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Publishing NPM Packages

This is the process we use to publish new versions of JS/TS NPM packages.

Note that this is separate from deploying code to production.

Background​

This document assumes basic familiarity with NPM dependencies, how package.json and package-lock.json work, and the difference between npm install and npm ci.

Publishing NPM dependencies requires being a member of the NPM Medplum organization.

Steps​

First, run the version.sh script in the project root directory:

./scripts/version.sh $OLD_VERSION $NEW_VERSION

(TODO: The version.sh script should extract $OLD_VERSION from package.json).

This script sets $NEW_VERSION in all of the necessary places:

  • Updates version in package.json files
  • Updates dependency versions for dependencies within the repo
  • Updates the version in sonar-project.properties

Next, reinstall the package dependencies using the reinstall.sh script in the project root directory:

./scripts/reinstall.sh

This purges the node_modules directory and package-lock.json file, and reinstalls all dependencies. This may sound extreme, but it is a consistent method to ensure reproducible behavior, and avoid configuration drift.

Then, run a full build and test using the build.sh script in the project root directory:

./scripts/build.sh

This cleans, builds, tests, and lints all subprojects. Given our strict TypeScript configuration and high test coverage, a passing build typically indicates a high level of confidence that the upgrades were successful.

Finally, run the server and the app for a basic sanity check. While we do have high test coverage, it is not 100%, and tests cannot cover everything. It may take an extra few minutes, but it is always better to be sure.

If all of these steps complete successfully, then prepare a PR for a review.

If the PR is approved, then you can take the final step of actually publishing packages to NPM:

./scripts/publish.sh

This will publish new versions of all of our publicly available NPM packages: