Authenticate npm publish in CI (GitHub Actions) using a token and publish with provenance
domain: docs.github.com · 6 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
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Documented steps
Create an npm access token (automation-type token recommended for CI) in your npm account settings and store it as a repository secret, e.g. NPM_TOKEN.
Add a release-triggered workflow: on: release: types: [published], and checkout with actions/checkout.
Use actions/setup-node with node-version and `registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'` — this writes a local .npmrc with //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}.
Run `npm ci` to install the locked dependencies, then `npm publish` with NODE_AUTH_TOKEN set to the secret in the step env.
For public scoped packages, publish with `npm publish --access public` to avoid accidental private publish.
To add supply-chain provenance (build/attestation metadata), publish with `npm publish --provenance --access public` and grant the job `id-token: write` permission.
Known gotchas
You must set registry-url to the exact npm registry endpoint or the generated .npmrc credentials won't match.
For GitHub Packages instead of npmjs, set registry-url to https://npm.pkg.github.com, add scope (@yourorg), and use GITHUB_TOKEN with `packages: write` permission.
Scoped public packages default to restricted — always pass --access public for public scoped publishes.
--provenance needs id-token: write; without it provenance publishing fails.
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