git:20260817.d36ff70 to git:20260925.9bb5a39

- Use when Jetson codec, profile, chroma, bit-depth, dimension, engine-count, or

- operational support must be reconciled using live SDK APIs, authenticated

- NVIDIA samples, and NVIDIA documentation. Also use for Jetson questions about

- Netflix, Widevine, or other DRM-protected streaming-service playback to apply

- the codec-scope boundary.

- languages: [python]

- ## Purpose

-

- Answer Video Codec SDK and PyNvVideoCodec support questions without confusing an

- API response, a successful operation, and product documentation. Query the live

- target first, retain exact operation evidence separately, and publish the final

- product-support verdict from applicable NVIDIA documentation.

-

- ## Prerequisites

-

- - Fresh evidence from `jetson-video-setup` is an optional authority, not a

- prerequisite. When it is supplied, authenticate and use it exactly. When it

- is absent, this skill authenticates only the selected installed surface:

- package-owned native sources and requested report targets, or the exact

- invoking PyNvVideoCodec interpreter and wheel. It never installs, repairs,

- scans for a venv, or imports setup code. A fresh environment artifact that

- the agent obtains from setup's public read-only probe counts as supplied

- evidence; it need not originate in the customer's prompt.

- - Run live queries on the target Jetson with direct GPU access. Do not claim

- current availability from an x86 host or a result copied from another target.

- - If selected-surface prerequisites are missing, stop without mutation and

- route that surface to `jetson-video-setup`. If that skill is not installed,

- tell the user to install it. Never infer codec or product support from a

- missing Python import or native build prerequisite.

- - Keep the installed native and Python surfaces independent. Query only the

- requested surface unless the user explicitly selects `both`.

- - Query execution requires this capability skill plus either valid supplied

- setup evidence or the selected local prerequisites described below. An exact

- operation check also requires

- `jetson-video-recipe`, which owns recipe resolution, and

- `jetson-video-pipeline`, which owns authenticated

- encode-to-independent-decode execution.

- - Before a bounded operation check, when setup is installed read its shared

- [video content policy](../jetson-video-setup/references/video-content.md).

- Query-only work is media-free; only the documented setup fixture is allowed

- for the capability-smoke exception. Setup is not required solely for this

- policy: without it, require one exact user-selected path or URL for any other

- operation, never substitute catalog or synthetic media, and preserve source

- URL, license, attribution, path, size, and SHA-256.

-

- Resolve this skill from the installed skills root and set `CAPABILITY_SKILL` to

- its canonical absolute path. Invoke each owning script directly under isolated

- Python:

-

- ```bash

- python3 -I "$CAPABILITY_SKILL/scripts/query_native_sample_reports.py" --help

- python3 -I "$CAPABILITY_SKILL/scripts/query_encoder_caps.py" --help

- python3 -I "$CAPABILITY_SKILL/scripts/query_decoder_caps.py" --help

- python3 -I "$CAPABILITY_SKILL/scripts/validate_appenc_av1_ivf.py" --help

- ```

-

- If an owning script is missing, stop with `dependency_required`. A setup

- artifact is optional; a supplied one is never optional to validate. Do not copy

- modules from another skill or add a fallback import path.

-

- ## Compose requested sibling stages

-

- Capability queries and documentation reconciliation require no sibling when

- the selected SDK prerequisites already exist. Use `jetson-video-setup` for

- installation, repair, or one read-only readiness handoff when registered

- PyNvVideoCodec authority is required; use `jetson-video-recipe` plus

- `jetson-video-pipeline` for an exact requested operation, and

- `jetson-video-benchmark` for requested throughput. Check the agent's installed

- skill catalog before each such stage.

- If the sibling is present, read its `SKILL.md` and invoke its documented public

- entry point; pass artifacts as data and never import sibling code. If it is

- absent, preserve every completed query result and say, using the actual names:

- `I can run <stage>, but it requires <skill>, which is not installed. Install

- <skill> and retry this stage.` Never require a sibling for an unrequested or

- optional refinement.

