fix(ci): stop running e2e in merge queues

Signed-off-by: Evan Lezar <elezar@nvidia.com>

Author: elezar

.github/workflows/branch-e2e.yml

@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 name: Branch E2E Checks
 
 on:
-  merge_group:
-    types: [checks_requested]
   push:
     branches:
       - "pull-request/[0-9]+"
@@ -50,15 +48,6 @@ jobs:
               run_kubernetes_ha_e2e="$(jq -r 'index("test:e2e-kubernetes") != null' <<< "$LABELS_JSON")"
               run_kubernetes_credential_drivers_e2e="$(jq -r 'index("test:e2e-kubernetes") != null' <<< "$LABELS_JSON")"
               ;;
-            merge_group)
-              # Merge groups have no PR labels. When GPU E2E is required as documented
-              # in CI.md, skipping it leaves the gate pending until the queue times out
-              # and ejects the PR. HA stays off until stable.
-              run_core_e2e=true
-              run_gpu_e2e=true
-              run_kubernetes_ha_e2e=false
-              run_kubernetes_credential_drivers_e2e=false
-              ;;
             *)
               run_core_e2e=true
               run_gpu_e2e=true

.github/workflows/required-ci-gates.yml

@@ -276,6 +276,9 @@ jobs:
           resolve_context
 
           evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / Branch Checks" "branch-checks.yml" "Branch Checks"
-          evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / E2E" "branch-e2e.yml" "Branch E2E Checks" "test:e2e" "Core E2E result"
-          evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / GPU E2E" "branch-e2e.yml" "Branch E2E Checks" "test:e2e-gpu" "GPU E2E result"
+          # E2E is opt-in on PRs and does not run for merge groups.
+          if [ "$CONTEXT_KIND" != "merge_group" ]; then
+            evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / E2E" "branch-e2e.yml" "Branch E2E Checks" "test:e2e" "Core E2E result"
+            evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / GPU E2E" "branch-e2e.yml" "Branch E2E Checks" "test:e2e-gpu" "GPU E2E result"
+          fi
           evaluate_workflow "OpenShell / Helm Lint" "helm-lint.yml" "Helm Lint"

CI.md

@@ -433,8 +433,6 @@ Important: if a PR requires manual admission, every new commit needs another `/o
 GitHub merge queue is required for `main`. Repository administrators must enable **Require merge queue** in the branch ruleset for `main` and keep these required status contexts aligned with the PR gates:
 
 - `OpenShell / Branch Checks`
-- `OpenShell / E2E`
-- `OpenShell / GPU E2E`
 - `OpenShell / Helm Lint`
 - `OpenShell / Trivy Changes`
 
@@ -445,7 +443,7 @@ its own stable result status.
 Merge-group runs use the `merge_group` event. The event is distinct from `pull_request` and `push`, and GitHub will not report required checks for queued PRs unless the workflows include it. In this repository:
 
 - `Branch Checks` runs the standard non-E2E gates on the merge-group SHA.
-- `Branch E2E Checks` runs core E2E and GPU E2E for merge groups. Kubernetes HA E2E remains optional and label-driven on PRs.
+- `Branch E2E Checks` does not run for merge groups. E2E suites remain opt-in on PRs.
 - `Helm Lint` runs for merge groups without the PR diff optimization, because the merge-group branch is the final integration state.
 - `Trivy Changes` compares the merge-group configuration with its base and rejects new High or Critical findings.
 - `Required CI Gates` posts the same `OpenShell / ...` statuses to the merge-group SHA and does not require a `pull-request/<N>` mirror for merge-group events.
@@ -471,7 +469,7 @@ The bot's full administrator documentation is internal to NVIDIA. The only comma
 | File | Role |
 |---|---|
 | `.github/workflows/branch-checks.yml` | Required non-E2E checks. Triggers on `push: pull-request/[0-9]+` for PR mirrors and `merge_group` for queued merges. |
-| `.github/workflows/branch-e2e.yml` | Standard, GPU, Kubernetes HA, and Kubernetes credential-driver E2E. PR mirror pushes use `test:e2e`, `test:e2e-gpu`, and `test:e2e-kubernetes` labels; merge groups run core and GPU E2E. |
+| `.github/workflows/branch-e2e.yml` | Standard, GPU, Kubernetes HA, and Kubernetes credential-driver E2E. PR mirror pushes use `test:e2e`, `test:e2e-gpu`, and `test:e2e-kubernetes` labels; merge groups do not run E2E. |
 | `.github/workflows/build-binaries.yml`, `build-vm-driver.yml` | Shared binary matrices used by branch and release workflows. The VM driver remains separate because its build consumes the runtime binaries. |
 | `.github/workflows/build-images.yml` | Builds and pushes multi-platform images, then uploads the same OCI images as workflow artifacts. |
 | `.github/workflows/package-release-binaries.yml` | Packages raw build artifacts into release tarballs without rebuilding them. |
@@ -507,11 +505,14 @@ These workflows run after merge to publish dev/tagged artifacts and verify them.
 Require these statuses in the branch ruleset for PR and merge-queue CI:
 
 - `OpenShell / Branch Checks`
-- `OpenShell / E2E`
-- `OpenShell / GPU E2E`
 - `OpenShell / Helm Lint`
 - `OpenShell / Trivy Changes`
 
+The following statuses are opt-in and controlled by labels:
+
+- `OpenShell / E2E`: `test:e2e`
+- `OpenShell / GPU E2E`: `test:e2e-gpu`
+
 For mirror-based workflows, require the statuses published by
 `Required CI Gates`, not their underlying jobs. `OpenShell / Trivy Changes` is
 the stable result job of the direct pull-request workflow. Together these