diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bdb8407d00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+---
+name: Bug report
+about: Create a report to help us improve
+title: ''
+labels: bug
+assignees: ''
+
+---
+
+**Describe the bug**
+
+A clear and concise description of what the bug is.
+
+**Steps/Code to reproduce bug**
+
+Please list *minimal* steps or code snippet for us to be able to reproduce the bug.
+
+A helpful guide on on how to craft a minimal bug report  http://matthewrocklin.com/blog/work/2018/02/28/minimal-bug-reports. 
+
+
+**Expected behavior**
+
+A clear and concise description of what you expected to happen.
+
+**Environment overview (please complete the following information)**
+
+ - Environment location: [Bare-metal, Docker, Cloud(specify cloud provider - AWS, Azure, GCP, Collab)]
+ - Method of install: [pip install or from source]. Please specify exact commands you used to install.
+ - If method of install is [Docker], provide `docker pull` & `docker run` commands used
+
+**Environment details**
+
+If NVIDIA docker image is used you don't need to specify these.
+Otherwise, please provide:
+- OS version
+- PyTorch version
+- Python version
+
+**Additional context**
+
+Add any other context about the problem here.
+Example: GPU model
diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3a13116134
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+---
+name: Feature request
+about: Suggest an idea for this project
+title: ''
+labels: feature request
+assignees: ''
+
+---
+
+**Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.**
+
+A clear and concise description of what the problem is. Ex. I'm always frustrated when [...]
+
+**Describe the solution you'd like**
+
+A clear and concise description of what you want to happen.
+Provide a code snippet on how new APIs/changes would be used by others.
+
+**Describe alternatives you've considered**
+
+A clear and concise description of any alternative solutions or features you've considered.
+
+**Additional context**
+
+Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..22db2a9278
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# What does this PR do ?
+
+Add a one line overview of what this PR aims to accomplish.
+
+# Changelog 
+- Please update the [CHANGELOG.md](/CHANGELOG.md) under next version with high level changes in this PR.
+
+# Usage
+* You can potentially add a usage example below
+
+```python
+# Add a code snippet demonstrating how to use this 
+```
+
+# Before your PR is "Ready for review"
+**Pre checks**:
+- [ ] Make sure you read and followed [Contributor guidelines](/CONTRIBUTING.md)
+- [ ] Did you write any new necessary tests?
+- [ ] Did you add or update any necessary documentation? Make sure to also update the [NeMo Framework User Guide](https://docs.nvidia.com/nemo-framework/user-guide/latest/index.html) which contains the tutorials
+
+# Checklist when contributing
+- [ ] TBD
+
+# Additional Information
+* Related to # (issue)
diff --git a/.github/labeler.yml b/.github/labeler.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dd9bc8c0f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/labeler.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+documentation:
+- docs/**
+
+CI:
+- .github/**/*
diff --git a/.github/workflows/_run_test.yml b/.github/workflows/_run_test.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3a85b30c04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/_run_test.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: ~test template
+
+on:
+  workflow_call:
+    inputs:
+      RUNNER:
+        type: string
+        description: Runner to use for test
+        required: true
+      TIMEOUT:
+        type: number
+        description: Max runtime of test in minutes
+        required: false
+        default: 10
+      SCRIPT:
+        type: string
+        description: Test script to execute
+        required: true
+      AFTER_SCRIPT:
+        type: string
+        description: Script to run after main test
+        required: false
+        default: ":"
+      IS_OPTIONAL:
+        type: boolean
+        description: Failure will cancel all other tests if set to true
+        required: false
+        default: false
+    outputs:
+      conclusion:
+        description: Conclusion of main test step
+        value: ${{ jobs.main.outputs.conclusion }}
+      log:
+        description: Last 2000 characters of the test step's log
+        value: ${{ jobs.main.outputs.log }} 
+jobs:
+  
+  main:
+    runs-on: ${{ inputs.RUNNER }} 
+    outputs:
+      conclusion: ${{ steps.main.conclusion }}
+      log: ${{ steps.main.outputs.log }}
+    steps:
+        - name: Docker system cleanup
+          run: |
+            docker system prune -a --filter "until=48h" --force || true
+
+        - name: Docker pull image
+          run: |
+            docker pull nemoci.azurecr.io/nemo__placeholder_container:${{ github.run_id }}