-

- ## Instructions

-

- 1. **Classify the request first, before any target probe, capability query, or

- other workflow step.** For a request solely for objective quality

- metrics, including PSNR or SSIM, state only that this skill does not provide

- them and that a separately authorized quality workflow is required, then

- stop. Do not name or recommend an external tool, and do not offer to

- configure or run the comparison; do not request media, probe, install

- anything, or launch an operation.

- For a request solely about Netflix, Widevine, or other DRM-protected

- streaming-service playback, state only that this skill covers hardware

- encode/decode of user-supplied non-DRM bitstreams and does not cover,

- enable, or verify streaming-service or content-DRM playback. Do not claim

- whether the service will work; do not describe Jetson content-DRM

- certification; do not recommend or offer to install a browser, a content-DRM

- module (Widevine, PlayReady), a playback tool, a workaround, or a bypass; do

- not probe the target or launch an operation. NVDEC decode of supported

- user-supplied non-DRM bitstreams stays fully in scope for this skill and is

- never discouraged by this boundary, so you may say so. Then stop. A mixed

- request that also asks an in-scope codec question is not refused wholesale:

- answer the in-scope part normally and apply this boundary only to the

- streaming-service part.

- An unqualified “DRM” does not by itself mean content protection: on Jetson it

- commonly means the Linux Direct Rendering Manager (DRM/KMS, `/dev/dri`,

- modesetting, display connectors), which this boundary does not cover. Apply

- this boundary only when the request identifies Netflix, Widevine, PlayReady,

- streaming-service protection, or otherwise clearly means content Digital

- Rights Management; if the request says only “DRM” and the context does not

- resolve which is meant, ask the user which before answering. A local

- DRM-free MP4 shown on a display is likewise not a content-DRM request, and

- its codec portion stays in scope.

- Otherwise handle capability discovery, exact support questions, and

- interpretation of saved capability evidence. Route package installation to

- `jetson-video-setup`, recipe construction to `jetson-video-recipe`,

- throughput measurement to `jetson-video-benchmark`, and multi-stage media

- work to `jetson-video-pipeline`. Within a capability request, a genuinely

- bare “video SDK” phrase with no product qualifier is ambiguous: ask whether

- the customer means native Video Codec SDK, PyNvVideoCodec, or both, then

- stop before probing either surface. Report-only intent or “probe the target”

- does not authorize `--runtime both`.

- A capability support/catalog request that names no SDK surface or product

- phrase uses native-preferred fallback selection, whether it is broad, exact,

- or a bounded subset. Select native when its route is eligible. Only when

- native is ineligible, evaluate the PyNvVideoCodec candidate in the authority

- order defined in step 3; select Py when that candidate is eligible. Do not

- ask the user to choose merely because this fallback was used. When native is

- selected, do not evaluate Py; if the response displays that unselected peer,

- report it as `not_evaluated` with reason `surface_not_selected`. If neither

- route is eligible, preserve both typed reasons and provide the applicable

- setup remediation. Serialize a successful fallback as an explicit `native`

- or `pynvc` request before applying the shared routing truth table. Carry that

- resolved surface explicitly into any authorized downstream operation so the

- operation controller does not reclassify it as `auto`. This capability-only

- unnamed policy is not `auto`: only

- explicit “auto”, “whichever”, “best available”, “choose for me”, or

- equivalent wording that expressly delegates the SDK choice is genuine

- `auto`; it is never `both`. Naming Python or PyNvVideoCodec is explicit

- `pynvc`. Naming Video Codec SDK, `native`, `AppEncCuda`, or `AppDec` is

- explicit `native` and never falls back.

- 2. **Apply the authorization gate.** A discovery or report-only request is

- query-only. Query and reconcile documentation before deciding whether an

- operation is useful. A directly applicable documentation `No` is the final

- product verdict and ends the normal support/availability check without a

- codec operation; a request to “check live availability” or “operational

- support” does not by itself require an experiment that cannot change that

- verdict. Preserve conflicting raw inventory as diagnostic evidence. Run a

- bounded matching official operation only when documentation is supported or

- unknown and live availability is requested, or when the user separately

- and explicitly requests a diagnostic experiment despite the unsupported

- product verdict. Such an experiment never promotes product support. No

- package, repository, signing-key, or credential change is authorized. If an

- otherwise required operation controller is unavailable, report `not_tested`

- and the required next action rather than inventing live availability.

