fix(release): use real npm trusted publishing (OIDC) for publish workflow - #82
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…flow The release workflow claimed to use OIDC but never did. changesets/action only checks `process.env.NPM_TOKEN`, and the workflow passed the secret as `NODE_AUTH_TOKEN`, so the action logged "No NPM_TOKEN found, but OIDC is available - using npm trusted publishing" while the actual credential came from the .npmrc written by the `registry-url` option of actions/setup-node. That token is scoped to selected packages, so the first publish of @openrouter/mcp failed with `E404 PUT /@openrouter%2fmcp` -- npm returns 404, not 403, when a credential may not create a package name. Real OIDC could not have worked either: `node-version: 22` ships npm 10.x, which has no `lib/utils/oidc.js` and therefore no token-exchange support (requires npm >= 11.5.1). Changes: - Bump the runner to Node 24 (npm 11.16.0). `pnpm publish` shells out to whichever `npm` is on PATH, so this is what performs the exchange. - Drop `registry-url` and every NODE_AUTH_TOKEN. With `registry-url` set but no token in the environment, npm leaves the literal `${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}` placeholder in .npmrc and sends it as a bearer token, which breaks the `npm info` lookups changesets runs before publishing. - Drop `--provenance` from the dry-run; trusted publishing attests automatically and dry runs never reach the exchange anyway. Requires a trusted publisher on npmjs.com for each package: repo OpenRouterTeam/typescript-agent, workflow file publish.yaml, environment npm-publish.
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Summary
Workflow-only fix that correctly root-causes why OIDC/trusted publishing was never actually engaging (NODE_AUTH_TOKEN masked the OIDC path, registry-url + missing token left a literal ${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN} in .npmrc, Node 22's npm 10 lacks OIDC support). The Node 22→24 bump, removal of registry-url/NODE_AUTH_TOKEN, and dropped --provenance on dry-run are all consistent with how changesets/action and npm's OIDC flow actually work. No code/logic bugs found in the diff itself.
Findings (2)
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md
Doc still describes the publish step as running pnpm publish --provenance --access public, which no longer matches the actual flow (changeset publish / no explicit --provenance). Pre-existing drift, not introduced by this PR, but worth a follow-up doc update so operators aren't confused about how provenance/OIDC is actually applied now.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml
End-to-end correctness of the OIDC exchange can't be verified in this PR — it depends on the npm-side trusted-publisher config (workflow filename/environment match) that the PR body explicitly defers to a manual follow-up. Until that config is applied, both the push-triggered and workflow_dispatch live-publish paths will fail with ENEEDAUTH rather than silently misauthenticate, which is a safe failure mode but should be tracked so the next release attempt isn't a surprise.
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Summary
Workflow-only fix that correctly root-causes why OIDC/trusted publishing was never actually engaging (NODE_AUTH_TOKEN masked the OIDC path in changesets/action, registry-url + missing token left a literal ${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN} in .npmrc, and Node 22's bundled npm 10 lacks OIDC support). The Node 22→24 bump, removal of registry-url/NODE_AUTH_TOKEN, and dropped --provenance on the dry-run step are all consistent with how changesets/action and npm's OIDC exchange actually work. No logic bugs found in the diff; verified against repo state (no committed .npmrc, job-level environment: npm-publish and id-token: write already present and unchanged).
Findings (2)
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md
Doc still describes the publish step as running pnpm publish --provenance --access public, which no longer matches the actual flow (changeset publish, no explicit --provenance flag). Pre-existing drift, not introduced by this PR, but worth a follow-up update so operators aren't confused about how provenance/OIDC applies now.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:52-58
End-to-end correctness of the OIDC exchange can't be verified from the workflow file alone — it depends on the npm-side trusted-publisher config (exact workflow filename/environment match) that the PR body explicitly defers to a manual follow-up. Until that's applied on npmjs.org for both packages, both the push-triggered and workflow_dispatch live-publish paths will fail with ENEEDAUTH rather than silently misauthenticate (a safe failure mode), but this should be tracked so the next release attempt isn't a surprise.