+
+        - name: Start container
+          run: |
+            docker run --rm -d --name nemo_container_${{ github.run_id }} --runtime=nvidia --gpus all --shm-size=64g \
+              --env TRANSFORMERS_OFFLINE=0 \
+              --env HYDRA_FULL_ERROR=1 \
+              --env HF_HOME=/home/TestData/_placeholder/hf_home \
+              --env _PLACEHOLDER_CI_DIR=/home/TestData/_placeholder \
+              --env _PLACEHOLDER_REPO_DIR=/opt/NeMo-_Placeholder \
+              --volume /mnt/datadrive/TestData/_placeholder/checkpoints:/home/TestData/_placeholder/checkpoints:ro \
+              --volume /mnt/datadrive/TestData/_placeholder/hf_home/hub:/home/TestData/_placeholder/hf_home/hub:ro \
+              nemoci.azurecr.io/nemo__placeholder_container:${{ github.run_id }} \
+              bash -c "sleep $(( ${{ inputs.TIMEOUT }} * 60 + 60 ))"
+  
+        - id: main
+          name: Run main script
+          timeout-minutes: ${{ inputs.TIMEOUT }}
+          run: |
+            # Print the host driver for debugging
+            nvidia-smi
+            mkdir -p ${{ github.run_id }}
+            cd ${{ github.run_id }}/
+
+            set +e
+            (
+            set -e
+
+            cmd=$(cat <<"RUN_TEST_EOF"
+            nvidia-smi
+            # Sanity check the driver/cuda combo
+            cudaCheck
+            # In case git commands need to be run inside _Placeholder
+            git config --global --add safe.directory $_PLACHOLDER_REPO_DIR
+            ${{ inputs.SCRIPT }}
+            RUN_TEST_EOF
+            )
+            docker exec nemo_container_${{ github.run_id }} bash -eux -o pipefail -c "$cmd"
+            ) 2> >(tee err.log)
+
+            EXIT_CODE=$?
+
+            echo "log=$(tail -c 2000 err.log |  base64 -w 0)" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            
+            exit $EXIT_CODE
+
+        - uses: "NVIDIA/NeMo/.github/actions/cancel-workflow@main"
+          if: failure() && inputs.IS_OPTIONAL == false
+
+        - name: after_script
+          if: always() && inputs.AFTER_SCRIPT != ':'
+          run: |
+            cmd=$(cat <<"RUN_TEST_EOF"
+            ${{ inputs.AFTER_SCRIPT }}
+            RUN_TEST_EOF
+            )
+            docker exec nemo_container_${{ github.run_id }} bash -eux -o pipefail -c "$cmd"
+
+        - name: Container shutdown
+          if: always()
+          run: |
+            docker container stop nemo_container_${{ github.run_id }} || true
+            docker container rm nemo_container_${{ github.run_id }} || true
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-test-publish-wheel.yml b/.github/workflows/build-test-publish-wheel.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1b6c5a3021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-test-publish-wheel.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+# name: Build, test, and publish a PyPi wheel (to testpypi)
+
+# on: 
+#   push:
+#     branches:
+#       - main
+#       - 'r**'
+    
+# defaults:
+#   run:
+#     shell: bash -x -e -u -o pipefail {0}
+
+# jobs:
+#   build-test-publish-wheel:
+#     uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_build_test_publish_wheel.yml@v0.22.3
+#     with:
+#       dry-run: true
+#       python-package: nemo__placeholder
+#       python-version: "3.12"
+#     secrets:
+#       TWINE_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.TWINE_USERNAME }}
+#       TWINE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.TWINE_PASSWORD }}
+#       SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_RELEASE_ENDPOINT }}
+#       SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cherry-pick-release-commit.yml b/.github/workflows/cherry-pick-release-commit.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..18ba7764c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cherry-pick-release-commit.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: Create PR to main with cherry-pick from release
+
+on: 
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+
+jobs:
+  cherry-pick:
+    uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_cherry_pick.yml@v0.22.7
+    secrets:
+      PAT: ${{ secrets.PAT }}
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN }}
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/cicd-main.yml b/.github/workflows/cicd-main.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..627544fc81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/cicd-main.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: "CICD NeMo _Placeholder"
+
+on:
+  pull_request:
+    branches:
+      - 'main'
+      - 'r**'
+    types: [labeled]
+  merge_group:
+    types: [checks_requested]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      test_to_run:
+        required: false
+        default: all
+        type: string
+        description: Comma-separated list of tests to run. Use "all" to run the full test suite.
