From 7bb7dcd51096ed9b33748d2ec39d46328db56f26 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: hgt-bot <hgt-bot@humblesoftware.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:14:19 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 1/3] test: smoke-test the built release files

Add `npm run test:release`, which builds imagediff.js and imagediff.min.js
fresh from the files npm would publish and runs the Node, CLI and browser
specs against each. With --committed it also checks that the committed
build outputs match the fresh build.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .gitignore                   |  1 +
 CONTRIBUTING.md              | 10 +++++
 README.md                    |  1 +
 make/release-check.js        | 85 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 package.json                 |  1 +
 spec/CliSpec.js              |  5 ++-
 spec/ImageDiffSpec.js        |  3 +-
 spec/LoadSpec.js             |  7 +--
 spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js |  5 ++-
 spec/index.html              |  6 ++-
 10 files changed, 116 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 make/release-check.js

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 8ee27d7..0cbb491 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,3 +2,4 @@
 node_modules
 test-results
 playwright-report
+.release
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 4913bd1..b351a56 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -20,3 +20,13 @@ docs: trim local setup to the essentials
 ## Build outputs
 
 `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` are generated by `npm run build` and committed for releases. Rebuild and commit them only when preparing a release; ordinary PRs change `js/imagediff.js` and leave the built files alone. `npm test` runs against the source, including the CLI, so nothing needs rebuilding to test a change.
+
+## Releasing
+
+On the release PR, after `npm run build` and committing the build outputs, run:
+
+```sh
+npm run test:release -- --committed
+```
+
+It smoke-tests the freshly built `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` in a page, through `require` in Node, and through the CLI, and checks that the committed build outputs match the fresh build. Publish only once it passes.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b8eb422..e0b33bc 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ npm test
 * `npm run test:node` runs the specs, including a smoke test of the `imagediff` CLI, in Node.js against [node-canvas](https://github.com/Automattic/node-canvas) (the optional `canvas` dependency, which `npm ci` installs from prebuilt binaries on common platforms).
 * `npm run test:browser` runs the specs in headless Chromium with Playwright.
 * `npm run test:serve` serves the specs at http://localhost:8085/spec/ to watch them run in a browser.
+* `npm run test:release` builds the release files fresh in `.release/` (from the files npm would publish) and runs the specs against both `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js`: through `require` in Node, as a `<script>` global in Chromium, and through the `imagediff` CLI. Add `-- --committed` to also fail unless the committed build outputs match the fresh build. Run it before publishing; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#releasing).
 * `npm run build` (or `make imagediff`) writes `imagediff.js` (license header + `js/imagediff.js`) and `imagediff.min.js`, minified with [terser](https://terser.org/) to ES5 output. Run it only when preparing a release; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#build-outputs).
 
 ### Dev container
diff --git a/make/release-check.js b/make/release-check.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8e2aa3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/make/release-check.js
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+// Smoke-tests the release files before publishing (npm run test:release).
+//
+// Copies the files npm would publish into .release/, builds imagediff.js and
+// imagediff.min.js there, and runs the specs against each build the way users
+// load it: through `require` in Node, as a <script> global in Chromium, and
+// through the imagediff CLI. With --committed (on a release PR), it also
+// checks that the committed build outputs match the fresh build.
+
+var childProcess = require('child_process');
+var fs = require('fs');
+var path = require('path');
+
+var root = path.join(__dirname, '..');
+var stage = path.join(root, '.release');
+var builds = ['imagediff.js', 'imagediff.min.js'];
+var checkCommitted = process.argv.slice(2).indexOf('--committed') !== -1;
+var failures = [];
+
+function run (label, command, args, options) {
+  console.log('\n=== ' + label + '\n');
+  var result = childProcess.spawnSync(command, args, Object.assign({
+    cwd: root,
+    stdio: 'inherit'
+  }, options));
+  if (result.status !== 0) { failures.push(label); }
+  return result.status === 0;
+}
+
+function withEnv (env) {
+  return { env: Object.assign({}, process.env, env) };
+}
+
+// The published file list, without the committed build outputs, so the
+// checks below can only pass against a fresh build.
+var pack = JSON.parse(childProcess.execFileSync(
+  'npm', ['pack', '--dry-run', '--json', '--ignore-scripts'],
+  { cwd: root, encoding: 'utf8' }
+))[0];
+
+fs.rmSync(stage, { recursive: true, force: true });
+pack.files.forEach(function (file) {
+  if (builds.indexOf(file.path) !== -1) { return; }
+  var target = path.join(stage, file.path);
+  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
+  fs.copyFileSync(path.join(root, file.path), target);
+  fs.chmodSync(target, file.mode);
+});
+
+if (!run('Build in .release/', process.execPath, [path.join(stage, 'make', 'build.js')])) {
+  console.error('\nThe build failed; nothing to check.');
+  process.exit(1);
+}
+
+builds.forEach(function (build) {
+  // The unminified build is the package's `main`, so require the package.
+  var library = build === 'imagediff.js' ? stage : path.join(stage, build);
+  run('Node specs and CLI: ' + build, 'npm', ['run', 'test:node'], withEnv({
+    IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY: library,
+    IMAGEDIFF_BIN: path.join(stage, 'bin', 'imagediff')
+  }));
+  run('Browser specs: ' + build, 'npm', ['run', 'test:browser'], withEnv({
+    IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT: '.release/' + build
+  }));
+});
+
+if (checkCommitted) {
+  console.log('\n=== Committed build outputs\n');
+  builds.forEach(function (build) {
+    var committed = fs.readFileSync(path.join(root, build));
+    if (committed.equals(fs.readFileSync(path.join(stage, build)))) {
+      console.log(build + ' matches the fresh build.');
+    } else {
+      console.log(build + ' does not match the fresh build; run `npm run build` and commit it.');
+      failures.push('Committed ' + build);
+    }
+  });
+}
+
+console.log('');
+if (failures.length) {
+  console.error('Release check failed:\n  ' + failures.join('\n  '));
+  process.exitCode = 1;
+} else {
+  console.log('Release check passed.');
+}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 252580f..37a1b1b 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
     "test": "npm run test:node && npm run test:browser",
     "test:browser": "playwright test --config=spec/playwright.config.js",
     "test:node": "jasmine --config=./spec/jasmine.json",
+    "test:release": "node make/release-check.js",
     "test:serve": "node spec/server.js"
   },
   "keywords": [
diff --git a/spec/CliSpec.js b/spec/CliSpec.js
index f80e000..e4353f4 100644
--- a/spec/CliSpec.js
+++ b/spec/CliSpec.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 // Smoke tests for the imagediff command-line tool. Runs the real binary
-// against the spec fixtures and checks its documented behavior.
+// against the spec fixtures and checks its documented behavior. IMAGEDIFF_BIN
+// points it at another copy of the binary (see make/release-check.js).
 var
   childProcess = require('child_process'),
   fs = require('fs'),
@@ -9,7 +10,7 @@ var
 describe('imagediff CLI', function () {
 
   var
-    BIN = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'bin', 'imagediff'),
+    BIN = process.env.IMAGEDIFF_BIN || path.join(__dirname, '..', 'bin', 'imagediff'),
     CHECKMARK = path.join(__dirname, 'images', 'checkmark.png'),
     XMARK = path.join(__dirname, 'images', 'xmark.png'),
     PNG_SIGNATURE = Buffer.from([0x89, 0x50, 0x4e, 0x47, 0x0d, 0x0a, 0x1a, 0x0a]);
diff --git a/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js b/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
index 26ae845..527c499 100644
--- a/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
+++ b/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 var isNode    = typeof module !== 'undefined';
 var Canvas    = isNode && require('canvas');
-var imagediff = imagediff || require('../js/imagediff.js');
+// IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY points the Node specs at a build (see make/release-check.js).
+var imagediff = imagediff || require(process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || '../js/imagediff.js');
 
