Publishing build to npm- prebuild

Shailesh Mishra
4 min readSep 18, 2023
Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

To upload a testing build of your TypeScript project to npm for testing purposes, you can follow these general steps:

1. Prepare Your Project:

Make sure your TypeScript project is ready for publishing. Ensure that your project is properly structured, all dependencies are listed in the `package.json` file, and you have a build script if necessary.

2. Increment the Version:

To publish a new version to npm, you should increment the version number in your `package.json`. You can use `npm version` to do this:

npm version patch

This command will increment the patch version. You can use `minor` or `major` instead of `patch` to increment other parts of the version.

3. Build Your Project:

Make sure your TypeScript project is transpiled into JavaScript and any necessary files are generated. You might have a build script defined in your `package.json` that does this. Run your build script if required.

4. Login to npm:

Before publishing, make sure you are logged in to your npm account using the `npm login` command. You will need to provide your npm username, password, and email.

5. Publish Your Package:

Use the `npm publish` command to publish your package to npm. It will upload your package to the npm registry:

npm publish

6. Testing Your Package:

To test the package you just published, you can create a new test project where you install your published package. You can use `npm install your-package-name` to install it. Then, test your package within this test project.

7. Debug and Verify:

Test thoroughly to ensure that your package works as expected. Debug any issues that arise during testing.

8. Make Changes and Republish:

If you find any issues during testing, make necessary changes in your TypeScript project, increment the version number again, rebuild, and republish to npm.

9. Cleanup:

After testing is complete and you are satisfied with your package, you can clean up the test project or delete it if it was just for testing purposes.

10. Production Release:

If your testing build passes all tests and is ready for production, make the necessary changes, increment the version accordingly, and publish it as a production-ready version to npm.

Please note that when uploading packages to the npm registry, make sure your package name is unique, and you have the necessary permissions to publish packages to that name. Also, consider publishing testing builds with pre-release versions (e.g., `1.0.0-beta.1`) to distinguish them from stable production releases.

Another Approach:

To publish a package to the npm registry for testing purposes before releasing it as a production version, you can follow these steps:

1. Prepare Your Test Package:

Ensure that your TypeScript project is ready for testing. Make sure it has a unique name and a distinct version in your `package.json` file. You might want to use a pre-release version (e.g., `1.0.0-beta.1`) to indicate that it’s for testing.

2. Login to npm:

If you haven’t already, log in to your npm account using the `npm login` command.

3. Publish Your Test Package:

Use the `npm publish` command to publish your test package to the npm registry:

npm publish - tag beta

The ` — tag beta` flag will tag your package as a beta release, indicating that it’s for testing purposes. You can choose any tag name you prefer.

4. Verify Your Test Package:

After publishing, you can verify that your test package is available on the npm registry by visiting its npm page or using the `npm info` command:

npm info your-package-name

5. Install and Test Your Test Package:

Create a separate test project or use an existing one. Install your test package using the tag you specified earlier (e.g., `beta`):

npm install your-package-name@beta

Test your package within this test project to ensure that it functions as expected.

6. Debug and Verify:

Thoroughly test your package in the test project and debug any issues that arise. Make any necessary changes to your TypeScript project based on your testing results.

7. Release as Production:

If your test build passes all tests and you’re satisfied with its stability, make the necessary changes in your TypeScript project, increment the version number (removing the pre-release tag if desired), and republish it without the beta tag to release it as a production version:

npm version patch
npm publish

By following these steps, you can safely test your package on the npm registry before making it available as a production version.

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