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - 'main'
+
+concurrency:
+  group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}-${{ github.event.label.name || 'main' }}
+  cancel-in-progress: true
+
+jobs:
+  pre-flight:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    outputs:
+      test_to_run: ${{ steps.test_to_run.outputs.main }}
+      all: ${{ steps.all.outputs.main }}
+      run_ci: ${{ steps.evaluate.outputs.run_ci }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Parse test_to_run
+        id: test_to_run
+        run: |
+          parsed_string=$(echo ${{ inputs.test_to_run || 'all' }} | jq -c --raw-input 'split(",")')
+          echo "main=${parsed_string}" | tee -a "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+      - name: Parse all
+        id: all
+        run: |
+          echo "main=${{ contains(fromJSON(steps.test_to_run.outputs.main), 'all') }}" | tee -a "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
+      - name: Get changed files
+        id: changed-files
+        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+        uses: step-security/changed-files@v45.0.1
+        with:
+          files_yaml: |
+            doc:
+              - '**.md'
+              - docs/**
+            src:
+              - '!**.md'
+              - '!docs/**'
+
+      - name: Evaluate conditions
+        id: evaluate
+        env:
+          DOCS_ONLY: ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.doc_any_changed == 'true' && steps.changed-files.outputs.src_any_changed == 'false' }}
+          CHANGED_DOCS: ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.doc_all_changed_files }}
+          CHANGED_SRC: ${{ steps.changed-files.outputs.src_all_changed_files }}
+          IS_PULLREQUEST: ${{ github.event_name == 'pull_request' }}
+          LABEL: ${{ github.event.label.name == 'Run CICD' }}
+          MERGE_GROUP: ${{ github.event_name == 'merge_group' }}
+        run: |
+          # Some output that's helpful for debugging
+          echo "Docs changed: $CHANGED_DOCS"
+          echo "Src changed: $CHANGED_SRC"
+          
+          # echo "DOCS_ONLY: $DOCS_ONLY"
+          echo "LABEL: $LABEL"
+          echo "IS_PULLREQUEST: $IS_PULLREQUEST"
+          
+          # Run CI only (on main or if label is attached) and if it's not only docs
+          echo run_ci=$([[ ("$LABEL" = "true" || "$IS_PULLREQUEST" = "false" || "$MERGE_GROUP" = "true")  && "$DOCS_ONLY" = "false" ]] && echo "true" || echo "false") | tee -a "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+  
+  lint-check:
+    name: Lint check
+    needs: [pre-flight]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ needs.pre-flight.outputs.run_ci == 'true' }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Check lint
+        run: |
+          pip install pre-commit
+          pre-commit install
+          pre-commit run --all-files --show-diff-on-failure --color=always
+
+  unit-tests:
+    name: Unit tests
+    needs: [pre-flight]
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: ${{ needs.pre-flight.outputs.run_ci == 'true' }}
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - name: Run unit tests
+        run: |
+          pip install uv
+          uv venv -p python3.10 .venv
+          uv pip install --force-reinstall .
+          uv run --group test -- pytest
+
+      - name: after_script
+        if: always()
+        run: |
+          rm -rf .venv
diff --git a/.github/workflows/copyright-check.yml b/.github/workflows/copyright-check.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3e6dba0b53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/copyright-check.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: Copyright check
+
+on: 
+  pull_request:
+
+jobs:
+  copyright-check:
+    uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_copyright_check.yml@v0.2.0
diff --git a/.github/workflows/labeler.yaml b/.github/workflows/labeler.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c98d2a8c56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/labeler.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: "Pull Request Labeler"
+on:
+- pull_request_target
+
+jobs:
+  triage:
+    permissions:
+      contents: read
+      pull-requests: write
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+    - uses: actions/labeler@v4
+      with:
+        repo-token: "${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-freeze.yml b/.github/workflows/release-freeze.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..176b6681e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-freeze.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: "Code freeze"
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release-type:
+        type: choice
+        description: Type of release
+        options: 
+        - major
+        - minor
+      freeze-commit:
+        type: string
+        description: Commit SHA to use for cut-off
+        required: false
+        default: main
+      dry-run:
+        type: boolean
+        description: Dry-run of code-freeze
+        required: false
+        default: true
+jobs:
+  code-freeze:
+    uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_code_freeze.yml@v0.22.5
+    with:
+      library-name: NeMo-_Placeholder
+      python-package: nemo__placeholder
+      release-type: ${{ inputs.release-type }}
+      freeze-commit: ${{ inputs.freeze-commit }}
+      dry-run: ${{ inputs.dry-run }}
+    secrets:
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_RELEASE_ENDPOINT }}
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yaml b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..247e821beb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: "Release _Placeholder"
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release-ref: 
+        description: Ref (SHA or branch name) to release
+        required: true
+        type: string
+      dry-run:
+        description: Do not publish a wheel and GitHub release.
