only the plugin-specific
 packaging: the project layout, ``CMakeLists.txt``, and ``pyproject.toml``.
 
 A complete working example is in the
-`bsk-sdk repository <https://github.com/AVSLab/bsk_sdk/tree/main/examples/custom-atm-plugin>`_.
+`bsk-sdk repository <https://github.com/AVSLab/bsk_sdk/tree/master/examples/custom-atm-plugin>`_.
 
 Prerequisites
 -------------

docs/source/Support/Developer/releaseGuide.rst

@@ -136,3 +136,21 @@ Where to make changes
      created. Release branches must remain stable and focused on fixes only.
    - Cherry-picks should be small, focused, and preferably reference the original
      commit hash in the message.
+
+Releasing the BSK SDK
+---------------------
+The `bsk-sdk <https://github.com/AVSLab/bsk_sdk>`_ package vendors the Basilisk
+SDK headers and runtime for plugin authors. Its version is kept in sync with
+Basilisk, so a new BSK release requires a corresponding SDK release.
+
+CI automatically checks out the Basilisk submodule at the tag matching the
+version string in ``pyproject.toml``, so no manual submodule update is needed.
+The only manual steps are:
+
+#. On a branch of develop, update the ``version`` field in ``pyproject.toml``
+   to match the new BSK release (e.g. ``2.X.Y``).
+#. Open a PR merging the updated ``pyproject.toml`` into ``develop`` on the
+   ``bsk-sdk`` repo. The PR CI workflow will test the SDK wheel build.
+#. Merge ``develop`` into ``master``.
+#. Push the matching tag ``v2.X.Y`` to ``master`` to trigger the wheel build
+   and PyPI publish via GitHub Actions.

docs/source/Support/bskReleaseNotesSnippets/1341-bsk-sdk-docs.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+- Added documentation for the ``bsk-sdk`` plugin system, covering how to install,
+  write, and distribute out-of-tree Basilisk plugins as standard Python wheels.