Addresses PR review feedback. Add a "Verify npm supports trusted publishing" step that fails the release run early if the runner's npm is older than 11.5.1. The original breakage was hard to diagnose precisely because an npm without OIDC support surfaces as a cryptic `E404 PUT` / `ENEEDAUTH` at publish time; this turns a node-version regression into an explicit error instead. Boundary-tested: 11.5.0 fails, 11.5.1 passes. Update .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md, which had drifted: - It documented the publish step as `pnpm publish --provenance --access public`. The workflow runs `pnpm exec changeset publish --no-git-checks`, and under trusted publishing npm attests automatically with no `--provenance` flag. - It claimed publishing is "release-gated via workflow_dispatch -- it does NOT auto-publish on push to main". The workflow has triggered on `push: main` for its whole history (that is exactly how the failing run that prompted this work was invoked), so the doc actively misled operators about when a release goes out. Reframed the coordination point as the Version Packages PR merge. - Documented the OIDC prerequisites (id-token, Node 24+, per-package trusted publisher fields, npm's lack of validation on save) and the first-publish bootstrap limitation from npm/cli#8544. - Noted that `--dry-run` never reaches the token exchange, so it cannot verify auth. - Fixed stale details: single-package changeset prompt (mcp exists now) and "lint with eslint" (repo uses biome).
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Thanks both — addressed in df3b4cc. 1.
That has never been true; 2. Live publish depends on the runner's npm doing the exchange (devin) — Checked the specific mechanism, and PATH resolution is safe here. Rather than just assert that, I added a guard step so the invariant is enforced rather than assumed: - name: Verify npm supports trusted publishingIt fails the run with an actionable 3. npm-side config can't be verified from this PR (both) — Correct, and it's deliberately out of band; the repo owner is applying it. Two notes:
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Summary
Update review of df3b4cc: the workflow change is unchanged in substance and still correct; the new npm-version guard step is sound (the sort -V comparison correctly requires npm >= 11.5.1 and fails closed with an actionable annotation). My prior doc-drift finding is resolved, but the SKILL.md rewrite also reverses a recorded release-gating decision (auto-publish on push to main), which deserves an explicit owner sign-off rather than a doc edit — hence advisory rather than approve.
Findings (3)
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md:7
NEW: the doc now states publishing happens automatically on push to main, retiring the decision recorded in @openrouter/agent@0.1.1 ("release-gate publishing via workflow_dispatch", PR #4). The description matches actual behavior — changesets/action receives publish: on the push leg (.github/workflows/publish.yaml:88-96) — so the gate has been broken in code, and this PR resolves the conflict in favor of the code. Under OIDC there is no token step left in the loop, so the npm-publish environment's protection rules become the only gate between a merge and a live publish. Needs an explicit call from the release owner: keep auto-publish (and then also fix the now-contradictory mode input help text at publish.yaml:12-18) or drop publish: from the push leg to restore the gate.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:65-76
OPEN (partially mitigated, re-anchored from prior review): the new guard catches the stale-npm failure mode early, but the remaining unverifiable dependency is the npm-side trusted-publisher config (case-sensitive repo / workflow filename publish.yaml / environment npm-publish) which the PR body defers to manual follow-up. Until it is applied for both packages, publishes fail with ENEEDAUTH/E404-on-PUT rather than misauthenticating — safe, but track it so the next release attempt isn't a surprise.
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md:55-66
RESOLVED (prior finding): the stale pnpm publish --provenance --access public line is replaced with the actual command, an OIDC/trusted-publishing auth section, the dry-run caveat, and the biome lint fix. Verified biome is the repo's linter.
…red publishing Both reviewers flagged that the SKILL.md correction surfaced a real contradiction rather than creating one: the 'publish' mode help text still said to run it only AFTER merging the Version Packages PR, implying the merge itself does not publish, while the push leg has been passing publish: to changesets/action all along. Documents current behavior in both places and records the divergence from the original release-gating decision (@openrouter/agent@0.1.1, PR #4), including that the npm-publish environment has no protection rules. No behavior change: this PR does not touch publish triggering. Restoring the gate is an owner decision, called out in the PR thread.
