NPM_PUBLISHING_ISSUE_SUMMARY - Alteriom/painlessMesh GitHub Wiki

NPM and GitHub Packages Publishing Issue - Summary

Issue Identified

When PR#19 was merged to main with the commit message:

Release v1.7.7 - Complete mqtt-schema v0.7.2 implementation

The automated release workflow created the tag and GitHub release successfully, but the NPM and GitHub Packages publishing jobs were skipped.

Root Cause

The automated workflow file .github/workflows/release.yml has a condition for NPM and GitHub Packages publishing:

npm-publish:
  needs: [tag-and-release]
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  if: startsWith(github.event.head_commit.message, 'release:')

Problem: The condition checks if the commit message starts with release: (lowercase with colon), but the merge commit was:

  • Tag created: v1.7.7
  • GitHub Release created
  • NPM publish skipped (message started with "Release" not "release:")
  • GitHub Packages publish skipped (same reason)

Solution Implemented

1. Manual Publishing Workflow Created

Created .github/workflows/manual-publish.yml with:

  • Manual trigger via GitHub Actions UI
  • Checkboxes to select which registries to publish to:
    • Publish to NPM Registry
    • Publish to GitHub Packages
  • Reads version from library.properties automatically
  • Validates authentication tokens
  • Provides clear success/failure feedback

2. How to Use Manual Publishing

Via GitHub UI:

  1. Go to https://github.com/Alteriom/painlessMesh/actions
  2. Select "Manual Package Publishing" workflow
  3. Click "Run workflow" button
  4. Select desired options (both checked by default)
  5. Click "Run workflow"

Via GitHub CLI:

gh workflow run manual-publish.yml

3. Documentation Updated

Updated RELEASE_GUIDE.md with:

  • Explanation of the commit message requirement
  • Troubleshooting section for this specific issue
  • Instructions for using the manual publishing workflow
  • Examples of correct vs incorrect commit messages

Immediate Action Required

To publish v1.7.7 to NPM and GitHub Packages:

  1. Navigate to: https://github.com/Alteriom/painlessMesh/actions/workflows/manual-publish.yml
  2. Click "Run workflow"
  3. Ensure both checkboxes are selected:
    • Publish to NPM Registry
    • Publish to GitHub Packages
  4. Click "Run workflow"

The workflow will:

  • Read version 1.7.7 from library.properties
  • Publish @alteriom/[email protected] to npmjs.org
  • Publish to GitHub Packages registry

Prevention for Future Releases

To avoid this issue in future releases, ensure commit messages start with release: (lowercase with colon):

** Correct:**

git commit -m "release: v1.7.8 - Next version description"

** Wrong:**

git commit -m "Release v1.7.8 - Next version description"

Additional Notes

  • The tag v1.7.7 exists and is correct
  • GitHub Release exists and is correct
  • Only NPM/GitHub Packages publishing needs to be done manually this time
  • All other release channels (PlatformIO, Arduino Library Manager) are unaffected
  • This is a one-time manual fix; future releases will work automatically if commit message is correct

Files Changed

  1. .github/workflows/manual-publish.yml - New manual publishing workflow
  2. RELEASE_GUIDE.md - Updated documentation with troubleshooting

Status: Ready to manually publish v1.7.7 packages Action: Run manual-publish.yml workflow via GitHub Actions UI