NVIDIA-NeMo · Pouyanpi · Jul 7, 2026 · Jul 7, 2026 · Jul 7, 2026 · Jul 7, 2026
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -158,8 +158,7 @@ Documentation tooling requires Node.js 22. The Fern CLI version is pinned in
 `fern/fern.config.json` and invoked through `npx`; no separate Python docs
 dependency group is required.
 
-Valid optional extras are `sdd`, `eval`, `gcp`, `tracing`, `jailbreak`,
-`multilingual`, `server`, `chat-ui`, and `all`. For example:
+Valid optional extras are `eval`, `tracing`, `server`, `chat-ui`, and `all`. For example:
 
 ```bash
 uv sync --locked --extra server --extra tracing

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/agentic-security.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/agentic-security.mdx
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ For information about writing YARA rules, refer to the [YARA documentation](http
 
 ### Example
 
-Before you begin, install the `yara-python` package or you can install the NeMo Guardrails package with `pip install nemoguardrails[jailbreak]`.
+Before you begin, install the `yara-python` package with `pip install "yara-python>=4.5.1,<5"`.
 
 1. Set your NVIDIA API key as an environment variable:
 

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/cleanlab.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/cleanlab.mdx
@@ -28,8 +28,8 @@ define bot response untrustworthy
 
 Install the Python client to use Cleanlab's trustworthiness score:
 
-```
-pip install --upgrade cleanlab-tlm
+```bash
+pip install --upgrade cleanlab-studio
 ```
 
 You can get an API key for free by [creating a Cleanlab account](https://tlm.cleanlab.ai/) or experiment with the trustworthiness scores in the [playground](https://tlm.cleanlab.ai/). Feel free to [email Cleanlab](mailto:support@cleanlab.ai) with any questions.

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/gcp-text-moderations.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/gcp-text-moderations.mdx
@@ -3,7 +3,19 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 title: "GCP Text Moderation Integration"
 ---
-NeMo Guardrails supports using the [GCP Text Moderation API](https://cloud.google.com/natural-language/docs/moderating-text) as an input rail out-of-the-box. There are many ways you can authentication on GCP, refer to this [link](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/application-default-credentials) for more details .
+NeMo Guardrails supports using the [GCP Text Moderation API](https://cloud.google.com/natural-language/docs/moderating-text) as an input rail out-of-the-box.
+
+## Setup
+
+Install the Google Cloud Natural Language client:
+
+```bash
+pip install "google-cloud-language>=2.14"
+```
+
+Configure [Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication/application-default-credentials) for the environment that runs the rail.
+
+## Usage
 
 ```yaml
 rails:

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/presidio.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/community/presidio.mdx
@@ -7,19 +7,16 @@ NeMo Guardrails supports detecting sensitive data out-of-the-box using [Presidio
 
 ## Setup
 
-To use the built-in sensitive data detection rails, you must install Presidio and download the `en_core_web_lg` model for `spacy`.
+To use the built-in sensitive data detection rails, you must use Python 3.10 through 3.12, install Presidio and spaCy, and download the `en_core_web_lg` spaCy model.
 
 ```bash
-pip install presidio-analyzer presidio-anonymizer spacy
+pip install "presidio-analyzer>=2.2; python_version < '3.13'" \
+  "presidio-anonymizer>=2.2; python_version < '3.13'" \
+  "spacy>=3.4.4,<4,!=3.7.0; python_version < '3.13'"
 python -m spacy download en_core_web_lg
 ```
 
-As an alternative, you can also use the `sdd` extra.
-
-```bash
-pip install nemoguardrails[sdd]
-python -m spacy download en_core_web_lg
-```
+The sensitive data detection rail is not supported on Python 3.13. The `nemoguardrails rails validate` command reports this as an unsupported environment.
 
 ## Usage
 

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/content-safety.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/content-safety.mdx
@@ -159,10 +159,10 @@ If the detected language is not in this list, English is used as the fallback.
 
 ### Installation
 
-To use multilingual refusal messages, install the NeMo Guardrails library with the `multilingual` extra:
+To use multilingual refusal messages, install `fast-langdetect`:
 
