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# bun publish (/pm/cli/publish)

<!-- agent-signals: reading_time_min: 5 · est_tokens: 2185 · updated: 2026-08-02 -->
Related: [bun outdated](/pm/cli/outdated.md), [bun why](/pm/cli/why.md), [bun audit](/pm/cli/audit.md), [bun info](/pm/cli/info.md), [License](/project/license.md)

> Use `bun publish` to publish a package to the npm registry

`bun publish` packs your package into a tarball, strips catalog and workspace protocols from the `package.json` (resolving versions if necessary), and publishes to the registry specified in your configuration files. Both `bunfig.toml` and `.npmrc` files are supported.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
## Publishing the package from the current working directory
bun publish
```

```txt
bun publish v1.3.3 (ca7428e9)

packed 203B package.json
packed 224B README.md
packed 30B index.ts
packed 0.64KB tsconfig.json

Total files: 4
Shasum: 79e2b4377b63f4de38dc7ea6e5e9dbee08311a69
Integrity: sha512-6QSNlDdSwyG/+[...]X6wXHriDWr6fA==
Unpacked size: 1.1KB
Packed size: 0.76KB
Tag: latest
Access: default
Registry: http://localhost:4873/

 + publish-1@1.0.0
```

To pack and publish separately, run `bun pm pack`, then `bun publish` with the path to the output tarball.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun pm pack
...
bun publish ./package.tgz
```

<Note>`bun publish` does not run lifecycle scripts (`prepublishOnly/prepack/prepare/postpack/publish/postpublish`) if a
tarball path is provided. Scripts run only when `bun publish` packs the package itself.</Note>

### `--access`

`--access` sets the access level of the package being published, either `public` or `restricted`. Unscoped packages are always public, and publishing an unscoped package with `--access restricted` is an error.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --access public
```

`--access` can also be set in the `publishConfig` field of your `package.json`.

```json icon="file-json" title="package.json"
{
  "publishConfig": {
    "access": "restricted"
  }
}
```

### `--tag`

Set the tag of the package version being published. By default, the tag is `latest`. The initial version of a package is always given the `latest` tag in addition to the specified tag.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --tag alpha
```

`--tag` can also be set in the `publishConfig` field of your `package.json`.

```json icon="file-json" title="package.json"
{
  "publishConfig": {
    "tag": "next"
  }
}
```

### `--dry-run`

`--dry-run` runs the publish process without publishing the package, so you can verify what would be published.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --dry-run
```

### `--tolerate-republish`

Exit with code 0 instead of 1 if the package version already exists. Useful in CI/CD where jobs may be re-run.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --tolerate-republish
```

### `--gzip-level`

Set the gzip compression level used when packing the package, from `0` to `9` (default `9`). Only applies to `bun publish` without a tarball path argument.

### `--auth-type`

If you have 2FA enabled for your npm account, `bun publish` prompts you for a one-time password, either through a browser or in the CLI. `--auth-type` tells the npm registry which method you prefer: `web` (the default) or `legacy`.

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --auth-type legacy
...
This operation requires a one-time password.
Enter OTP: 123456
...
```

### `--otp`

Provide a one-time password directly to the CLI. If the password is valid, `bun publish` skips the extra one-time password prompt before publishing:

```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish --otp 123456
```

<Note>`bun publish` respects the `NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN` environment variable, useful when publishing from GitHub Actions or
other automated workflows.</Note>

***

## CLI Usage

```bash icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
bun publish dist
```

### Publishing Options

<ParamField path="--access" type="string">
  Set the access level of the package being published, either `public` or `restricted`. Unscoped packages are always public; publishing an unscoped package with `--access restricted` is an error.

  ```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
  bun publish --access public
  ```

  `--access` can also be set in the `publishConfig` field of your `package.json`.

  ```json icon="file-json" title="package.json"
  {
    "publishConfig": {
      "access": "restricted" // [!code ++]
    }
  }
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--tag" type="string" default="latest">
  Set the tag of the package version being published. By default, the tag is `latest`. The initial version of a package is always given the `latest` tag in addition to the specified tag.

  ```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
  bun publish --tag alpha
  ```

  `--tag` can also be set in the `publishConfig` field of your `package.json`.

  ```json icon="file-json" title="package.json"
  {
    "publishConfig": {
      "tag": "next" // [!code ++]
    }
  }
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--dry-run" type="boolean">
  Simulate the publish process without publishing the package, to verify its contents first.

  ```sh
  bun publish --dry-run
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--gzip-level" type="string" default="9">Specify the level of gzip compression to use when packing the package. Only applies to `bun publish` without a tarball
path argument. Values range from `0` to `9` (default is `9`).</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--auth-type" type="string" default="web">
  If you have 2FA enabled for your npm account, `bun publish` prompts you for a one-time password, either through a browser or the CLI. `--auth-type` tells the npm registry which method you prefer: `web` (the default) or `legacy`.

  ```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
  bun publish --auth-type legacy
  ...
  This operation requires a one-time password.
  Enter OTP: 123456
  ...
  ```
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--otp" type="string">
  Provide a one-time password directly to the CLI. A valid password skips the extra one-time password prompt before publishing.

  ```sh icon="terminal" title="terminal" terminal
  bun publish --otp 123456
  ```

<Note>`bun publish` respects the `NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN` environment variable, so you can publish from GitHub Actions or other
automated workflows.</Note>
</ParamField>

### Registry Configuration

#### Custom Registry

<ParamField path="--registry" type="string">Specify registry URL, overriding .npmrc and bunfig.toml</ParamField>

```bash
bun publish --registry https://my-private-registry.com
```

#### SSL Certificates

<ParamField path="--ca" type="string">Provide Certificate Authority signing certificate</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--cafile" type="string">Path to Certificate Authority certificate file</ParamField>

<CodeGroup>
```bash title="Inline Certificate"
bun publish --ca "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----..."
```

```bash title="Certificate File"
bun publish --cafile ./ca-cert.pem
```
</CodeGroup>

### Publishing Options

#### Dependency Management

<ParamField path="-p, --production" type="boolean">Don't install devDependencies</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--omit" type="string">Exclude dependency types: `dev`, `optional`, or `peer`</ParamField>

<ParamField path="-f, --force" type="boolean">Always request the latest versions from the registry & reinstall all dependencies</ParamField>

#### Script Control

<ParamField path="--ignore-scripts" type="boolean">Skip lifecycle scripts during packing and publishing</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--trust" type="boolean">Add packages to trustedDependencies and run their scripts</ParamField>

<Note>**Lifecycle Scripts** — When you publish a pre-built tarball, Bun does not run lifecycle scripts such as
`prepublishOnly` and `prepack`; they only run when Bun packs the package itself.</Note>

#### File Management

<ParamField path="--no-save" type="boolean">Don't update package.json or lockfile</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--frozen-lockfile" type="boolean">Disallow changes to lockfile</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--yarn" type="boolean">Generate yarn.lock file (yarn v1 compatible)</ParamField>

#### Performance

<ParamField path="--backend" type="string">Platform optimizations: `clonefile` (default), `hardlink`, `symlink`, or `copyfile`</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--network-concurrency" type="number" default="48">Maximum concurrent network requests</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--concurrent-scripts" type="number">Maximum concurrent lifecycle scripts (default: 2x CPU cores)</ParamField>

#### Output Control

<ParamField path="--silent" type="boolean">Suppress all output</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--verbose" type="boolean">Show detailed logging</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--no-progress" type="boolean">Hide progress bar</ParamField>

<ParamField path="--no-summary" type="boolean">Don't print publish summary</ParamField>