+        required: true
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
+      version-bump-branch:
+        description: Branch for version bump
+        required: true
+        type: string
+          
+jobs:
+  release:
+    uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_release_library.yml@v0.22.6
+    with:
+      release-ref: ${{ inputs.release-ref }}
+      python-package: nemo__placeholder
+      python-version: "3.11"
+      library-name: NeMo-_Placeholder
+      dry-run: ${{ inputs.dry-run }}
+      version-bump-branch: ${{ inputs.version-bump-branch }}
+    secrets:
+      TWINE_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.TWINE_USERNAME }}
+      TWINE_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.TWINE_PASSWORD }}
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN: ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK_ADMIN }}
+      SLACK_WEBHOOK: ${{ secrets.SLACK_RELEASE_ENDPOINT }}
+      PAT: ${{ secrets.PAT }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/semantic-pull-request.yml b/.github/workflows/semantic-pull-request.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7ef7972c0e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/semantic-pull-request.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+name: Validate PR title
+
+on:
+  pull_request_target:
+    types:
+      - opened
+      - edited
+      - synchronize
+      - reopened
+  pull_request:
+    types:
+      - opened
+      - edited
+      - synchronize
+      - reopened
+
+defaults:
+  run:
+    shell: bash -x -e -u -o pipefail {0}
+
+permissions:
+  pull-requests: read
+
+jobs:
+  semantic-pull-request:
+    uses: NVIDIA/NeMo-FW-CI-templates/.github/workflows/_semantic_pull_request.yml@v0.13.0
+    
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2628699139
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+# log and data files
+*.model
+*.pkl
+*.pt
+.DS_Store
+.hydra
+.bash_history.local
+
+# Byte-compiled / optimized / DLL files
+__pycache__/
+*.py[cod]
+*$py.class
+**.pyc
+
+# C extensions
+*.so
+
+# Distribution / packaging
+.idea
+.Python
+wandb
+build/
+develop-eggs/
+dist/
+downloads/
+eggs/
+.eggs/
+lib/
+lib64/
+#parts/
+sdist/
+var/
+wheels/
+pip-wheel-metadata/
+share/python-wheels/
+*.egg-info/
+.installed.cfg
+*.egg
+MANIFEST
+
+# PyInstaller
+#  Usually these files are written by a python script from a template
+#  before PyInstaller builds the exe, so as to inject date/other infos into it.
+*.manifest
+*.spec
+
+# Installer logs
+pip-log.txt
+pip-delete-this-directory.txt
+
+# Unit test / coverage reports
+htmlcov/
+.tox/
+.nox/
+.coverage
+.coverage.*
+.cache
+nosetests.xml
+coverage.xml
+*.cover
+.hypothesis/
+.pytest_cache/
+
+# Translations
+*.mo
+*.pot
+
+# Django stuff:
+*.log
+local_settings.py
+db.sqlite3
+
+# Flask stuff:
+instance/
+.webassets-cache
+
+# Scrapy stuff:
+.scrapy
+
+# Sphinx documentation
+docs/build
+
+# PyBuilder
+target/
+
+# Jupyter Notebook
+.ipynb_checkpoints
+
+# Override Jupyter in Github Language states for more accurate estimate of repo code.
+# Reference: https://github.com/github/linguist/blob/master/docs/overrides.md#generated-code
+*.ipynb linguist-generated
+
+# IPython
+profile_default/
+ipython_config.py
+
+# pyenv
+.python-version
+
+# pipenv
+#   According to pypa/pipenv#598, it is recommended to include Pipfile.lock in version control.
+#   However, in case of collaboration, if having platform-specific dependencies or dependencies
+#   having no cross-platform support, pipenv may install dependencies that don’t work, or not
+#   install all needed dependencies.
+#Pipfile.lock
+
+# celery beat schedule file
+celerybeat-schedule
+
+# SageMath parsed files
+*.sage.py
+
+# Environments
+.env
+.venv
+venv/
+env.bak/
+venv.bak/
+
+# VSCode project settins
+.vscode/
+
+# Spyder project settings
+.spyderproject
+.spyproject
+
+# Rope project settings
+.ropeproject
+
+# mkdocs documentation
+/site
+/docs/html
+/docs/docs_zh/zh
+
+# mypy
+.mypy_cache/
+.dmypy.json
+dmypy.json
+
+# Pyre type checker
+.pyre/
+
+# Emacs backup files
+*~
+
+*.tar.gz
+
+# Test data.
+tests/.data
+tests/data
+
+# outputs folder
+wandb
+
+# Checkpoints, config files and temporary files created in tutorials.
