autoship

name	autoship
description	Automates npm release workflows using changesets. Creates a changeset (default patch), fixes lint/test/typecheck/format issues, commits and pushes, watches CI via the Monitor tool, finds and merges the Version Packages PR opened by changesets/action, and watches the release workflow to completion. Use when the user asks to ship, release, publish, autoship, or cut a release for an npm package.

Autoship

Automate npm releases with a changeset -> fix -> push -> monitor -> merge -> publish workflow.

Reference Files

File	Read when
references/changeset-and-commit.md	Creating a changeset, fixing quality issues, or committing and pushing
references/ci-polling.md	Watching CI with the Monitor tool, diagnosing failures, or handling retries
references/version-pr-and-publish.md	Searching for the Version Packages PR, merging it, or watching the release workflow

Intent Map

Intent	Steps	Notes
Full autoship (ship / release / publish)	1 through 5	Default entry point. Runs end-to-end through publish without intermediate prompts
Create changeset only	Step 1	Stage a release without pushing
Fix quality and push	Steps 1-2	Changeset + fixes + commit, no CI watch
Watch CI only	Steps 3-5	When changes are already pushed
Merge version PR only	Steps 4-5	When CI already passed. Auto-merges once preconditions are met

Safety Tiers

Invoking autoship is standing consent for the full release flow. Do not pause mid-flow for re-confirmation; gate risky steps with objective preconditions instead.

• GREEN -- execute directly: gh run list, gh run view, gh pr list, gh pr checks, npm view, reading CI status, listing changesets, reading package.json scripts, git log, git status.
• YELLOW -- announce then execute: npm run changeset / writing changeset files, running lint/typecheck/test/format fixers, git add/commit/push, starting Monitor background watches, and gh pr merge of the Version Packages PR opened by changesets/action once its identity is confirmed and all checks are green.
• RED -- explicit confirmation required: force-pushing, history rewrites, and any destructive git operations.

Workflow

Copy this checklist to track progress:

Autoship progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Create changeset (default patch)
- [ ] Step 2: Fix lint, types, tests, format
- [ ] Step 3: Commit + push changeset (do NOT run `changeset version`)
- [ ] Step 4: Monitor CI and find/merge the Version Packages PR
- [ ] Step 5: Watch release workflow to completion

Step 1: Create changeset (default patch)

• Load references/changeset-and-commit.md.
• Check for existing pending changesets: ls .changeset/*.md 2>/dev/null | grep -v README.md.
• If changesets exist, ask the user whether to create an additional one or skip.
• Default to patch bump type. Only use minor or major when the user explicitly requests it.
• Write the changeset file directly for non-interactive agent mode.
• Infer the changeset summary from recent commits with git log --oneline -10.

Step 2: Fix lint, types, tests, format

• Load references/changeset-and-commit.md.
• Discover available scripts from package.json.
• Run quality gates in order: lint, typecheck, test, format.
• If any gate fails, attempt to auto-fix (e.g., --fix, prettier --write).
• Retry each gate up to 3 times after applying fixes.
• If a gate still fails after retries, stop and report to the user.

Step 3: Commit + push changeset

• Stage the changeset file and any auto-fixes, commit, and push.
• Do NOT run npx changeset version locally. CI's changesets/action runs it inside the Version Packages PR.
• The pushed commit must contain the pending .changeset/*.md file so CI's "Changeset Status" check passes.

Step 4: Monitor CI and find/merge the Version Packages PR

• Load references/ci-polling.md and references/version-pr-and-publish.md.
• After pushing, start a Monitor watch that emits a line each time the latest workflow run on the current branch reaches a terminal state (completed). The agent reacts to each emitted line; no /loop re-prompt needed.
• Do not stop prematurely. A single idle snapshot does not mean CI is done — keep the monitor running until at least one workflow run reports completed.
• On failure: read logs, classify as flaky or real. Retry flaky failures up to 3 times with gh run rerun <id> --failed. For real failures: fix, commit, push, restart the monitor.
• Once CI is green, search for an open PR titled "Version Packages" or on branch changeset-release/main. If not found immediately, start a second Monitor watch that polls for the PR for up to 10 minutes (the changesets bot needs time).
• Before merging, verify ALL of the following preconditions:
  • PR title is exactly "Version Packages" OR head branch is changeset-release/main (do not merge any other PR).
  • Every check on the PR shows state: completed and conclusion: success.
  • PR is mergeable (mergeable: MERGEABLE, not CONFLICTING or UNKNOWN).
• Announce in one short line ("Merging Version Packages PR #N — @"), then merge with gh pr merge <number> --squash --delete-branch. Do not pause for confirmation; invoking autoship is the consent.
• If any precondition fails, stop and report — do not merge.

Step 5: Watch the publish run to completion

• Load references/version-pr-and-publish.md and references/ci-polling.md.
• Merging the Version Packages PR triggers the SAME release workflow again. Because no pending changesets remain, changesets/action now executes the publish: script (changeset publish).
• Identify the workflow file (commonly release.yml, npm-publish.yml, or publish.yml) in .github/workflows/.
• Start a Monitor watch on that workflow's latest run on main, emitting a line when it reaches a terminal state.
• Terminal conditions: workflow succeeds (report published version) or fails (report with logs).
• Do NOT auto-retry publish failures. These typically need human investigation (npm auth, registry, OIDC/provenance, tag conflict).
• On success, verify with npm view <package> version and stop any remaining Monitor watches.

Anti-patterns

• Running npm publish directly instead of using the changesets workflow.
• Merging the Version Packages PR before its CI checks pass.
• Stopping CI monitoring after the first poll shows no runs (workflows take time to queue).
• Creating a changeset with major bump without explicit user instruction.
• Force-pushing to the default branch.
• Auto-retrying publish failures (these are typically real auth, registry, OIDC/provenance, or tag-conflict issues).
• Polling tighter than ~30s, which wastes GitHub API rate limit. Monitor scripts should sleep 30 or longer between gh calls.
• Never run npx changeset version locally. CI's changesets/action runs it inside the Version Packages PR. Running it locally consumes the changeset file, the pushed commit has no pending changeset, CI's "Changeset Status" check fails, and no Version Packages PR is opened.
• Hand-editing CHANGELOG.md or package.json version as part of autoship — CI generates both.