Release 9.3.0 - Sept 2026

# Status of Bazel 9.3.0

- Expected first release candidate date: 2026-09-14
- Expected release date: 2026-09-21
- [List of release blockers](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/milestone/108)

To report a release-blocking bug, please add a comment with the text `@bazel-io flag` to the issue. A release manager will triage it and add it to the milestone.

To cherry-pick a mainline commit into 9.3.0, simply send a PR against the `release-9.3.0` branch.

**Task list:**

- [ ] Create release candidate
- [ ] Check downstream projects
- [ ] Create [draft release announcement](https://docs.google.com/document/d/15cAiY7hXIUP28o873-OhT1xrkkHIXXbFfc2O0rpT5aA/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1ldj0zgvx6cd)
- [ ] Push the release and notify package maintainers
- [ ] Update the documentation
- [ ] Update the [release page](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases/)