bun publish fails with authentication error despite valid .npmrc in GitHub Actions

[PepijnSenders]

What version of Bun is running?

1.3.1 (89fa0f3)

What platform is your computer?

GitHub Actions (ubuntu-latest)

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Set up GitHub Actions workflow with Bun 1.3.1
2. Create .npmrc file with valid NPM token:

- name: Setup npm authentication
  run: |
    cat > ~/.npmrc << EOF
    //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
    registry=https://registry.npmjs.org/
    always-auth=true
    EOF

3. Verify authentication works with npm:

npm whoami  # ✅ Returns username successfully

4. Try to publish with bun:

bun publish --access public  # ❌ Fails with authentication error

What is the expected behavior?

bun publish should read the .npmrc file and authenticate successfully, just like npm publish does.

What do you see instead?

error: missing authentication (run `bunx npm login`)

Additional information

What we tried:

1. ✅ .npmrc in ~/.npmrc - Failed
2. ✅ .npmrc in project root - Failed
3. ✅ .npmrc in working directory (packages/core/.npmrc) - Failed
4. ✅ NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN environment variable - Failed
5. ✅ npm_config_//registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken environment variable - Failed

Evidence that authentication is valid:

Running npm whoami before bun publish succeeds and returns the correct username, proving:

• The .npmrc file exists and is properly formatted
• The NPM_TOKEN is valid
• npm can authenticate successfully

But bun publish immediately after still fails with "missing authentication".

Logs from GitHub Actions:

release  Publish to npm  npm whoami
release  Publish to npm  pep         <-- ✅ npm authentication works!
release  Publish to npm  bun publish v1.3.1 (89fa0f34)
release  Publish to npm  $ bun run build
release  Publish to npm  ...
release  Publish to npm  error: missing authentication (run `bunx npm login`)  <-- ❌ bun fails

Documentation discrepancy:

The Bun docs state:

"bun publish respects the NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN environment variable"

However, this doesn't appear to work in practice with Bun 1.3.1.

Workaround:

We had to revert to using npm publish instead of bun publish:

- name: Publish to npm
  working-directory: ./packages/core
  run: npm publish --access public

This works perfectly with the same .npmrc configuration.

Repository with reproduction:

You can see our full workflow and all attempts at: PepijnSenders/markdown-di#14

Specifically see run logs: https://github.com/PepijnSenders/markdown-di/actions/runs/18837828691

Related issues:

• Support bun publish authentication using NPM tokens #16523 (marked as duplicate of NODE_AUTH_TOKEN or NPM_TOKEN support for bun publish #14824)
• NODE_AUTH_TOKEN or NPM_TOKEN support for bun publish #14824

This appears to be an ongoing issue with bun publish authentication in CI environments.

[VesperQuartz]

I am having same error too

[stonega]

Same issue.

[raphaelbahat]

Any updates?

[pricci1]

I have a similar problem, but I'm trying to use NPM's Trusted Publishing, which I believe does not require a token (but I might be confused).

edit:

Can confirm that using npm publish works with my setup.

pricci1/skillify@868404c...121a144

[shm0x]

Had the same issue when trying to publish in CI.
Something isn't right, after login to npm and having a .npmrc in $HOME, calling bun publish will fail saying it's not authenticated, but doing the following :
export XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$HOME"
before running publish solve the issue.

This really makes no sense.

[Ant-Throw-Pology]

Had the same issue when trying to publish in CI. Something isn't right, after login to npm and having a .npmrc in $HOME, calling bun publish will fail saying it's not authenticated, but doing the following : export XDG_CONFIG_HOME="$HOME" before running publish solve the issue.

Same issue here, just not in Actions. Looks to me like Bun is looking in the wrong spot for .npmrc. I don't want to move my $XDG_CONFIG_HOME. Instead, I tried cp ~/.npmrc $XDG_CONFIG_HOME and that also worked.

bun publish # Failed with auth error, suggesting to run:

bunx npm login

bun publish # Failed, same error

cp ~/.npmrc $XDG_CONFIG_HOME

bun publish # Works!

I think Bun needs to also look in $HOME for an .npmrc instead of just $XDG_CONFIG_HOME.