 describe('ImageUtils', function() {
 
diff --git a/spec/LoadSpec.js b/spec/LoadSpec.js
index 913102e..a814e00 100644
--- a/spec/LoadSpec.js
+++ b/spec/LoadSpec.js
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
-// Loads the library source in a fresh Node process, the way bundlers and
-// installs without the optional `canvas` dependency see it.
+// Loads the library source (or the build in IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY) in a fresh
+// Node process, the way bundlers and installs without the optional `canvas`
+// dependency see it.
 var
   childProcess = require('child_process'),
   path = require('path');
 
 describe('loading imagediff', function () {
 
-  var LIBRARY = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'js', 'imagediff.js');
+  var LIBRARY = require.resolve(process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || path.join(__dirname, '..', 'js', 'imagediff.js'));
 
   // Runs `body` in a child process with `canvas` unresolvable and calls back
   // with the JSON it prints.
diff --git a/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js b/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
index 3fd1e01..dcba940 100644
--- a/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
+++ b/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 // Runs the Jasmine specs in spec/index.html and reports each failed spec.
+// IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT (a path from the repository root) loads a built file
+// instead of the source.
 var test = require('@playwright/test').test;
 var expect = require('@playwright/test').expect;
 
@@ -6,7 +8,8 @@ test('jasmine specs pass in the browser', async function ({ page }) {
   var errors = [];
   page.on('pageerror', function (error) { errors.push(error.message); });
 
-  await page.goto('/spec/');
+  var script = process.env.IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT;
+  await page.goto('/spec/' + (script ? '?lib=' + encodeURIComponent(script) : ''));
   await page.waitForFunction(function () {
     return window.specResults && window.specResults.done;
   });
diff --git a/spec/index.html b/spec/index.html
index 8ac2217..7013a2d 100644
--- a/spec/index.html
+++ b/spec/index.html
@@ -23,7 +23,11 @@
       jasmineDone: function (result) { window.specResults.done = result; }
     });
   </script>
-  <script src="js/imagediff.js"></script>
+  <script>
+    // ?lib= loads a built file instead of the source (see make/release-check.js).
+    var lib = /[?&]lib=([^&]*)/.exec(window.location.search);
+    document.write('<script src="' + (lib ? decodeURIComponent(lib[1]) : 'js/imagediff.js') + '"><\/script>');
+  </script>
   <script src="spec/ImageDiffSpec.js"></script>
 </head>
 <body>

From 6c4f9062a4b3156d7a779243f616b2afeca2376a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: hgt-bot <hgt-bot@humblesoftware.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:21:39 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 2/3] test: point npm test at a built file instead of staging a
 release copy

Replace make/release-check.js and its .release/ staging with one
IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY variable that runs the Node and browser specs against a
built file. test:release builds, runs npm test against both builds, and
fails if the build changed the committed outputs.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .gitignore                   |  1 -
 CONTRIBUTING.md              |  4 +-
 README.md                    |  3 +-
 make/release-check.js        | 85 ------------------------------------
 package.json                 |  2 +-
 spec/CliSpec.js              |  5 +--
 spec/ImageDiffSpec.js        |  7 ++-
 spec/LoadSpec.js             |  2 +-
 spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js |  6 +--
 spec/index.html              |  2 +-
 10 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 100 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 make/release-check.js

diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 0cbb491..8ee27d7 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,4 +2,3 @@
 node_modules
 test-results
 playwright-report
-.release
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index b351a56..8407dc1 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ docs: trim local setup to the essentials
 On the release PR, after `npm run build` and committing the build outputs, run:
 
 ```sh
-npm run test:release -- --committed
+npm run test:release
 ```
 
