task: update stale content in the Zebra book

[natalieesk]

Context

A 2026-07-14 assessment of the Zebra book found content that has been overtaken by releases and refactors. This issue updates that content.

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Acceptance Criteria

• book/src/dev/release-process.md — remove the "Zebra is in a pre-release state" note (lines 18-24; v6.0.0 is out); correct the support window from 16 weeks to 15 (zebrad/src/components/sync/end_of_support.rs); correct the claim that release-plz updates changelogs (.release-plz.toml sets changelog_update = false; the rename of [Unreleased] headings is a manual step)
• book/src/dev/state-db-upgrades.md — add the four Ironwood (NU6.3) column families to the "Current State Database Format" table (ironwood_nullifiers, ironwood_anchors, ironwood_note_commitment_tree, ironwood_note_commitment_subtree, per zebra-state/src/service/finalized_state.rs); fix the claim that tx_loc_by_spent_out_loc is indexer-feature-only (it is registered unconditionally); fix the dangling reference at line 496 to a "Never" category / "Updates table" that doesn't exist on the page
• book/src/dev/gcp-deployment-operations.md:60-63 — fix the keep_until/delete_protection guidance: the daily cleanup workflow does not honor these labels (the page itself says so at line 255); also fix the create-state-image job attribution here (line 247) and in book/src/dev/continuous-delivery.md:27 — the job lives in zfnd-deploy-integration-tests-gcp.yml, not zfnd-ci-integration-tests-gcp.yml
• book/src/user/custom-testnets.md:100-109 and book/src/dev/private-testnet.md:146-154 — update the activation-height examples to include NU6.2 (3,364,600), NU6.3 (3,428,143), and the NU7 variant (distinct from Fix bug in the Private Testnet testing section of the Zebra book #9844)
• book/src/user/fork-zebra-testnet.md — fix the dead code path at line 84 (zebra-rpc/src/methods/get_block_template_rpcs/ no longer exists) and remove the defunct yolo.money seeders from the example configs (full tutorial refresh is out of scope, see below)
• book/src/user/mining-testnet-s-nomp.md:37-47 — remove the defunct yolo.money seeders; use the current defaults from zebra-network/src/config.rs
• book/src/user/startup.md — refresh the example startup logs: they show the removed mainnet.is.yolo.money seeder and a state/v24 cache path (current DB format version is 28)
• book/src/user/troubleshooting.md:54-59 — replace the legacy config names lookahead_limit/max_concurrent_block_requests (now serde aliases) with the canonical checkpoint_verify_concurrency_limit/download_concurrency_limit, and fix the dead docs.rs field anchor
• book/src/dev/ecc-updates.md — update for the zcash_script + libzcash_script crate split (zebra-script/Cargo.toml); define or remove the unexplained acronym "ZODL" (line 3); fix the "cargo upgrade" link at line 35, which points at the unrelated cargo-upgrades crate instead of cargo-edit

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Out of Scope

• A full refresh of the fork-zebra-testnet.md tutorial.
• Repositioning lightwalletd.md.

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Blockers

None.

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Related Issues / Advisories

None.

[CodeMongerrr]

Hi @natalieesk 👋 — following on from #10947 (PR #10956), I'd like to take this one next.

I went through all nine items against main before commenting and they all check out: EOS_PANIC_AFTER = 105 days (15 weeks) in end_of_support.rs, changelog_update = false in .release-plz.toml, the four ironwood_* column families registered unconditionally in STATE_COLUMN_FAMILIES_IN_CODE right alongside TX_LOC_BY_SPENT_OUT_LOC, create-state-image living in zfnd-deploy-integration-tests-gcp.yml, the moved get_block_template.rs, the serde aliases in sync.rs, and the libzcash_script + zcash_script split in zebra-script/Cargo.toml.

Three small judgment calls I want to flag before the PR so review is easy:

1. Heights per network: custom-testnets.md's example follows Mainnet heights, so it gets the issue's numbers (NU6.2 = 3,364,600 / NU6.3 = 3,428,143). But private-testnet.md's example follows real Testnet heights, so I plan to use the Testnet constants there instead (NU6.1 = 3,536,500 / NU6.2 = 4,052,000 / NU6.3 = 4,134,000) — happy to do it differently if you'd rather keep the two examples identical.
2. NU7 has no fixed height yet, so it'll enter the examples as a clearly-marked example value (serde key NU7).
3. The seeder lists change by addition too: current defaults in zebra-network/src/config.rs include mainnet.seeder.shieldedinfra.net, so replacing the yolo.money entries will also bring that in.

I'll stay clear of the consensus-branch-id/subversion guidance in private-testnet.md — that's #9844's territory.

[CodeMongerrr]

Friendly nudge on this one, since there's good news on the sibling issue: #10956 (for #10947) picked up an approval from @conradoplg on Monday, so the first of the three audit issues looks close to done.

The work for this one is ready to go whenever a team member gives the nod. Since it's been a couple of weeks, here's the short version of what's sitting on the branch, covering all nine audit items:

• release-process.md: drop the pre-release note now v6.0.0 is out, correct the support window to 15 weeks (EOS_PANIC_AFTER = 105 days), and fix the release-plz claim, since .release-plz.toml sets changelog_update = false, making the [Unreleased] rename a manual step
• state-db-upgrades.md: add the four Ironwood column families to the format table, move tx_loc_by_spent_out_loc into the main table since it's registered unconditionally in STATE_COLUMN_FAMILIES_IN_CODE, and fix the dangling "Never in the Updates table" reference
• custom-testnets.md / private-testnet.md: extend the activation-height examples through NU6.3, keeping clear of the branch-id guidance that Fix bug in the Private Testnet testing section of the Zebra book #9844 owns
• plus the seeder lists, state/v28, the moved get_block_template.rs path, and the ZODL rename in ecc-updates.md

mdbook build is clean and every touched page renders.

One thing worth flagging: since the audit is now two weeks old, I'll re-verify each item against current main right before opening the PR rather than trusting the numbers above. A few of them (the DB format version especially) are exactly the kind of thing that moves.

No rush at all, and totally fine if this is lower priority than the compatibility epic right now. Just let me know either way so I'm not sitting on work you'd rather shape differently. Happy to split it into smaller PRs if one big docs change is awkward to review.

[natalieesk]

Hi, please do create the PR. Thanks!