 ```bash
-pip install nemoguardrails[multilingual]
+pip install "fast-langdetect>=1"
 ```
 
 ### Usage

diff --git a/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/jailbreak-protection.mdx b/docs/configure-rails/guardrail-catalog/jailbreak-protection.mdx
@@ -109,10 +109,10 @@ There is currently one available model-based detection, using a random forest-ba
 
 The recommended way to use the jailbreak detection heuristics in production is to [deploy the jailbreak detection heuristics server](/more-deployment-options/using-docker#jailbreak-detection-heuristics) separately. For a hands-on configuration walkthrough, see [Use Jailbreak Detection Heuristics](/get-started/tutorials/jailbreak-detection-heuristics).
 
-For quick testing, you can use the jailbreak detection heuristics rail locally by first installing `transformers` and `torch`.
+For quick testing, you can use the jailbreak detection heuristics rail locally by installing its optional local dependencies.
 
 ```bash
-pip install transformers torch
+pip install "transformers>=4.35" "torch>=2" huggingface-hub
 ```
 
 ### Latency

diff --git a/docs/getting-started/installation-guide.mdx b/docs/getting-started/installation-guide.mdx
@@ -98,22 +98,33 @@ uv run nemoguardrails server --config examples/configs
 
 </Tabs>
 
-## Extra Dependencies
-
-You can install the NeMo Guardrails library with optional extra packages to add useful functionalities. The table below shows a comprehensive list.
-
-| Extra          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
-| -------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| `server`       | [Guardrails API server](/run-guardrailed-inference/using-fastapi-server/overview) dependencies (aiofiles for async file handling, openai for API schemas). FastAPI is a core dependency. Required to run `nemoguardrails server`. |
-| `sdd`          | [Sensitive data detection](/configure-guardrails/guardrail-catalog/pii-detection#presidio-based-sensitive-data-detection) using Presidio                                                                               |
-| `eval`         | [Policy-based evaluation tools](/evaluation/evaluate-configuration) for testing guardrails                                                                                                                        |
-| `tracing`      | OpenTelemetry tracing support                                                                                                                                                                                     |
-| `gcp`          | Google Cloud Platform language services                                                                                                                                                                           |
-| `jailbreak`    | YARA-based jailbreak detection heuristics                                                                                                                                                                         |
-| `multilingual` | Language detection for multilingual content                                                                                                                                                                       |
-| `all`          | All optional packages                                                                                                                                                                                             |
-
-Some features such as [AlignScore](/configure-guardrails/guardrail-catalog/third-party/alignscore) have additional requirements. See the feature documentation for details.
+## Optional Extras and Rail Dependencies
+
+### Optional Extras
+
+Install an optional extra when you need platform or development functionality that is not part of the default installation.
+
+| Extra     | Description |
+| --------- | ----------- |
+| `server`  | Dependencies for the [Guardrails API server](/run-guardrailed-inference/using-fastapi-server/overview), including API schemas and file watching. |
+| `eval`    | [Policy-based evaluation tools](/evaluation/evaluate-configuration) for testing guardrails. |
+| `tracing` | OpenTelemetry tracing support. |
+| `chat-ui` | Chainlit-based chat interface. |
+| `all`     | Packages from all of the extras listed above. |
+
+### Rail Dependencies
+
+Catalog rails declare their own Python package, model, service, and environment-variable requirements. Rail-specific Python packages are not included in the NeMo Guardrails extras. Install them directly by following the setup instructions in the [Guardrail Catalog](/configure-guardrails/guardrail-catalog).
+
+After you configure your rails, validate their requirements:
+
+```bash
+nemoguardrails rails validate --config ./config
+```
+
+The command reports missing or incompatible packages and missing environment variables. It does not install packages. For the command options and validation behavior, refer to the [`rails validate` CLI reference](/reference/cli#rails-validate).
+
+Some rails, such as [AlignScore](/configure-guardrails/guardrail-catalog/third-party/alignscore), require additional setup. See each rail's catalog page for package, model, credential, and service requirements.
 
 ## Docker
 

diff --git a/docs/getting-started/tutorials/jailbreak-detection-heuristics.mdx b/docs/getting-started/tutorials/jailbreak-detection-heuristics.mdx
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ export OPENAI_API_KEY=$OPENAI_API_KEY    # Replace with your own key
 1. Install the following packages to test the jailbreak detection heuristics locally:
 