- 3. **Authenticate only the selected surface.** Use matching fresh setup

- evidence when the caller or the agent supplied it. A malformed, stale, or

- mismatched supplied artifact fails closed and never falls back. For an

- explicit `pynvc` or `both` request, a genuine `auto` candidate gate, or the

- unnamed fallback after native is ineligible, with neither setup evidence nor

- an exact interpreter, check the installed skill catalog. When

- `jetson-video-setup` is present, invoke its public read-only

- `probe_nvcodec.py` with `--runtime pynvc` for explicit `pynvc` or the unnamed

- fallback, or `--runtime both` for `both`/`auto`, and a fresh `--output`;

- never pass `--setup-candidate`. Inspect the fresh output before using it. A Py

- candidate is eligible only when the artifact has `mode=live`, the requested

- GPU, `pynvc.installed=true`, and `pynvc.identity.status=verified`. If

- routing selects Py, invoke this skill's Py query only under the artifact's

- lexical `pynvc.identity.interpreter` with `-I` and pass the raw artifact

- path through `--environment`.

- If setup is absent, use reason `setup_probe_unavailable`; if it reports an

- absent, stale, unreadable, invalid-binding, or launch-failure result,

- preserve that exact typed reason.

- For explicit `pynvc`/`both`, ask for the exact canonical absolute

- interpreter. For `auto`, report PyNvVideoCodec as `not_evaluated` with that

- reason and continue only an eligible native branch. For the unnamed

- fallback, preserve the typed Py reason beside the ineligible native reason

- and provide setup remediation; never silently return a native-only

- unavailable result while a healthy registered Py candidate exists. Never

- scan or guess.

- Otherwise use this skill's local query path: a fresh explicit native build

- workspace, or the exact PyNvVideoCodec interpreter invoking the query under

- `-I`.

- Missing prerequisites are `unknown`/`not_ready`; route them to setup and, if

- setup is absent, instruct its installation.

- 4. **Run the selected capability route.** Before invoking it, read the matching

- command and authentication contract in

- [native official-sample reports](references/capability-queries.md#native-official-sample-reports),

- [encoder API query](references/capability-queries.md#encoder-api-query), or

- [decoder API query](references/capability-queries.md#decoder-api-query).

- Native uses a supplied verification or a fresh explicit report workspace;

- Py uses the validated lexical interpreter and includes `--environment` when

- setup evidence was supplied. Default encoder scope is H.264, HEVC, and AV1.

- An unconstrained explicit Py decoder-catalog request, or a broad unnamed

- decoder-catalog request whose fallback selects Py, uses the complete

- 120-tuple matrix. A bounded subset queries only the named codec families.

- Keep an unnamed fallback answer at the requested family-summary scope; do

- not dump tuple-level claims unless the user requested them. For `both`, run

- the branches independently. Preserve every result as raw report/API

- evidence; never promote it to product support or operation proof. A failed

- or unavailable live branch never suppresses the documentation answer.

- 5. **Cross-check NVIDIA documentation before deciding whether to run an

- operation.** Follow the complete

- [documentation cross-check](references/capability-queries.md#documentation-cross-check)

- and read the

- [versioned R39.2/SDK 13.0 Thor baseline](references/capability-queries.md#versioned-r392sdk-130-thor-baseline)

- before transcribing a dynamic table. Record URLs, retrieval date, literal

- live identity, exact field label, and the exact row or complete candidate

- set. Never infer a cell from flattened or ordinal table text. Use only the

- version-matched SDK 13.0 note for this release; a field it does not establish

- remains `unknown`.

- 6. **Run the smallest matching official operation only when steps 2 and 5

- require it.** Resolve and validate one exact minimal recipe with

- `jetson-video-recipe`, then hand its sealed recipe, environment, and input

- identities to the pipeline-owned controller. Set `PIPELINE_SKILL` to that

- installed skill's canonical path:

-

- ```bash

- python3 -I "$PIPELINE_SKILL/scripts/encode_controller.py" \

- --request "$OPERATION_REQUEST" --workspace "$FRESH_WORKSPACE" \

- --output "$OPERATION_RESULT"

- ```

-

- A bounded capability smoke operation may use the setup workflow's documented

- deterministic one-frame raw fixture; it is never representative media and

- cannot support performance, quality, or pipeline claims. For encode,

- operation proof requires the independent authenticated decoder to consume

- the exact output path and SHA-256 and produce the exact decoded frame count.

