release-typescript-action

This is an action to automate the release of an action written in TypeScript.

Problem to solve

We need to commit the generated files (e.g. dist/index.js) because GitHub Actions runs it on Node.js.

It causes the following problems:

• Release workflow is complex
• Diff would be large because it contains the generated files
• Commit history would be growth

How to solve

It would be nice to commit the generated files into a release tag only.

This action creates a release tag with the generated files. For example,

graph TB
  subgraph branch [main Branch]
    Z[Initial Commit] --> A[Commit A] --> B[Commit B] --> C[Commit C] --> D[...]
  end
  A --> RA[Tag v1.0.0]
  B --> RB[Tag v1.1.0]
  C --> RC[Tag v1.2.0]

Loading

A release tag (e.g. Tag v1.0.0) contains the generated files, but main branch (e.g. Commit A, B and C) does not.

Usecases

Continuous release flow

This workflow continuously creates a new release from main branch.

name: release

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      # To test this workflow
      - .github/workflows/release.yaml
  push:
    branches:
      # When the branch is pushed, release a new version of action
      - main

jobs:
  tag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
      - run: corepack enable pnpm
      - run: pnpm i
      - run: pnpm build
      - uses: int128/release-typescript-action@v1

When you merge a pull request into main branch, this action will create a new release of new minor version. For example, if the latest tag v1.5.0 exists, this action will create a tag v1.6.0. It will also update the major tag v1 to track the latest tag.

See also https://github.com/int128/typescript-action.

Daily release flow

This workflow everyday creates a new release from main branch.

name: release

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      # To test this workflow
      - .github/workflows/release.yaml
  schedule:
    # Release a new version every night if there is any change
    - cron: '0 0 * * *'

jobs:
  tag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # (omit...)
      - run: pnpm build
      - uses: int128/release-typescript-action@v1

When a schedule is triggered, this action will create a new minor release. It will also update the major tag v1 to track the latest tag.

Manual release flow

You can manually create a new release in GitHub. When you push a tag, this action will add a commit with dist directory to the tag.

name: release

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      # To test this workflow
      - .github/workflows/release.yaml
  push:
    tags:
      # When a tag is pushed, this action adds the generated files
      - v*

jobs:
  tag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # (omit...)
      - run: pnpm build
      - uses: int128/release-typescript-action@v1

Before stable release

To create v0 tag under development,

jobs:
  tag:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      # (omit...)
      - run: pnpm build
      - uses: int128/release-typescript-action@v1
        with:
          # TODO: change this on the stable release
          major-version: 0

Specification

This action assumes the following repository layout:

• For polyrepo
  • .gitignore contains /dist
  • Generated files are under dist
  • Action definition is at action.yaml
• For monorepo
  • .gitignore contains dist/
  • Generated files are under */dist
  • Action definitions are at */action.yaml

It creates a new release only if the generated file(s) or action definition is changed.

It ignores any pull request event.

Inputs

Name	Default	Description
major-version	1	Major version to create a tag
increment-level	minor	Either minor or patch
token	github.token	GitHub token

If you want to create a new major release, set major-version to 2 or greater.