 ```bash
-pip install transformers torch
+pip install "transformers>=4.35" "torch>=2" huggingface-hub
 ```
 
 1. If you're running this inside a notebook, patch the `AsyncIO` loop.

diff --git a/docs/reference/cli/index.mdx b/docs/reference/cli/index.mdx
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 title: "NeMo Guardrails Library CLI Reference"
 sidebar-title: "CLI"
-description: "Use the nemoguardrails command-line interface to chat, serve, evaluate, and convert configurations."
+description: "Use the nemoguardrails command-line interface to chat, serve, validate, evaluate, and convert configurations."
 content:
   type: "reference"
 ---
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Commands:
                    the latest.
   actions-server   Start a NeMo Guardrails actions server.
   find-providers   List and select LLM providers interactively.
+  rails            Inspect and validate catalog rails.
   eval             Evaluation a guardrail configuration.
 ```
 
@@ -58,6 +59,38 @@ nemoguardrails chat --config examples/configs/content_safety [--verbose] [--stre
 | `--server-url` | Connect to a server instead of loading config locally. Requires `--config-id`. |
 | `--config-id` | The config ID to use when connecting to a server. |
 
+---
+
+<a id="rails-validate"></a>
+## `rails validate`
+
+Validate the dependencies declared by the catalog rails referenced in a guardrails configuration:
+
+```bash
+nemoguardrails rails validate --config ./config
+```
+
+If you omit `--config`, the command loads the configuration from `./config`.
+
+By default, validation uses installed distribution metadata to check Python package versions. It also checks whether required environment-variable names are present and reports declared services and models as unverified. Static validation does not import optional packages, read or display environment-variable values, initialize or download models, or contact services.
+
+Use runtime validation to additionally import each declared Python package:
+
+```bash
+nemoguardrails rails validate --config ./config --runtime
+```
+
+Runtime validation does not initialize or download models or contact services.
+
+The command exits with status `1` when a required package is missing, incompatible, or unsupported in the active environment; when a required environment variable is missing; or when a required runtime import fails. Optional requirements produce warnings and do not cause a nonzero exit status. When possible, the output includes separate `pip install` commands for required and optional packages. The command never installs packages.
+
+### Options
+
+| Option | Description |
+|--------|-------------|
+| `--config` | Path to a guardrails configuration file or directory. Default: `config`. |
+| `--runtime` | Import declared Python packages after static validation. |
+
 ## `actions-server`
 
 Start a separate server for running custom actions in an isolated environment.

diff --git a/nemoguardrails/cli/__init__.py b/nemoguardrails/cli/__init__.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 from nemoguardrails.cli.chat import run_chat
 from nemoguardrails.cli.migration import migrate
 from nemoguardrails.cli.providers import _list_providers, select_provider_with_type
+from nemoguardrails.cli.rails import app as rails_app
 from nemoguardrails.eval import cli as eval_cli
 from nemoguardrails.logging.verbose import set_verbose
 from nemoguardrails.utils import init_random_seed
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ class ColangVersions(str, Enum):
 app = typer.Typer()
 
 app.add_typer(eval_cli.app, name="eval", short_help="Evaluation a guardrail configuration.")
+app.add_typer(rails_app, name="rails", short_help="Inspect and validate catalog rails.")
 app.pretty_exceptions_enable = False
 
 logging.getLogger().setLevel(logging.WARNING)

