semantic-release
by semantic-release
semantic-release works out the next version number from your commit messages, writes the release notes and publishes the package, all without manual steps. It is meant to run on a continuous integration service after each successful build.
- Stars
- 24.1k +4 a day
- Licence
- MIT
- Runs on
- Your computer
- Setup
- Moderate
- Language
- JavaScript
- Age
- 4428 days
What you can do with it
- Set the next version number automatically from commit messages that follow a set convention
- Generate changelogs and release notes for every release
- Publish packages from your CI pipeline, including pre-releases and maintenance branches
Make money with it
A freelance developer could offer to set up automated release pipelines for client projects as a fixed-price service.
An idea, not financial advice. Check the licence before charging for anything built on it.
Ways a business could use it
- Cut the time a freelancer or small team spends on manual versioning, changelogs and publishing
- Reduce release mistakes in client or product libraries by making every release follow the same automated process
Can you use it commercially?
Free to use, change and sell, including in paid products. Keep the copyright notice.
Not legal advice. Read the project's licence file before building a product on it.
Getting it running
It is installed as an npm package and run from a CI job, with a configuration file and publishing credentials set up for your project.
Follow the official instructions in the project README.
Things to check
- Requires everyone to follow a strict commit message convention
- Needs CI set up and publishing tokens, which must be kept secure
Checked 30 Oct 2026. Summary drafted by AI from the project's README.