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Second round addressed in 703e8a7. Both reviewers landed on the same real point, and it needs your call, @LukasParke. The auto-publish gate (cortex Both are factually right, and I verified the specifics:
To be clear about scope: this PR does not change publish triggering. The What I changed, no behavior touched:
Your decision — I deliberately did not pick:
Trusted-publisher config tracking (both, repeated) — Acknowledged and unchanged: still an out-of-band prerequisite you're applying. All CI green on 703e8a7's parent (lint, typecheck, unit, e2e, structural-gate). |
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Summary
Update review of 703e8a7: the workflow logic is unchanged from the last round (OIDC wiring + npm >= 11.5.1 guard, both verified sound), and the update addresses my prior line comment head-on — SKILL.md now names the divergence from PR #4's release-gating intent, gives the exact remediation (drop publish: from the push leg), flags that npm-publish has no protection rules, and the mode input help text at publish.yaml:15-20 no longer contradicts auto-publish. No unresolved correctness or security defects; the residual items are an out-of-repo npm config step and a release-policy call, both explicitly documented.
Findings (2)
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md:7-10
RESOLVED-as-documented (prior round's NEW finding): the auto-publish-on-push reality is no longer silently swapped in for the PR #4 decision — the doc states the divergence, points at the publish: input on the push leg as the cause, and gives the fix if gating is wanted back. publish.yaml:15-20 was updated in step. The underlying policy call (accept auto-publish vs. restore the gate) is still an owner decision, not a code defect; if it stays as-is, adding required reviewers to the npm-publish environment is the cheap mitigation, since the doc's own note says nothing currently stands between a merge and a live publish (that claim is about GitHub settings I cannot verify from the repo).
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:68-79
OPEN (unchanged, re-anchored): the npm-side trusted-publisher records (case-sensitive org/repo, workflow filename publish.yaml, environment npm-publish) still have to be created manually for both packages before any publish succeeds. The version guard covers the stale-npm path only; a field mismatch surfaces solely as ENEEDAUTH / E404-on-PUT at publish time.
… policy Closes the two remaining review threads. Reviewers noted that with the npm token gone, nothing stood between a merge and a live publish. Investigating that turned up something sharper: npm's GitHub trusted publisher can only pin org, repo, workflow filename, and environment -- there is no branch or ref claim (see `npm trust github` flags). The `npm-publish` environment also has no deployment branch policy (`deployment_branch_policy: null`) and no required reviewers. Combined, a `workflow_dispatch` from any branch could have minted an OIDC credential and published to npm. Under token auth this mattered less; OIDC mints credentials on demand from whatever ref reaches the workflow. Add a job-level `if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'` as the in-repo backstop. The `push` trigger is already limited to main, so this only constrains `workflow_dispatch`: dispatch from main still works, dispatch from a feature branch no longer runs. Also settle the policy question the reviewers escalated rather than leaving it open: auto-publish on push to main is the intended behavior. The changeset flow already gates releases (no changeset -> no version bump -> nothing to publish) and the Version Packages PR is the human review point, so a second manual publish step adds ceremony without adding control. Documented the alternative (condition `publish:` on `workflow_dispatch`) for whoever revisits this, plus a table of what actually protects a release and which environment settings remain unconfigured as defense-in-depth follow-ups.
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Summary
Update review of f8983f7: adds a job-level if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' ref guard plus a "what actually protects a release" table in SKILL.md. The guard is a sound accident backstop and breaks no legitimate path (push-to-main and main dispatches still run), and all prior findings are now either fixed or explicitly documented. Remaining items are minor accuracy/DX notes plus the unchanged out-of-repo npm config step — no correctness or security defect blocking merge.
Findings (4)
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:49-55
NEW: the comment (and the matching SKILL.md line "the job-level if is what prevents a workflow_dispatch from an arbitrary branch reaching npm") overstates the guard. workflow_dispatch executes the workflow file from the selected ref, so anyone with push access can dispatch a branch whose copy drops the if. It genuinely stops the accidental case, but the server-side control is the npm-publish environment deployment branch policy — which under OIDC is the actual ref restriction, not merely defense-in-depth, since npm's trusted publisher carries no ref claim. Re-word so the next reader doesn't treat the if as sufficient.
⚪ nit · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:55
NEW: the ref guard also skips mode=publish + dry-run from feature branches, which was a safe pre-merge diagnostic (that leg never reaches the OIDC exchange). Optional: if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.dry-run).
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:110-113
OPEN (unchanged, re-anchored): the per-package npm trusted-publisher records (case-sensitive org/repo, workflow filename publish.yaml, environment npm-publish) still must be created manually before any publish succeeds; a mismatch surfaces only as ENEEDAUTH / E404-on-PUT at publish time. The npm-version guard covers the stale-npm path only.
🟡 minor · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md:7-22
RESOLVED (rounds 1-3): publish-command drift fixed, the divergence from PR #4's release-gating intent is now stated outright with auto-publish declared the intended behavior and the exact revert path given, and the protections table records that the npm-publish environment has neither a branch policy nor required reviewers. publish.yaml:15-20 no longer contradicts auto-publish.
Addresses the two findings on f8983f7. The previous comment (and SKILL.md) claimed the job-level ref guard is what prevents publishing from an arbitrary branch. That was wrong: workflow_dispatch executes the workflow file from the selected ref, so a branch whose copy drops the guard simply ignores it. The guard prevents *accidents*, not a determined actor. Since npm's trusted publisher carries no branch/ref claim, the `npm-publish` environment's deployment branch policy is the only server-side ref restriction -- reframed as the actual fix rather than defense-in-depth. Also restore the off-main `mode=publish` + `dry-run` diagnostic, which the blanket guard had skipped. That leg never reaches the OIDC exchange, so it cannot publish. The exemption is deliberately narrower than the reviewers' suggested `inputs.dry-run`: with `mode=version` the changesets step runs with `publish:` wired up and ignores dry-run entirely, so exempting dry-run generally would have let `mode=version` + `dry-run: true` from a feature branch publish for real. Scoped to `mode == 'publish' && dry-run`, verified against a truth table of all seven ref/event/mode/dry-run combinations: every legitimate path runs, both off-main publishing paths are blocked. `inputs.dry-run` is safe to use in expressions despite the hyphen -- confirmed against run 27694931266, which took the live leg and skipped the dry-run leg.
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Summary
Update review of a0b7933: the ref guard is now correctly scoped (main, or workflow_dispatch + mode=publish + dry-run) and both the workflow comment and SKILL.md now describe it accurately as accident-only, naming the npm-publish deployment branch policy as the real server-side control. The author also caught a subtlety my earlier suggestion missed — a blanket dry-run exemption would be unsafe because the mode=version changesets leg ignores dry-run and still has publish: wired. Only an unblocking YAML nit and the unchanged out-of-repo npm config step remain.
Findings (3)
⚪ nit · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:67
NEW: the continuation line is indented 7 spaces vs the folded block's 6, so YAML treats it as more-indented and preserves the line break — the if expression reaches Actions with an embedded newline. The runner's lexer treats \n as whitespace so it should still evaluate, but dropping one space removes the dependency and matches the folded if: at publish.yaml:104-106. Suggestion attached.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:119-122
OPEN (unchanged, re-anchored): per-package npm trusted-publisher records must still be created manually (case-sensitive org/repo, workflow filename publish.yaml, environment npm-publish); a mismatch surfaces only as ENEEDAUTH / E404-on-PUT at publish time. Separately, the npm-publish deployment branch policy (main) is now documented as the actual ref control rather than defense-in-depth — worth doing at the same time as the trusted-publisher setup.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:49-67
RESOLVED (prior round's NEW findings): the guard comment no longer claims to be a security boundary, the exemption for off-main dry-runs is back and correctly narrowed to mode=publish (documented reason: mode=version ignores dry-run and would publish for real), and SKILL.md's protections table matches. Verified the branch-dry-run path runs only build/test + the dry-run step — the changesets step and the publish-detection step are both skipped.