diff --git a/nemoguardrails/cli/rails.py b/nemoguardrails/cli/rails.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2026 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES. All rights reserved.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+#
+# 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.
+
+import shlex
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import typer
+
+from nemoguardrails.manifests import (
+    RequirementStatus,
+    configured_rail_manifests,
+    default_rail_catalog,
+    validate_rail_requirements,
+)
+from nemoguardrails.rails.llm.config import RailsConfig
+
+app = typer.Typer()
+
+
+@app.command("validate")
+def validate_rails(
+    config: Path = typer.Option(Path("config"), "--config", exists=True, help="Guardrails configuration path."),
+    runtime: bool = typer.Option(False, "--runtime", help="Import declared Python packages after static checks."),
+):
+    """Validate dependencies declared by configured rails."""
+    rails_config = RailsConfig.from_path(str(config))
+    catalog = default_rail_catalog()
+    manifests = configured_rail_manifests(rails_config, catalog)
+    report = validate_rail_requirements(manifests, runtime=runtime)
+    if not report.results:
+        typer.echo("No catalog rails are configured.")
+    for result in report.results:
+        typer.echo(f"{result.rail_name}:")
+        if not result.checks:
+            typer.echo("  [OK] no declared requirements")
+        for check in result.checks:
+            label = {
+                RequirementStatus.OK: "OK",
+                RequirementStatus.WARNING: "WARNING",
+                RequirementStatus.ERROR: "ERROR",
+                RequirementStatus.INFO: "INFO",
+            }[check.status]
+            typer.echo(f"  [{label}] {check.kind}: {check.name} ({check.message})")
+    if report.required_packages_to_install:
+        packages = " ".join(shlex.quote(package) for package in report.required_packages_to_install)
+        typer.echo(f"Install required packages with: pip install {packages}")
+    if report.optional_packages_to_install:
+        packages = " ".join(shlex.quote(package) for package in report.optional_packages_to_install)
+        typer.echo(f"Install optional packages to enable additional functionality with: pip install {packages}")
+    if not report.valid:
+        raise typer.Exit(1)
diff --git a/nemoguardrails/library/cleanlab/actions.py b/nemoguardrails/library/cleanlab/actions.py
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 from nemoguardrails.actions import action
 from nemoguardrails.actions.rail_outcome import RailOutcome
+from nemoguardrails.library.cleanlab.rail import CLEANLAB_PACKAGE
+from nemoguardrails.manifests import require_python_package
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -43,10 +45,8 @@ async def call_cleanlab_api(
     if api_key is None:
         raise ValueError("CLEANLAB_API_KEY environment variable not set.")
 
-    try:
-        from cleanlab_studio import Studio  # type: ignore[reportMissingImports]
-    except ImportError:
-        raise ImportError("Please install cleanlab-studio using 'pip install --upgrade cleanlab-studio' command")
+    cleanlab_studio = require_python_package("cleanlab", CLEANLAB_PACKAGE)
+    Studio = cleanlab_studio.Studio
 
     context = context or {}
     bot_response = context.get("bot_message")

diff --git a/nemoguardrails/library/cleanlab/rail.py b/nemoguardrails/library/cleanlab/rail.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 from nemoguardrails.manifests import (
     ActionRef,
     EnvVar,
+    PythonPackage,
     RailActions,
     RailDirection,
     RailFlows,
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@
     name="call_cleanlab_api",
     target="nemoguardrails.library.cleanlab.actions:call_cleanlab_api",
 )
+CLEANLAB_PACKAGE = PythonPackage(distribution="cleanlab-studio", import_name="cleanlab_studio")
 
 RAIL = RailManifest(
     name="cleanlab",
@@ -52,7 +54,7 @@
         requirements=RailRequirements(
             env_vars=(EnvVar(name="CLEANLAB_API_KEY", required=True),),
             services=(ServiceRequirement(name="Cleanlab TLM", required=True),),
-            optional_dependencies=("cleanlab-studio",),
+            python_packages=(CLEANLAB_PACKAGE,),
         ),
         privacy=RailPrivacy(sends_user_text=True, sends_bot_text=True, remote_services=("Cleanlab TLM",)),
     ),

diff --git a/nemoguardrails/library/content_safety/rail.py b/nemoguardrails/library/content_safety/rail.py
@@ -17,13 +17,15 @@
     ActionRef,
     Binding,
     ConfigSpecRef,
+    PythonPackage,
     RailActions,
     RailConfigSchema,
     RailDirection,
     RailFlows,
     RailManifest,
     RailMetadata,
     RailPrivacy,
+    RailRequirements,
     RailSpec,
     RailSurface,
 )
@@ -40,6 +42,9 @@
     name="detect_language",
     target="nemoguardrails.library.content_safety.actions:detect_language",
 )
+FAST_LANGDETECT_PACKAGE = PythonPackage(
+    distribution="fast-langdetect", import_name="fast_langdetect", version=">=1", required=False
+)
 RAIL = RailManifest(
     name="content_safety",
     metadata=RailMetadata(
@@ -79,6 +84,7 @@
                 bindings=(Binding.surface_param("model_name", "model"),),
             ),
         ),
+        requirements=RailRequirements(python_packages=(FAST_LANGDETECT_PACKAGE,)),
         privacy=RailPrivacy(sends_user_text=True, sends_bot_text=True),
     ),
 )