Configuration

Simple Release is configured with a single file in the repository root. The config describes your project type and default options for the release steps.

Config file

The first file found is used, searched in this order:

File	Format
.simple-release.js	ES module
.simple-release.mjs	ES module
.simple-release.cjs	CommonJS module
.simple-release.json	JSON

The JSON config describes addons with queries — strings that name the package to load:

.simple-release.json

{
  "project": ["@simple-release/pnpm#PnpmWorkspacesProject", {
    "mode": "fixed"
  }]
}

The JS config can do the same, or instantiate addons directly — useful when you already have the packages installed:

.simple-release.js

import { PnpmWorkspacesProject } from '@simple-release/pnpm'

export const project = new PnpmWorkspacesProject({
  mode: 'fixed'
})

Which one to pick?

With the GitHub Action prefer the JSON config: the action reads the query and installs the addon by itself, so your project needs no extra dependencies — especially handy for non-JavaScript projects without a package.json. Prefer the JS config when you use the JS API directly and want full control.

Project query

A query names the class to load in the format package[@version][#Export]:

Query	Meaning
@simple-release/pnpm#PnpmProject	The PnpmProject export of the latest @simple-release/pnpm
@simple-release/pnpm@3.2.1#PnpmWorkspacesProject	The same package pinned to version 3.2.1
@simple-release/pnpm	The default export of the package

To pass options to the class constructor, use a tuple of the query and an options object:

["@simple-release/pnpm#PnpmWorkspacesProject", { "mode": "independent" }]

Note

Pin the addon version in the query for reproducible releases — the GitHub Action caches installed addons, and an unpinned query means “whatever was latest when the cache was first built”. Changing the pinned version also refreshes the cache.

Sections

Top-level keys of the config:

Key	Description
project	The project addon query or instance. Describes how to read the version, bump, and publish.
hosting	The hosting addon, e.g. @simple-release/github#GithubHosting. Creates releases and pull requests. The GitHub Action provides it automatically.
releaser	Options for the releaser itself: verbose, silent, dryRun.

Every other key sets default options for the corresponding release step: checkout, setUser, bump, commit, maintenanceBranch, tag, push, publish, release, and pullRequest. See the Releaser page for the options of each step.

A fuller example:

.simple-release.json

{
  "project": ["@simple-release/pnpm#PnpmWorkspacesProject", {
    "mode": "fixed"
  }],
  "releaser": {
    "verbose": true
  },
  "bump": {
    "extraScopes": ["deps"]
  },
  "maintenanceBranch": {
    "enabled": true
  }
}

This config releases a fixed-mode pnpm workspaces monorepo, logs verbosely, counts fix(deps): ... commits from Dependabot or Renovate towards version bumps, and creates a maintenance branch when a release crosses a major version boundary.