npm Publish Skill

Publish @autumnsgrove/groveengine to npm while keeping the default registry as GitHub Packages.

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• User says “publish to npm”
• User says “release to npm”
• User says “bump and publish”
• User says “/npm-publish”

The Workflow

CRITICAL: The package.json uses GitHub Packages by default. You MUST swap to npm, publish, then swap BACK.

1. Bump version in packages/engine/package.json
2. Swap publishConfig to npm registry
3. Build the package
4. Publish to npm
5. Swap publishConfig BACK to GitHub Packages
6. Commit the version bump
7. Push to remote

Step-by-Step Execution

Step 1: Bump Version

Edit packages/engine/package.json:

"version": "X.Y.Z",  // Increment appropriately

Use semantic versioning:

• MAJOR (X): Breaking changes
• MINOR (Y): New features, backwards compatible
• PATCH (Z): Bug fixes, backwards compatible

Step 2: Swap to npm Registry

BEFORE (GitHub Packages – default):

"publishConfig": {
  "registry": "https://npm.pkg.github.com"
},

AFTER (npm – for publishing):

"publishConfig": {
  "registry": "https://registry.npmjs.org",
  "access": "public"
},

Step 3: Build Package

cd /Users/autumn/Documents/Projects/GroveEngine/packages/engine
pnpm run package

Step 4: Publish to npm

npm publish --access public

The prepublishOnly script runs pnpm run package automatically, so this may rebuild.

Verify success with:

+ @autumnsgrove/groveengine@X.Y.Z

Step 5: Swap BACK to GitHub Packages

CRITICAL – DO NOT FORGET THIS STEP

Change packages/engine/package.json back to:

"publishConfig": {
  "registry": "https://npm.pkg.github.com"
},

Step 6: Commit Version Bump

cd /Users/autumn/Documents/Projects/GroveEngine
git add packages/engine/package.json
git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"
git push origin main

Quick Reference Commands

# From project root:

# 1. Edit version in packages/engine/package.json
# 2. Edit publishConfig to npm registry

# 3. Build and publish
cd packages/engine
pnpm run package
npm publish --access public

# 4. Edit publishConfig back to GitHub

# 5. Commit and push (from project root)
git add packages/engine/package.json
git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"
git push origin main

Verification

After publishing, verify on npm:

npm view @autumnsgrove/groveengine version

Or visit: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@autumnsgrove/groveengine

Troubleshooting

OTP/2FA Error

npm error code EOTP
npm error This operation requires a one-time password

Solution: Create a granular access token with “Bypass 2FA” enabled:

1. Go to https://www.npmjs.com/settings/autumnsgrove/tokens
2. Generate New Token → Granular Access Token
3. Enable “Bypass 2FA”
4. Set token: npm config set //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=npm_YOUR_TOKEN

See AgentUsage/npm_publish.md for detailed token setup.

Package Already Published

npm error 403 - You cannot publish over the previously published versions

Solution: You forgot to bump the version. Increment it and try again.

Wrong Registry in Commit

If you accidentally committed with npm registry, fix it:

# Edit publishConfig back to GitHub
git add packages/engine/package.json
git commit --amend --no-edit
git push --force-with-lease origin main

Registry Swap Reference

Checklist

Before starting:

• Decided on new version number
• All changes committed and pushed

During publish:

• Version bumped in package.json
• publishConfig swapped to npm
• Package built successfully
• Published to npm (see + @autumnsgrove/groveengine@X.Y.Z)
• publishConfig swapped BACK to GitHub
• Version bump committed
• Pushed to remote

Related

• AgentUsage/npm_publish.md – Token setup and 2FA workaround
• packages/engine/package.json – Package configuration