Release-It Skill

Automate NPM package versioning, changelog generation, and publishing with release-it.

Core Workflow Overview

Setting up release-it involves these steps:

1. Install release-it and plugins
2. Create configuration file (.release-it.json)
3. Configure Git and GitHub settings
4. Set up changelog generation (optional but recommended)
5. Create GitHub Actions workflow for CI/CD
6. Configure authentication (NPM_TOKEN or OIDC)

Step 1: Installation

# Recommended: interactive setup
npm init release-it

# Manual installation
npm install --save-dev release-it
npm install --save-dev @release-it/conventional-changelog  # Optional: for changelogs

Add scripts to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "release": "release-it",
    "release:dry": "release-it --dry-run",
    "release:ci": "release-it --ci"
  }
}

Requirement: Node.js 20 or higher for release-it v19+.

Step 2: Configuration File

Create .release-it.json in project root. See [references/config-options.md](references/config-options.md) for all options.

Minimal Configuration

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/release-it@19/schema/release-it.json",
  "git": {
    "commitMessage": "chore: release v${version}",
    "tagName": "v${version}"
  },
  "github": {
    "release": true
  },
  "npm": {
    "publish": true
  }
}

Production Configuration (Recommended)

{
  "$schema": "https://unpkg.com/release-it@19/schema/release-it.json",
  "git": {
    "commitMessage": "chore: release v${version}",
    "tagName": "v${version}",
    "requireBranch": "main",
    "requireCleanWorkingDir": true,
    "requireCommits": true,
    "requireUpstream": true
  },
  "github": {
    "release": true,
    "releaseName": "v${version}"
  },
  "npm": {
    "publish": true
  },
  "hooks": {
    "before:init": ["npm run lint", "npm test"],
    "after:bump": "npm run build"
  },
  "plugins": {
    "@release-it/conventional-changelog": {
      "preset": {
        "name": "conventionalcommits",
        "types": [
          { "type": "feat", "section": "Features" },
          { "type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes" },
          { "type": "perf", "section": "Performance" }
        ]
      },
      "infile": "CHANGELOG.md",
      "header": "# Changelog"
    }
  }
}

Step 3: GitHub Actions Workflow

Create .github/workflows/release.yml. See [references/github-actions.md](references/github-actions.md) for complete examples.

Standard Workflow (Token-Based Auth)

name: Release
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      release-type:
        description: 'Release type (patch, minor, major)'
        required: false

permissions:
  contents: write

jobs:
  release:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
        with:
          fetch-depth: 0  # CRITICAL: Required for changelog generation

      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
          cache: 'npm'

      - run: npm ci

      - name: Configure Git
        run: |
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"

      - name: Release
        run: |
          if [ -n "${{ github.event.inputs.release-type }}" ]; then
            npm run release -- ${{ github.event.inputs.release-type }} --ci
          else
            npm run release -- --ci
          fi
        env:
          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

OIDC Authentication (Recommended for Security)

For npm Trusted Publishing without long-lived tokens:

1. Configure trusted publisher at npmjs.com → Package Settings
2. Update config: "npm": { "skipChecks": true }
3. Use workflow with id-token: write permission

permissions:
  contents: write
  id-token: write

steps:
  # ... checkout and setup ...
  - run: npm install -g npm@latest  # OIDC requires npm >= 11.5.1
  - run: npx release-it --ci
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      # NPM_TOKEN not needed with OIDC

Step 4: NPM Authentication Setup

For Token-Based Auth

Create .npmrc in project root:

//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=${NPM_TOKEN}

Generate automation token at npmjs.com → Access Tokens → Generate New Token → Automation.

For Scoped Packages

Add to package.json:

{
  "name": "@myorg/my-package",
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "public",
    "registry": "https://registry.npmjs.org"
  }
}

Semantic Versioning Commands

release-it patch      # 1.2.3 → 1.2.4
release-it minor      # 1.2.3 → 1.3.0
release-it major      # 1.2.3 → 2.0.0

# Pre-releases
release-it major --preRelease=beta     # 1.3.0 → 2.0.0-beta.0
release-it --preRelease                # 2.0.0-beta.0 → 2.0.0-beta.1
release-it --preRelease=rc             # 2.0.0-beta.1 → 2.0.0-rc.0
release-it major                       # 2.0.0-rc.0 → 2.0.0

Pre-releases automatically set npm dist-tag to the identifier (e.g., npm install pkg@beta).

Lifecycle Hooks

Execute commands at specific release stages:

Example: Ensure fresh tags in CI:

{
  "hooks": {
    "before:init": "git fetch --prune --prune-tags origin"
  }
}

Dry Run and Debugging

release-it --dry-run        # Simulate release without changes
release-it --release-version # Print next version only
release-it --changelog       # Print changelog only
release-it -V               # Verbose: show hook output
release-it -VV              # Very verbose: show all commands
NODE_DEBUG=release-it:* release-it  # Full debug output

Common Issues and Solutions

Configuration Priority

1. CLI arguments (highest)
2. .release-it.json / .release-it.js / .release-it.yaml
3. release-it property in package.json (lowest)

Files to Create

For a complete setup, create these files:

1. .release-it.json - Configuration
2. .github/workflows/release.yml - CI/CD workflow
3. .npmrc - NPM registry authentication
4. CHANGELOG.md - Changelog (if using conventional-changelog plugin)

Reference Files

• [references/config-options.md](references/config-options.md) - Complete configuration reference
• [references/github-actions.md](references/github-actions.md) - GitHub Actions workflow examples