SIGN IN SIGN UP

feat(release): auto-sync package-lock.json on version drift + CLAUDE.md: don't bump version unless asked (#439)

Paired with the maintainer-preference clarification that Claude
shouldn't proactively bump versions, and that version bumps are often
made via the GitHub web UI (single-file edit to package.json only).

**Workflow change** (`.github/workflows/release.yml`):

  Adds a 'Sync package-lock.json if version drifted' step BEFORE the
  existing `npm ci` step. It:
    1. Reads the version field from both package.json and package-lock.json.
    2. If they match, no-ops.
    3. Otherwise runs `npm install --package-lock-only --ignore-scripts`
       which rewrites just the lock file's version fields (top-level +
       packages."") without touching node_modules — ~100ms locally.
    4. Auto-commits + pushes the lock-file change back to main with
       `[skip ci]`, same pattern as the prepare-release auto-promote step.

  Effect: a maintainer can now edit ONLY package.json (e.g. via the
  GitHub web UI) and trigger the workflow. The previously-fatal
  `npm ci` mismatch is detected, fixed, and committed before the
  build proceeds. Editing both files locally still works — the sync
  step just no-ops in that case.

  Verified the `npm install --package-lock-only --ignore-scripts`
  mechanic against a synthetic drifted lock file locally: both the
  top-level `version` and `packages."".version` get rewritten to
  match package.json in one command.

**CLAUDE.md change** (§ Release flow):

  Adds an explicit 'Claude does NOT bump the version unless explicitly
  asked' rule. Documents that the maintainer typically bumps
  package.json via the GitHub web UI (single-file edit). Explains the
  new sync step and lists the workflow's 5-step internals (sync lock →
  promote CHANGELOG → bundles → release → npm) for future Claude
  sessions to understand.

940/942 existing tests still pass; no new tests needed (the sync step
is a thin wrapper around an npm CLI invocation; the verification was
the local synthetic-drift smoke test in the commit-message above).

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
C
Colby Mchenry committed
9eb73ac675b904b01e57e247af69a9c124fb1288
Parent: f6fabe9
Committed by GitHub <noreply@github.com> on 5/26/2026, 8:28:54 AM