next-version

A CLI and GitHub Action to compute the next semantic version for your npm package using Conventional Commits, git tags, and the npm registry. Inspired by semantic-release, but focused on CI/CD and monorepo-friendly workflows.

Features

• Computes next version based on commit history and tags
• Supports prerelease channels (e.g. develop, beta) with semantic-release-like counters
• Integrates with npm registry to avoid version collisions
• Usable as a CLI or as a GitHub Action
• Customizable branch/channel rules

Usage

CLI

Install globally or use via npx:

npx @rb-mwindh/next-version --package <name> --branch main

Options

• --package <name>: npm package name (required)
• --cwd <path>: working directory (default: current)
• --tag-prefix <prefix>: git tag prefix (default: "v")
• --current-branch <name>: branch name (default: GITHUB_REF_NAME)
• --branches <json>: branches config as JSON array (semantic-release format)
• --branch <name>: simple branch entry (repeatable)
• --reachable-tags-only: only tags reachable from HEAD (default)
• --all-tags: consider all tags in repo
• --fail-if-no-bump: exit non-zero if no bump is recommended
• --json: print result as JSON

Examples

# Compute next version for main branch
npx @rb-mwindh/next-version --package @scope/corelib --branch main

# Use custom branches config (semantic-release style)
npx @rb-mwindh/next-version --package mylib --branches '[{"name":"main"},{"name":"develop","prerelease":"dev"}]'

# Output as JSON
npx @rb-mwindh/next-version --package mylib --branch main --json

GitHub Action

Add to your workflow:

- uses: rb-mwindh/next-version@main
  with:
    package: '@scope/corelib'
    branch: main
    tag-prefix: 'v'
    cwd: ${{ github.workspace }}

Action Inputs

• package: npm package name (required)
• branches: branches config as JSON array (semantic-release format)
• branch: simple branch entry (repeatable)
• tag-prefix: git tag prefix (default: "v")
• cwd: working directory (default: GITHUB_WORKSPACE)
• reachable-tags-only: only tags reachable from HEAD (default: true)
• fail-if-no-bump: fail if no bump is recommended (default: false)

Action Outputs

• version: computed next version
• channel: release channel / npm dist-tag
• bump: bump type (major, minor, patch, premajor, etc.)
• already-published: whether this version is already published
• last-stable-version: last stable version from tags
• last-stable-tag: last stable git tag
• next-base-version: next base version (X.Y.Z)
• prerelease-id: prerelease identifier (if applicable)
• prerelease-counter: prerelease counter (if applicable)
• json: full result as JSON

Development

Build

This project uses @vercel/ncc to bundle all runtime dependencies for CLI and GitHub Action. The output is committed to bin/.

npm ci
npm run build

• TypeScript builds to dist/
• Bundles are created in bin/cli/ and bin/action/
• Only bin/ is versioned (see .gitignore)

License

MIT © Markus Windhager