semantic-release "no relevant changes, so no new version" in CI

By Daniel Zoghalchali·Latchkey

semantic-release analyzed the commits since the last release and none of them (by the configured commit rules) triggers a version bump. It logs that there are no relevant changes and exits successfully without releasing. This is often expected, not an error.

What this error means

The run ends green with "There are no relevant changes, so no new version is released" and no tag or publish happens.

[semantic-release] Analysis of 3 commits complete: no release
[semantic-release] There are no relevant changes, so no new version is released.

Common causes

Only chore/docs/style commits since last release

By default, fix: triggers a patch and feat: a minor; chore:, docs:, and style: do not, so a run with only those releases nothing.

Commits were squashed into a non-triggering message

A squash-merged PR collapsed feat/fix commits into a single subject that does not match a release-triggering type.

How to fix it

Use commit types that trigger releases

1. Write fix: for patches and feat: for features.
2. Mark breaking changes with BREAKING CHANGE: for a major.
3. Ensure squash-merge titles keep the conventional type.

feat: add retry option to the client
fix: handle empty response body

Adjust release rules if you want other types to release

Map additional types to release levels in the commit-analyzer if your policy differs from the defaults.

["@semantic-release/commit-analyzer", {
  "releaseRules": [{ "type": "refactor", "release": "patch" }]
}]

How to prevent it

• Adopt conventional commit types across the team.
• Configure squash-merge to use the PR title as a conventional message.
• Document which commit types produce which release level.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

References

• Node.js documentation
• npm CLI documentation
• GitHub Actions documentation