Post-2026.1.0.52 sweep, Tier 1: Python 3.13, save-as-blueprint global inputs, blueprint category validation

[nahumtimerman]

First batch of the catch-up for everything that landed on 2026.1 after the 2026.1.0.52 pass (#18) and was not covered by #19–#22. This tier is the behavior-changing set; the new APIs and the remaining fixes follow in Tier 2 and Tier 3.

Bundled Python 3 → 3.13.15 (64-bit)

Trunk CS 189997 (+ 189988 canary suite, 189999 binaries), backported to 2026.1 in CS 190003. From CPython 3.9.9 (32-bit).

The important nuance, verified against the source rather than the changeset comment: this is the Windows bundled slot only. Tools/DockerExecutionServer/Dockerfile still builds Python 3.9.9, as do the Linux virtual appliance and the from-script ES. So every page states the platform split instead of a blanket "CloudShell now uses Python 3.13", and tells shell developers targeting both platforms to stay compatible with 3.9 and 3.13. Python 2.7.18 is untouched.

This also corrects setting-up-dev-env.md, which #23 had just updated to say the bundled version is 3.9.9 — accurate when it merged on Sep 6, wrong when the upgrade landed on Sep 8. That page now carries a per-platform table.

Global inputs kept when saving a sandbox as a blueprint

CS 189903 / 189905 / 189914. New KeepResourceGlobalInputsOnSaveAsBlueprint key, default true, so this is a behavior change on upgrade: global inputs that fronted a resource requirement used to be dropped and are now kept — visible in the Reserve dialog and the blueprint editor. Documented with the linked/plain-value distinction (relinked in the work-order flow, plain value where the resource was pinned down), and added to the Blueprint Workspace config keys as a Server-side customer key (AppSettingVisibility.Customer, read by ServiceConfigSettingsLoader).

Blueprint import validates categories

CS 189942. A blueprint referencing a category absent from the target domain now fails the import instead of silently dropping the association. The ExportBlueprint/ImportBlueprint page from #22 already stated this, so it needed no correction — only the release notes did.

Files

• docs/release-notes/whats-new.md — three new 2026.1 entries
• docs/release-notes/behavior-change.md — three rows
• docs/admin/.../customer-configuration-keys-repository/blueprint-workspace.md — new key
• docs/install-configure/cs-system-requirements/third-party-software.md — Python version + 2026.1 box
• docs/devguide/setting-up-dev-env.md — per-platform bundled-Python table
• docs/devguide/{developing-shells,develop-orch-scripts,develop-custom-cloud-provider-shells}/getting-started*.md — dev-install versions
• .wordlist.txt — CPython

npx docusaurus build passes. The 3 broken links it reports are pre-existing (intro/features/abstract-resources) and unrelated.

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