Release v0.8a2

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: ivh

CHANGELOG.md

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 # Changelog
 
 
+## [0.8a2] - 2026-02-03
+
+### Added
+- `Trace` dataclass (trace_model.py) for unified trace data model
+- `Spectrum`/`Spectra` classes (spectra.py) replacing legacy Echelle format
+- `Trace.wlen(x)` method to evaluate wavelength polynomial
+- Per-group wavelength calibration support
+- LFC wavecal support for ANDES_RIZ
+- docs/output_formats.md documenting new file formats
+
+### Changed
+- All pipeline steps use `list[Trace]` interface instead of array-based
+- `extract()` takes `list[Trace]`, returns `list[Spectrum]`
+- Renamed `nord`/`iord` to `ntrace`/`idx` for clarity
+- Renamed `Trace.fiber` to `Trace.group`, added `fiber_idx` for per-fiber wavecal
+- File format: traces.npz -> traces.fits (unified FITS format)
+- Wavelength calibration stored in traces.fits instead of separate wavecal.npz
+- Spectra use NaN masking instead of COLUMNS+MASK redundancy
+
+### Removed
+- `curvature_model.py` (curvature now stored in Trace)
+- `echelle.py` functionality (deprecated, use spectra.py)
+- Dead code from util.py
+
 ## [0.8a1] - 2026-02-03
 
 ### Added

WhatsNew.md

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+## What's New in PyReduce 0.8 ?
+
+### Unified Trace Data Model
+
+The `Trace` dataclass now holds all trace-related data in one place: position polynomial, slit curvature, and wavelength calibration. Pipeline steps update traces in-place as they run, eliminating separate `.curve.npz` and `.wavecal.npz` files. All trace data is saved to a single `.traces.fits` file.
+
+See [docs/redesign.md](docs/redesign.md) for details.
+
+### New Spectra Format
+
+Extracted spectra use a new per-trace FITS format with NaN masking, replacing the legacy Echelle class. Each spectrum row includes order number, group ID, and extraction metadata.
+
+See [docs/output_formats.md](docs/output_formats.md) for the file format specification.
+
+---
+
 ## What's New in PyReduce 0.7 ?
 
 ### Multi-Fiber Instrument Support

pyproject.toml

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 [project]
 name = "pyreduce-astro"
-version = "0.8a1"
+version = "0.8a2"
 requires-python = ">=3.13"
 description = "A data reduction package for echelle spectrographs"
 readme = "README.md"