Beachball

Spec sheet

Purpose

Beachball automates semantic version bumps, changelog generation, and npm publishing for JavaScript packages.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Integrations

The CI documentation describes using Beachball with GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

License

Beachball is MIT licensed.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Founded

2019Read 28 Sep 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Maker

The official site identifies Microsoft as the copyright holder; it does not state headquarters or founding year on the pages reviewed.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

AI support

Beachball provides a change-file skill that can be installed for compatible AI agents, including GitHub Copilot and Claude Code.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Authentication

The CI guidance recommends limiting token permissions and restricting release secrets to release builds or branches.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Authentication utility

The package includes an auth helper that can create and revoke repository scoped GitHub App installation tokens.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Change tracking

Change files record the change type and description for package updates, and reviewers can inspect them in the pull request diff.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Changelogs

Beachball generates changelogs when it bumps package versions.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Configuration

Beachball can be used without extra configuration by default, and supports repository and package configuration.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Installation

The installation guide shows npm and Yarn commands and says Beachball can also be run with npx.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Notable limitation

The documentation says Azure DevOps is not supported for npm trusted publishing, so token-based authentication is needed in that case.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Publishing

Beachball can publish packages to public or private npm registries and push version and changelog updates to the Git remote.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Publishing limitation

If a publish fails after some package versions have reached the registry, the documentation says to run `beachball sync` and commit the changes.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Registries

Beachball can publish packages to public or private npm registries.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Repository support

Beachball works with single-package repositories and monorepos.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Runtime requirement

The auth helper requires Node 22.18 or later.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Security guidance

For token based authentication, the CI guidance recommends minimum necessary permissions and storing tokens as secrets available only to release builds.Read 4 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Validation

Beachball checks the Git repository and npm registry before publishing.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Version syncing

Beachball keeps versions in the Git repository and npm registry in sync during publishing.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Workflow

Developers create change files, pull request builds can check that they are included, and releases run through CI or manually.Read 11 Oct 2026 · microsoft.github.io

Plans and prices

Every Beachball plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Release automation tools#2 of 348.3
• Monorepo Management Tools#4 of 338.3