cngpac prepare

Calculate the next version based on changenotes and write a prepare.json file that signals CI to perform the release.

Usage

cngpac prepare <type> [tag] [options]

Alias: prep

Arguments

Argument	Required	Description
type	Yes	Release type (see table below)
tag	No	Pre-release tag (e.g., alpha, beta). Defaults to alpha.

Release Types

Type	Description	Example
release	Stable release	1.2.3 → 1.3.0
prerelease	Increment pre-release counter	1.3.0-alpha.1 → 1.3.0-alpha.2
prepatch	Pre-release patch	1.2.3 → 1.2.4-alpha.1
preminor	Pre-release minor	1.2.3 → 1.3.0-alpha.1
premajor	Pre-release major	1.2.3 → 2.0.0-alpha.1

Options

Option	Description
--commit	Commit the prepare config after writing it
--push	Push to origin after committing (implies --commit)

How It Works

1. Loads cngpac.config.ts to find the package path
2. Reads all changenotes from .changenotes/
3. Calculates the semantic version bump based on the highest bump field across all changenotes
4. Applies the release type (stable or pre-release with tag)
5. Prompts for confirmation: Prepare my-package: 1.2.3 → 1.3.0 ?
6. Writes .changenotes/prepare.json with the target version
7. Runs formatter plugins on the created file
8. Optionally commits and pushes

The prepare.json File

{
  "newVersion": "1.3.0",
  "attempt": 1
}

Field	Description
newVersion	The target version for the release
attempt	Attempt counter (incremented by reprepare on retries)

Examples

Stable release

cngpac prepare release --push

Beta pre-release

cngpac prepare prerelease beta --push

Release prep without pushing

cngpac prepare release

CI Trigger

The generated CI workflow (.github/workflows/version.yml) watches for changes to .changenotes/prepare.json on the main branch. Pushing this file triggers the automated versioning pipeline.