How to Automatically Publish Packages to NPM with GitHub Actions

name: Publish to NPM
on:
  push:
    branches: main

jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: "20"
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test
      - uses: JS-DevTools/npm-publish@v3
        with:
          token: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

npm-publish

This action automatically publishes your package to NPM using GitHub Actions.

What is npm-publish?​

The npm-publish action allows you to automatically publish your NPM packages from a GitHub repository. It ensures that packages are published only if the version in package.json differs from the latest on NPM.

How to Use token​

The token input is required to authenticate with NPM or any other registry. Here's how to configure it:

with:
  token: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

You can also publish to GitHub Package Registry by using secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN:

with:
  token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
  registry: "https://npm.pkg.github.com"

How to Set the Registry URL​

You can publish to any registry by setting the registry input:

with:
  registry: 'https://npm.pkg.github.com'

How to Specify a Custom Package Directory​

If your package is not in the root directory, you can specify the path:

with:
  package: './path/to/package'

How to Use Distribution Tags​

To control which tag the package will be published under (e.g., latest, beta), use the tag input:

with:
  tag: 'beta'

How to Set Access Control​

By default, packages are published publicly. If you want to restrict access, set the access input:

with:
  access: 'restricted'

How to Run in Dry-Run Mode​

You can test the publication without actually publishing anything by enabling the dry-run flag:

with:
  dry-run: true

Outputs​

The npm-publish action exposes several output variables that you can use in subsequent steps of your workflow. Make sure to set an ID for the action to access these outputs.

steps:
  - uses: JS-DevTools/npm-publish@v3
    id: publish
    with:
      token: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

  - if: ${{ steps.publish.outputs.type }}
    run: echo "Version changed!"

Available outputs:

• new_tag: The newly calculated tag.
• new_version: The new version of the package.
• previous_version: The previously published version.
• release_type: The type of release (major, minor, patch, etc.).