Add publish to NPM

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Build CI workflow with:

• npm publish on main branch
• npm publish prerelease on secondary branches

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ChatGPT proposal below

Using semantic-release with GitHub Actions to automatically publish a pre-release version to npm from a secondary branch (like develop) is a great way to automate your release process. Here's how you can set it up:

Step 1: Install semantic-release

First, make sure semantic-release and its related plugins are installed in your project:

npm install --save-dev semantic-release @semantic-release/npm @semantic-release/git @semantic-release/github

Step 2: Configure semantic-release

Create or update the .releaserc file in your project root with the following configuration. This configuration is set up to handle pre-releases from the develop branch:

{
  "branches": [
    "main",
    {
      "name": "develop",
      "prerelease": true
    }
  ],
  "plugins": [
    "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer",
    "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator",
    "@semantic-release/changelog",
    "@semantic-release/npm",
    "@semantic-release/github",
    "@semantic-release/git"
  ]
}

Explanation:

• branches:

  • "main": The primary branch for stable releases.
  • "develop": The secondary branch for pre-releases. The prerelease: true flag tells semantic-release to create pre-releases for this branch.

• plugins:

  • @semantic-release/commit-analyzer: Analyzes commit messages to determine the type of release.
  • @semantic-release/release-notes-generator: Generates release notes based on commits.
  • @semantic-release/changelog: Updates the CHANGELOG.md file with the new version notes.
  • @semantic-release/npm: Publishes the package to npm.
  • @semantic-release/github: Creates a GitHub release.
  • @semantic-release/git: Commits the version bump and changelog updates back to the repository.

Step 3: Set Up GitHub Actions

Create a GitHub Action workflow file at .github/workflows/release.yml:

name: Release

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
      - develop

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Set up Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '16'
          cache: 'npm'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Run semantic-release
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
        run: npx semantic-release

Explanation:

• on: push:

  • The workflow triggers on pushes to both main and develop branches.

• GITHUB_TOKEN:

  • Provided automatically by GitHub Actions, this token allows semantic-release to interact with the GitHub API (e.g., to create releases).

• NPM_TOKEN:

  • A secret you must add to your repository settings. This token is used to authenticate with npm to publish your package.

Step 4: Set Up Secrets in GitHub

1. NPM Token:
   • Go to your npm account.
   • Create a new access token with the necessary permissions (read/write access).
   • In your GitHub repository, navigate to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions > New repository secret.
   • Create a secret named NPM_TOKEN and paste the npm access token into the value field.

Step 5: Push to Your Branches

• Develop Branch: When you push changes to the develop branch, semantic-release will:

  • Analyze commits to determine the next pre-release version.
  • Publish a pre-release version to npm with a tag like beta.
  • Update the changelog and push the changes back to the develop branch.
  • Create a pre-release on GitHub.

• Main Branch: When you push changes to the main branch, semantic-release will:

  • Analyze commits to determine the next stable version.
  • Publish the stable version to npm with the latest tag.
  • Update the changelog and push the changes back to the main branch.
  • Create a release on GitHub.

Summary

With this setup:

• Pushing to develop will trigger a pre-release, with the version tagged as a pre-release (e.g., 1.0.0-beta.1).
• Pushing to main will trigger a stable release, with the version tagged as latest (e.g., 1.0.0).

This automation leverages semantic-release to manage versioning, changelog generation, and publishing to npm, simplifying the release process and reducing manual intervention.