- An API response, exit zero, encode marker, or output file alone is

- insufficient. If `jetson-video-recipe` or `jetson-video-pipeline` is absent,

- report `not_tested` and name every missing dependency as the next action.

- AV1 IVF structure may be checked with:

-

- ```bash

- python3 -I "$CAPABILITY_SKILL/scripts/validate_appenc_av1_ivf.py" \

- --input "$BITSTREAM" --width "$WIDTH" --height "$HEIGHT" \

- --expected-frames "$FRAMES" --output "$IVF_REPORT"

- ```

- `structure_verified` proves container structure only; it never establishes

- `operation_verified`.

- 7. **Publish the reconciled result.** Keep these signals separate:

- - `caps_query`: raw Py API fields and status;

- - `official_sample_report`: raw native `-ec`/`-dc` inventory, never an API

- or operation verdict;

- - `operation_evidence`: `operation_verified`, `operation_failed`, or

- `not_tested`;

- - `documentation_crosscheck`: the product-support authority.

- Publish customer-facing support from `documentation_crosscheck`, and report

- live availability only from a successful exact operation. A directly

- applicable documentation `No`, including unanimous authenticated candidate

- rows when exact row identity is unresolved, is the final `unsupported`

- verdict even if the API advertises fields or an operation succeeds.

- 8. **Enumerate ambiguous product rows completely.** When one live identity maps

- to several authenticated documentation candidates, list every authenticated

- candidate row by its documentation label and exact queried value and state

- the candidate count. A subset cannot establish consensus. If candidate

- values disagree, keep the documentation verdict `unknown`; never choose a

- nearby product row. Never shrink the candidate set using live API fields

- such as engine count, dimensions, or format flags; GUID enumeration; an

- operation outcome; performance; or similarity to a marketing specification.

- Those are evidence being reconciled, not independent product identity. For

- a generic `NVIDIA Jetson Thor Developer Kit` / `NVIDIA Thor` identity, the

- word `Jetson` alone is not an authenticated row discriminator: unless an

- NVIDIA one-to-one product mapping narrows it, include every Thor row in the

- combined Jetson/IGX table. Apply this rule to any queried field, not only one

- codec.

- Read [capability-queries.md](references/capability-queries.md) for exact evidence

- semantics and [surface-selection-contract.md](references/surface-selection-contract.md)

- for `native`, `pynvc`, `auto`, and `both` behavior.

- ## Available Scripts

- The four owning scripts are listed in the prerequisite help commands above.

- Invoke them directly, and read

- [capability-queries.md](references/capability-queries.md) for route-specific

- purposes, arguments, and contracts.

- ## Published artifacts

- Capability artifacts are optional refinements; authenticated schema-1.2

- `nvcodec-environment` capabilities remain sufficient for sibling workflows.

- Read [capability-queries.md](references/capability-queries.md) for their exact

- contracts. Never promote sample/API evidence to support or operation proof.

- ## Troubleshooting

- - Preserve `capability_reported`, `operation_verified`, `operation_failed`,

- raw API `unsupported`, and `unknown` as distinct internal states.

- - Treat missing query authority, failed registry authentication, absent API

- fields, nonzero-GPU PyNv queries, and unavailable exact operations as

- `unknown` or `not_tested` with a concrete next action.

- - Report a launched exact operation failure as `operation_failed`, not global

- product unsupported. A native `-ec`/`-dc` report failure remains raw

- `unknown`.

- - Retry at most once and only after an evidenced condition changes. Use a fresh

- work directory and output path for the retry.

- ## Limitations

- - PyNvVideoCodec 2.1 encoder and decoder capability helpers select GPU 0;

- nonzero-GPU results remain unknown.

- - Capability fields do not measure throughput, quality, latency, camera count,

- or successful concurrent sessions.

- - Objective quality measurement, including PSNR and SSIM, is outside this

- skill.

- - Results apply to the exact target, software versions, GPU, codec tuple, and

- operation that produced the evidence.