+.hydra/
diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8fe30b1e26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+repos:
+  - repo: https://github.com/pre-commit/pre-commit-hooks
+    rev: v4.4.0
+    hooks:
+    - id: end-of-file-fixer
+      # only include python files
+      files: \.py$
+    - id: trailing-whitespace
+      # only include python files
+      files: \.py$
+
+  - repo: https://github.com/astral-sh/ruff-pre-commit
+    rev: "v0.9.9" # Use the appropriate version
+    hooks:
+    - id: ruff
+      args: ["--fix"]
+    - id: ruff-format
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index fdffa2a0fd..7ce63a5cf4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1 +1 @@
-# placeholder
+# _placeholder
diff --git a/nemo__placeholder/__init__.py b/nemo__placeholder/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f5e16b0d09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nemo__placeholder/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+from nemo__placeholder.package_info import (
+    __contact_emails__,
+    __contact_names__,
+    __description__,
+    __download_url__,
+    __homepage__,
+    __keywords__,
+    __license__,
+    __package_name__,
+    __repository_url__,
+    __shortversion__,
+    __version__,
+)
diff --git a/nemo__placeholder/package_info.py b/nemo__placeholder/package_info.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e1daf52f75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/nemo__placeholder/package_info.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+MAJOR = 0
+MINOR = 1
+PATCH = 0
+PRE_RELEASE = ""
+
+# Use the following formatting: (major, minor, patch, pre-release)
+VERSION = (MAJOR, MINOR, PATCH, PRE_RELEASE)
+
+__shortversion__ = ".".join(map(str, VERSION[:3]))
+__version__ = ".".join(map(str, VERSION[:3])) + "".join(VERSION[3:])
+
+__package_name__ = "nemo__placeholder"
+__contact_names__ = "NVIDIA"
+__contact_emails__ = "nemo-_placeholder@nvidia.com"
+__homepage__ = "https://docs.nvidia.com/deeplearning/nemo/user-guide/docs/en/stable/"
+__repository_url__ = "https://github.com/nvidia/nemo__placeholder"
+__download_url__ = "https://github.com/NVIDIA/NeMo__placeholder"
+__description__ = "_placeholder"
+__license__ = "Apache2"
+__keywords__ = "_placeholder"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8793fb50ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+[build-system]
+requires = ["setuptools>=42", "wheel", "torch==2.6.0"]
+build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
+
+[project]
+name = "nemo-_placeholder"
+version = "0.0.1"
+description = "_Placeholder"
+readme = "README.md"
+requires-python = ">=3.10"
+license = {text = "Apache 2.0"}
+dependencies = [
+    "torch==2.6.0"
+]
+
+[tool.setuptools]
+packages = ["nemo__placeholder"]
+
+[dependency-groups]
+dev = [
+    "pre-commit==3.6.0",
+    "ruff==0.9.9",
+]
+test = [
+    "pytest>=7.0.0",
+    "pytest-timeout",
+    "pytest-cov",
+]
+
+[project.optional-dependencies]
+build = [
+    "torch==2.6.0", 
+    "setuptools", 
+    "packaging",
+    "einops"
+]
+docs = [
+    "sphinx",
+    "sphinx-autobuild",  # For live doc serving while editing docs
+    "sphinx-autodoc2",  # For documenting Python API
+    "sphinx-copybutton",  # Adds a copy button for code blocks
+    "myst_parser",  # For our markdown docs
+    "nvidia-sphinx-theme",  # Our NVIDIA theme
+]
+
+[tool.black]
+line-length = 120
+include = '\.pyi?$'
+exclude = '''
+/(
+    \.git
+  | \.venv
+  | build
+)/
+'''
+
+[tool.pytest.ini_options]
+testpaths = ["tests"]
+python_files = "test_*.py"
+
+[tool.ruff.lint]
+# Enable all `pydocstyle` rules, limiting to those that adhere to the
+# Google convention via `convention = "google"`, below.
+select = ["D"]
+
+# On top of the Google convention, disable `D417`, which requires
+# documentation for every function parameter.
+# TODO: Remove D10 once we are about to release to get all the docstrings written
+ignore = ["D417", "D10"]
+
+[tool.ruff.lint.pydocstyle]
+convention = "google"
+
+# Section to exclude errors for different file types
+[tool.ruff.per-file-ignores]
+# Ignore all directories named `tests`.
+"tests/**" = ["D"]
+# Ignore all files that end in `_test.py`.
+"*_test.py" = ["D"]
diff --git a/tests/unit/test__placeholder.py b/tests/unit/test__placeholder.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0ae23d24f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test__placeholder.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2025, NVIDIA CORPORATION.  All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+
+def test__placeholder():
+    """Should be True"""
+    assert True is True