Use npx release-it in release task

justin808 · justin808 · commit d5644462afea · 2026-04-01T23:19:10.000-10:00
diff --git a/docs/releasing.md b/docs/releasing.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ This guide is for Shakapacker maintainers who need to publish a new release.
    ```bash
    bundle install
    gem install gem-release     # Provides `gem bump` and `gem release`
-   yarn global add release-it  # Installs release-it for npm publishing
+   npm --version               # Required because release task uses `npx release-it`
    gh --version                # Required for automatic GitHub release creation
    ```
 
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ This guide is for Shakapacker maintainers who need to publish a new release.
    - Run `gh auth login` and ensure your account/token has write access to this repository
    - Required for automatic GitHub release creation after publishing
 
+5. **No global `release-it` install required:**
+   - The release task runs `npx --yes release-it ...` automatically
+
 ## Release Process
 
 ### 1. Update the Changelog
@@ -260,7 +263,7 @@ If you need to release manually (not recommended):
 2. **Publish to npm:**
 
    ```bash
-   release-it 9.1.0 --npm.publish
+   npx --yes release-it 9.1.0 --npm.publish
    ```
 
 3. **Publish to RubyGems:**
diff --git a/rakelib/release.rake b/rakelib/release.rake
@@ -520,7 +520,9 @@ def perform_release(
       abort "❌ Expected gem bump to produce #{resolved_target_gem_version}, but found #{resolved_gem_version}."
     end
 
-    release_it_command = +"release-it #{Shellwords.escape(npm_version)}"
+    # Use npx so maintainers don't need a globally installed `release-it` binary.
+    # This avoids failures from shim managers (e.g. mise) when `release-it` isn't configured.
+    release_it_command = +"npx --yes release-it #{Shellwords.escape(npm_version)}"
     release_it_command << " --npm.publish --no-git.requireCleanWorkingDir"
     release_it_command << " --dry-run --verbose" if dry_run
     npm_dist_tag = npm_dist_tag_for_version(npm_version)