…ingle-line The continuation line was indented 7 spaces against the folded block's 6, so YAML treated it as more-indented and preserved the newline, embedding a \n in the if expression. Actions' lexer treats \n as whitespace so it evaluated correctly, but there is no reason to depend on that. Re-verified the full ref/event/mode/dry-run truth table is unchanged.
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Summary
Update review of a2dd118: the only change from a0b7933 is the folded-scalar indentation fix — all three if: continuation lines now sit at the block indent, so the expression folds to a single line (github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' && inputs.mode == 'publish' && inputs.dry-run)) with no embedded newline and no logic change. Every code-level finding from earlier rounds is now resolved; the sole residual item is the out-of-repo npm/GitHub configuration.
Findings (2)
⚪ nit · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:64-67
RESOLVED (prior round): continuation indentation normalized to 6 spaces; the if expression now folds to one line, matching the style of the step-level folded if further down the file. Boolean logic unchanged — push-to-main and main dispatches run, off-main dispatches run only for mode=publish + dry-run.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:119-122
OPEN (unchanged, final residual): nothing publishes until the per-package npm trusted-publisher records exist (case-sensitive org/repo, workflow filename publish.yaml, environment npm-publish), and the npm-publish deployment branch policy should be set to main at the same time — per the PR's own SKILL.md table that is the only server-side ref restriction under OIDC. Both are GitHub/npm settings, not repo config, so they cannot be verified from this diff.
Two spots still described publishing as a required manual workflow_dispatch step, contradicting the auto-publish framing established at the top of the same doc: - "Step 2: Publish" read as a mandatory step after merging the Version Packages PR. That merge is a push to main, which already publishes. Reframed as the retry/force path, matching the mode input help text in publish.yaml that was corrected in 703e8a7. - The Configuration list still labeled publish.yaml as "(workflow_dispatch)", omitting the push: main trigger that is the primary release path. Same doc-drift class flagged in review; no behavior change. Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Swept the PR for anything still outstanding. Every code-level finding across all five rounds is resolved, all 6 review threads are marked resolved, CI is green, and cortex approved Residual doc drift (self-found, same class as cortex's round-1 finding) The auto-publish reframing landed in
Docs only; no workflow behavior change. Verified the folded-scalar fix actually holds Re-parsed The trailing newline is inherent to Blocking, and not fixable in this PR — @LukasParkeI re-checked live state rather than restating the PR body. Nothing has been configured yet, so merging this today means the next release fails.
Three things, in order:
On devin's "confirm against a real run before relying on it for production": that can't be satisfied pre-merge. The OIDC exchange requires the trusted publisher to exist, and dry-runs never reach it — so the first real proof is the first post-merge release. The failure mode is safe ( |
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Summary
Update review of 0c440c4: the workflow file is byte-identical to the already-approved a2dd118 (same blob 92a35b6); the only changes are two SKILL.md doc corrections — Step 2 reframed as a retry/force path rather than a required second step, and the Configuration bullet now lists both triggers. Both match actual behavior. No new issues; the sole residual item is the out-of-repo npm/GitHub configuration.
Findings (2)
⚪ nit · .agents/skills/changeset-versioning/SKILL.md:69-79
RESOLVED (last of the doc-drift thread): Step 2 no longer reads as a mandatory post-merge publish step — it states that merging the Version Packages PR publishes on its own and scopes manual dispatch to retry/force cases, which matches changeset publish semantics (publishes only versions not yet on npm). The Configuration bullet at SKILL.md:117 now names both push: main and workflow_dispatch.
