Weave import causes `PERMISSION_ERROR` when `enable_weave=False` with wandb 0.23.0+ / weave 0.52.17+

[strickvl]

Description

With wandb 0.23.0 and weave 0.52.17+, ZenML pipeline runs fail with PERMISSION_ERROR even when Weave is explicitly disabled (enable_weave=False). This affects users who:

• Are not logged into Weights & Biases
• Don't have project creation permissions
• Have explicitly set enable_weave=False expecting no Weave interaction

Root Cause

The WandbExperimentTracker._initialize_wandb() method imports weave in both branches:

if settings.enable_weave:
    import weave
    weave.init(project_name=...)
else:
    import weave  # ← Problem: still imports weave
    weave.init(..., settings={"disabled": True})

With weave >= 0.52.17:

1. import weave alone loads ~548 modules including weave.trace.autopatch
2. This triggers wandb_init_hook which attempts remote project creation
3. The authentication/permission check fails before settings={"disabled": True} takes effect

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install wandb 0.23.0 and weave 0.52.17+
2. Do NOT log into W&B (wandb login)
3. Create a ZenML stack with wandb experiment tracker (enable_weave=False is the default)
4. Run a pipeline
5. Observe PERMISSION_ERROR from weave/wandb

Expected Behavior

When enable_weave=False, ZenML should not import or interact with weave at all. The run should succeed without requiring W&B authentication for Weave-related operations.

Environment

• wandb: 0.23.0+
• weave: 0.52.17+
• ZenML: latest

Fix

PR #4265 removes the unnecessary else branch. When enable_weave=False, we now skip all weave-related code entirely, preventing any import side-effects.