cycjimmy/semantic-release-action

You can specify which branches trigger a release using the branches input (for semantic-release v16+) or the branch input (for versions older than v16). These inputs override the configuration in your repository's release config file.

For semantic-release v16 and above (branches): Use the branches input with a YAML list. If not configured, it defaults to: ['+([0-9])?(.{+([0-9]),x}).x', 'master', 'next', 'next-major', {name: 'beta', prerelease: true}, {name: 'alpha', prerelease: true}]

steps:
  - name: Checkout
    uses: actions/checkout@v5
  - name: Semantic Release
    uses: cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6
    with:
      semantic_version: 16
      branches: |
        [
          '+([0-9])?(.{+([0-9]),x}).x',
          'master',
          'next',
          'next-major',
          {
            name: 'beta',
            prerelease: true
          },
          {
            name: 'alpha',
            prerelease: true
          }
        ]
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

To use plugins not included in the default semantic-release list (e.g., @semantic-release/changelog or @semantic-release/git), you must perform two steps:

1. In the GitHub Action workflow: Add the plugins to the extra_plugins input.
2. In your Semantic Release configuration file: Add the same plugins to the plugins array.

It is recommended to specify a version range for the plugins to prevent unexpected errors.

# GitHub Action Workflow
steps:
  - name: Checkout
    uses: actions/checkout@v5
  - name: Semantic Release
    uses: cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6
    with:
      extra_plugins: |
        @semantic-release/changelog@6.0.0
        @semantic-release/git
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

# Release Config
  plugins: [
    .
+   "@semantic-release/changelog"
+   "@semantic-release/git",
  ]

To use cycjimmy/semantic-release-action, follow these three steps:

1. Configure Semantic Release: Set up your Semantic Release configuration in your repository.
2. Add Secrets: Add the necessary authentication environment variables (like GITHUB_TOKEN and NPM_TOKEN) to your GitHub repository secrets.
3. Add a Workflow File: Create a GitHub Actions workflow file to trigger the release process.

Important: Protected Branches

GITHUB_TOKEN does not have sufficient permissions to operate on protected branches. If your release process targets protected branches, you must use a Personal Access Token instead.

If you are using the @semantic-release/git plugin on protected branches, ensure you set persist-credentials: false in your actions/checkout step to avoid credential persistence issues.

steps:
  - name: Checkout
    uses: actions/checkout@v5
    with:
      persist-credentials: false
  - name: Semantic Release
    uses: cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN }}
      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

You can access information about the release (such as the new version or release notes) in subsequent steps by assigning an id to the action step.

Available Outputs:

• new_release_published: String ("true" or "false") indicating if a release was published.
• new_release_version: The version of the new release (e.g., "1.3.0").
• new_release_major_version: Major version (e.g., "1").
• new_release_minor_version: Minor version (e.g., "3").
• new_release_patch_version: Patch version (e.g., "0").
• new_release_channel: The distribution channel used.
• new_release_notes: The release notes.
• new_release_git_head: SHA of the last commit in the new release.
• new_release_git_tag: The Git tag associated with the release.
• last_release_version: Version of the previous release.
• last_release_git_head: SHA of the last commit in the previous release.
• last_release_git_tag: Git tag of the previous release.

steps:
  - name: Checkout
    uses: actions/checkout@v5
  - name: Semantic Release
    uses: cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6
    id: semantic   # Required to use outputs
    env:
      GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
      NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}

  - name: Do something when a new release published
    if: steps.semantic.outputs.new_release_published == 'true'
    run: |
      echo ${{ steps.semantic.outputs.new_release_version }}
      echo ${{ steps.semantic.outputs.new_release_major_version }}

The following input parameters are available for cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6: