Try 3 at publish workflow

.github/workflows/release.yaml

@@ -2,24 +2,34 @@ name: Publish to npm
 
 on:
   push:
-    tags:
-      - 'v*'
+    branches:
+      - main
+    paths:
+      - 'package.json'
 
 jobs:
-  publish:
+  publish-release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     permissions:
       contents: write
 
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0 # Fetch all history for tag checking
+
+      - name: Get version from package.json
+        id: package-version
+        run: |
+          VERSION=$(node -p "require('./package.json').version")
+          echo "version=$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "tag=v$VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
-      - name: Verify tagged commit is in main branch history
+      - name: Check if tag exists
         run: |
-          git fetch origin main
-          if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor $GITHUB_SHA origin/main; then
-            echo "Tag is not based on main. Aborting release."
+          if git rev-parse "v${{ steps.package-version.outputs.version }}" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+            echo "Tag v${{ steps.package-version.outputs.version }} already exists. Skipping."
             exit 1
           fi
 
@@ -29,8 +39,22 @@ jobs:
           registry-url: https://registry.npmjs.org
 
       - run: npm ci
+
       - run: npm test
 
+      - name: Create and push tag
+        run: |
+          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
+          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
+          TAG="${{ steps.package-version.outputs.tag }}"
+          # Try to create the tag; if it already exists locally, continue.
+          git tag -a "$TAG" -m "Release $TAG" || echo "Tag $TAG already exists locally, continuing."
+          # Try to push the tag. If the push fails, bail out.
+          if ! git push origin "$TAG"; then
+            echo "Failed to push tag $TAG to remote."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
       - name: Publish to npm
         run: npm publish
         env:

RELEASING.md

@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@ about**, with minimal tooling and clear sources of truth.
 
 ## Overview
 
+- Development merges to the main branch until it is time to publish a release.
 - Use `npm run release:{patch,minor,major}` to create a release branch.
+  - This bumps the version in package.json/package-lock.json
 - Push that branch and open a PR to main.
-- Merging that branch triggers workflows that create a tag and publish the
-  release.
-  - The auto-tag workflow creates the new tag.
-  - The release workflow sees the new tag and publishes the npm and GitHub
-    releases.
+- Merging that branch triggers the `release` workflow that creates a tag
+  matching the version in package.json and publishes the release to npm and
+  GitHub.
 
 No release bots, changelog generators, or additional CLIs are required.
 
@@ -31,9 +31,6 @@ This project follows **Semantic Versioning (SemVer)**:
 - **Major** (`x.0.0`) — breaking changes (rule behavior changes, removals,
   stricter defaults)
 
-Versions can be updated manually in package.json or using npm’s built-in
-tooling.
-
 ---
 
 ## Creating a Release
@@ -60,41 +57,29 @@ Then create a Pull Request to merge the release branch into main.
 
 Once the PR is merged, **the tag is created automatically**.
 
-The `auto-tag` workflow monitors package.json changes on main and automatically
-creates the corresponding git tag if it doesn't exist.
-
-When the tag is created on main, this triggers the `release` workflow, which
-will create the release in npm and in GitHub.
+The `release` workflow monitors package.json changes on main and automatically
+creates the corresponding git tag if it doesn't exist and then creates a
+release in both npm and GitHub.
 
 ---
 
 ## Automation (GitHub Actions)
 
-### Automatic Tagging
-
-The `auto-tag` workflow monitors package.json changes on the main branch. When
-a version change is detected, it automatically:
-
-1. Reads the version from package.json
-2. Checks if a tag for that version already exists
-3. Creates and pushes the tag if it doesn't exist
-
-This eliminates the manual tagging step after PR merge.
+### Release Workflow
 
-### Publishing and Releases
+The `release` workflow is triggered by a PR merge to main that updates the
+version in package.json. When triggered, it will:
 
-The `release` workflow listens for pushed tags matching `v*` on the main
-branch.
-
-On tag push, it will:
-
-1. Check out the repository
-2. Install dependencies
-3. Run tests
+1. Check if a tag already exists for this version. If so, the workflow
+   terminates.
+2. Install dependencies and run the tests. These should never fail since PRs
+   targeting main must pass CI, but this is an extra precaution.
+3. Create and push a git tag matching the version in package.json
 4. Publish the package to npm
-5. Create a GitHub Release for the tag
+5. Create a GitHub Release with auto-generated notes
 
-The GitHub Release is only created if npm publishing succeeds.
+This single workflow handles the entire release process and the npm and GitHub
+release are in sync and use the version from package.json
 
 ---
 
@@ -116,18 +101,6 @@ Publishing requires:
 - An npm automation token stored as a GitHub secret named `NPM_TOKEN`
 - `publishConfig.access` set appropriately in `package.json`
 
-Example:
-
-```json
-{
-  "publishConfig": {
-    "access": "public"
-  }
-}
-```
-
----
-
 ## Optional: Changelog
 
 A manual `CHANGELOG.md` may be maintained if desired.
@@ -144,3 +117,16 @@ transparent.
 - The tag can be deleted and recreated if necessary
 - Fixes should be released as a follow-up patch version rather than overwriting
   published artifacts
+
+---
+
+## Development Workflow
+
+Since releases are manually triggered:
+
+1. Work directly on the main branch (or use feature branches and merge to main)
+2. Commit and push changes as needed
+3. When you're ready to release, trigger the release workflow on the main
+   branch.
+4. The workflow will handle versioning, tagging, publishing, and updating
+   package.json

scripts/prepare-release.sh

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ npm test
 # Run linter
 echo "Running linter..."
 npm run lint
+
 # Bump version
 echo "Bumping version ($VERSION_TYPE)..."
 npm version "$VERSION_TYPE" --no-git-tag-version