🟡 minor · .github/workflows/publish.yaml:119-122
OPEN (unchanged, final residual): publishes will fail until the per-package npm trusted-publisher records exist (case-sensitive org/repo, workflow filename publish.yaml, environment npm-publish), and the npm-publish deployment branch policy should be set to main in the same sitting — by the PR's own analysis that is the only server-side ref restriction under OIDC. Both are GitHub/npm settings, unverifiable from this diff.
| @@ -73,7 +119,10 @@ jobs: | |||
| publish: pnpm exec changeset publish --no-git-checks | |||
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🔍 Every push to main can now trigger a real publish
The step-level condition at .github/workflows/publish.yaml:111-113 runs changesets/action@v1 on github.event_name == 'push', and that action's publish: pnpm exec changeset publish leg runs whenever there are no pending changesets. Combined with the new push: main trigger, this means any merge to main with an on-disk version higher than npm will publish automatically (the documented new behavior). Reviewers should confirm the npm-publish environment's deployment branch policy and required reviewers are configured as the PR's follow-up notes state, since the job-level if guard is explicitly not a security boundary — it travels with the dispatched ref.
(Refers to lines 109-119)
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Problem
The release workflow was never actually using OIDC, despite logging that it was.
changesets/action@v1decides its auth path by looking atprocess.env.NPM_TOKEN(src/index.ts:80-120). The workflow passed the secret asNODE_AUTH_TOKEN, so the action took the "no token" branch and printed:...while the credential actually in use was the
.npmrcthatactions/setup-nodewrites when givenregistry-url. That's how@openrouter/agent@0.8.0shipped (npm userrobertyeakel, provenance frompublishConfig.provenance, not from trusted publishing).The
E404 ... PUT https://registry.npmjs.org/@openrouter%2fmcpwas that token lacking rights to create a new package name — npm answers 404, not 403, in that case.Real OIDC couldn't have worked here regardless:
node-version: 22ships npm 10.x, which has nolib/utils/oidc.jsat all. Trusted publishing needs npm >= 11.5.1 / Node >= 22.14 (docs).@openrouter/mcp@0.0.1has since been bootstrapped manually, so that blocker is cleared.Changes
pnpm publishshells out to whichevernpmis onPATH(@pnpm/run-npm), so the runner's npm is what performs the token exchange.registry-urland allNODE_AUTH_TOKENwiring. These have to go together: withregistry-urlset but no token in the environment,@npmcli/config'senv-replace.jsleaves the literal${NODE_AUTH_TOKEN}in.npmrcand npm sends it as a bearer token, which 401s thenpm infocalls changesets makes before publishing. npm's OIDC flow sets the auth token itself (lib/commands/publish.js:147, beforegetCredentialsByURI).--provenancefrom the dry-run step. Trusted publishing attests automatically, and dry runs never reach the exchange.Required npm settings (not in this PR)
For each of
@openrouter/agentand@openrouter/mcp, add a trusted publisher:OpenRouterTeamtypescript-agentpublish.yamlnpm-publishnpm publishOr via CLI (npm >= 11.15, requires account-level 2FA):
All fields are case-sensitive and npm does not validate them on save — a mismatch only surfaces as a failed publish.
Verification
pnpm run build+pnpm run testpass locally on Node 24.18.0 / npm 11.16.0 (both packages, all suites)..github/workflows/publish.yamlparses as valid YAML; confirmed no step retainsNODE_AUTH_TOKENand onlyGITHUB_TOKEN/GH_TOKENenv remain.pnpm publish --dry-runonpackages/mcpproduces a valid 82-file tarball with@openrouter/agentresolved to0.8.0.repository.urlin both package.json files matches the GitHub repo, which npm requires for OIDC publishes.Follow-ups
NPM_TOKENsecret from thenpm-publishenvironment and revoke the token on npm. Leaving it in place keeps the old attack surface open (and 2FA-bypass granular tokens are being deprecated for publishing).packages/*/publishConfig.provenance: trueis now redundant under trusted publishing but harmless; left alone to keep manual/local publishes attested where possible.