Release Steps

This page explains the release lifecycle that runs when semantic-release is executed. If you are new to the overall model, read How it Works first.

Lifecycle overview

After tests pass and semantic-release starts, it evaluates the repository state and executes release steps in a fixed order.

Step	Purpose
Verify Conditions	Confirm required configuration and credentials are available.
Get Last Release	Find the most recent release by reading Git tags/history.
Analyze Commits	Determine whether to release and which version type to produce.
Verify Release	Validate the computed release metadata before publishing.
Generate Notes	Build release notes for the commits included in this release.
Create Git Tag	Tag the release version in Git.
Prepare	Perform pre-publish updates such as assets or files.
Publish	Publish artifacts to configured destinations and channels.
Notify	Report success or failure through provider integrations.

The order is important. A failure in an early step prevents later steps from running.

How steps are implemented

Each lifecycle step is implemented by plugins. Some steps are optional, some are required for a valid release pipeline.

• analyzeCommits is required to decide version impact
• Most other steps depend on which plugins you configure
• If multiple plugins implement the same step, they execute in plugin order

For plugin responsibilities and execution details, see Plugins.

Release decision logic

The analyzeCommits step is the decision point for whether a release is created.

• No relevant commits since the last release means no new release
• fix commits typically result in a patch release
• feat commits typically result in a minor release
• BREAKING CHANGE results in a major release

Commit parsing depends on your configured commit analyzer and presets. See How it Works for the conceptual model and Configuration for setup details.

Branch and channel impact

The same steps run regardless of branch type, but release outcomes vary with branch strategy and channel configuration.

• Release branches publish regular versions
• Maintenance branches publish within defined ranges
• Pre-release branches publish pre-release identifiers

See Supported Branching Models and Release Workflow Configuration for branch behavior and constraints.

Operational expectations

To keep releases deterministic, run semantic-release only in CI and only after all required checks pass.

For implementation guidance, see:

• Getting Started
• CI Configuration
• Running semantic-release