---

name: semantic-release description: >- Automate versioning and package publishing with semantic-release. Use when a user asks to automate npm publishing, generate changelogs, handle semantic versioning in CI, or automate GitHub releases. license: Apache-2.0 compatibility: 'Node.js, any CI' metadata: author: terminal-skills version: 1.0.0 category: development tags: - semantic-release - versioning - changelog - npm - ci-cd

semantic-release

Overview

semantic-release automates the release workflow: determine version bump from commit messages, generate changelog, create Git tag, publish to npm, create GitHub release.

Instructions

Step 1: Setup

npm install -D semantic-release @semantic-release/changelog @semantic-release/git

Step 2: Configure

// .releaserc.json — Release configuration
{
  "branches": ["main"],
  "plugins": [
    "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer",
    "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator",
    ["@semantic-release/changelog", { "changelogFile": "CHANGELOG.md" }],
    "@semantic-release/npm",
    ["@semantic-release/git", { "assets": ["CHANGELOG.md", "package.json"] }],
    "@semantic-release/github"
  ]
}

Step 3: CI Integration

Add to your CI pipeline (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.) to run on every push to main. Requires GITHUB_TOKEN and NPM_TOKEN secrets.

Guidelines

• Requires conventional commits — feat = minor, fix = patch, BREAKING CHANGE = major.
• Use with commitlint + husky to enforce commit format.
• Works with monorepos using semantic-release-monorepo plugin.