fix: set up Node via .nvmrc before running semantic-release

[joris974]

The gap

.github/workflows/release.yml never sets up Node/Yarn before invoking cycjimmy/semantic-release-action@v6.0.0.

Why it matters

cycjimmy/semantic-release-action's action.yml declares:

runs:
  using: 'node24'
  main: 'index.js'

(verified via gh api repos/cycjimmy/semantic-release-action/contents/action.yml)

That's a plain Node.js action, not a Docker container action — it executes directly on the ubuntu-latest runner's own filesystem/toolchain, using whatever node/yarn already happen to be on PATH. It does not bring its own isolated Node version.

This repo's .releaserc.yaml includes an @semantic-release/exec step with prepareCmd: "yarn install && yarn run build", which runs inside the semantic-release-action process. Since that action runs on the runner's ambient Node rather than an isolated one, this build command executes against whatever Node version happens to be preinstalled on the runner image — not the version pinned in this repo's .nvmrc.

Compare to .github/workflows/ci.yml, which correctly sets up Node before running any yarn commands:

- uses: actions/checkout@v7
- uses: actions/setup-node@v7
  with:
    cache: yarn
    node-version-file: ".nvmrc"
- run: yarn install
- run: yarn test
- run: yarn lint
- run: yarn build

release.yml has no equivalent step, so a release build could silently use a different Node version than CI (and than what yarn.lock/engines expect) — risking inconsistent dist/index.js output between CI and release, or outright build failures if the runner's default Node version ever drifts from what this project needs.

This is the same category of gap a Freckle reviewer flagged on the sibling cancelable-promise-js semantic-release PR (freckle/cancelable-promise-js#152): needing to set up the package manager/runtime before the semantic-release action runs its build command, since that action runs directly on the runner rather than in an isolated container.

The fix

Add an actions/setup-node@v7 step, mirroring ci.yml, after checkout and before the cycjimmy/semantic-release-action step.

Not changed

• .releaserc.yaml — no changes needed.
• The if: false # remove this when you are ready to release your action guard on the job — left in place; this is a template repo with no real action published yet, so the guard remains correct.

Test plan

• CI passes on this branch (workflow YAML lints/parses correctly)
• When this template repo is eventually instantiated for a real action and the if: false guard is removed, confirm the release job builds dist/index.js using the .nvmrc-pinned Node version (verify via a node --version echo or by diffing dist output against a local build)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code