How do scientists actually find gravitational waves in noisy data?

This is the technical blueprint behind GWTC-5.0, explaining how the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration filters data, flags instrument glitches, and extracts the properties of merging black holes and neutron stars from the second half of their fourth observing run. Think of it as the lab notebook for the entire detection pipeline. Essential reading for anyone building on or scrutinizing the collaboration's merger claims.