-It smoke-tests the freshly built `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` in a page, through `require` in Node, and through the CLI, and checks that the committed build outputs match the fresh build. Publish only once it passes.
+It rebuilds, runs `npm test` against the built `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` (through `require` in Node and in a page, along with the CLI specs), and then fails if the fresh build differs from the committed build outputs. Publish only once it passes.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e0b33bc..9d79a79 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ npm test
 * `npm run test:node` runs the specs, including a smoke test of the `imagediff` CLI, in Node.js against [node-canvas](https://github.com/Automattic/node-canvas) (the optional `canvas` dependency, which `npm ci` installs from prebuilt binaries on common platforms).
 * `npm run test:browser` runs the specs in headless Chromium with Playwright.
 * `npm run test:serve` serves the specs at http://localhost:8085/spec/ to watch them run in a browser.
-* `npm run test:release` builds the release files fresh in `.release/` (from the files npm would publish) and runs the specs against both `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js`: through `require` in Node, as a `<script>` global in Chromium, and through the `imagediff` CLI. Add `-- --committed` to also fail unless the committed build outputs match the fresh build. Run it before publishing; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#releasing).
+* `IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test` runs the same specs against a built file (a path from the repository root) instead of the source: through `require` in Node and as a `<script>` global in Chromium.
+* `npm run test:release` builds, runs `npm test` against `imagediff.js` and then `imagediff.min.js`, and fails if the build changed the committed build outputs. Run it on the release PR before publishing; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#releasing).
 * `npm run build` (or `make imagediff`) writes `imagediff.js` (license header + `js/imagediff.js`) and `imagediff.min.js`, minified with [terser](https://terser.org/) to ES5 output. Run it only when preparing a release; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#build-outputs).
 
 ### Dev container
diff --git a/make/release-check.js b/make/release-check.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 8e2aa3c..0000000
--- a/make/release-check.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-// Smoke-tests the release files before publishing (npm run test:release).
-//
-// Copies the files npm would publish into .release/, builds imagediff.js and
-// imagediff.min.js there, and runs the specs against each build the way users
-// load it: through `require` in Node, as a <script> global in Chromium, and
-// through the imagediff CLI. With --committed (on a release PR), it also
-// checks that the committed build outputs match the fresh build.
-
-var childProcess = require('child_process');
-var fs = require('fs');
-var path = require('path');
-
-var root = path.join(__dirname, '..');
-var stage = path.join(root, '.release');
-var builds = ['imagediff.js', 'imagediff.min.js'];
-var checkCommitted = process.argv.slice(2).indexOf('--committed') !== -1;
-var failures = [];
-
-function run (label, command, args, options) {
-  console.log('\n=== ' + label + '\n');
-  var result = childProcess.spawnSync(command, args, Object.assign({
-    cwd: root,
-    stdio: 'inherit'
-  }, options));
-  if (result.status !== 0) { failures.push(label); }
-  return result.status === 0;
-}
-
-function withEnv (env) {
-  return { env: Object.assign({}, process.env, env) };
-}
-
-// The published file list, without the committed build outputs, so the
-// checks below can only pass against a fresh build.
-var pack = JSON.parse(childProcess.execFileSync(
-  'npm', ['pack', '--dry-run', '--json', '--ignore-scripts'],
-  { cwd: root, encoding: 'utf8' }
-))[0];
-
-fs.rmSync(stage, { recursive: true, force: true });
-pack.files.forEach(function (file) {
-  if (builds.indexOf(file.path) !== -1) { return; }
-  var target = path.join(stage, file.path);
-  fs.mkdirSync(path.dirname(target), { recursive: true });
-  fs.copyFileSync(path.join(root, file.path), target);
-  fs.chmodSync(target, file.mode);
-});
-
-if (!run('Build in .release/', process.execPath, [path.join(stage, 'make', 'build.js')])) {
-  console.error('\nThe build failed; nothing to check.');
-  process.exit(1);
-}
-
-builds.forEach(function (build) {
-  // The unminified build is the package's `main`, so require the package.
-  var library = build === 'imagediff.js' ? stage : path.join(stage, build);
-  run('Node specs and CLI: ' + build, 'npm', ['run', 'test:node'], withEnv({
-    IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY: library,
-    IMAGEDIFF_BIN: path.join(stage, 'bin', 'imagediff')
-  }));
-  run('Browser specs: ' + build, 'npm', ['run', 'test:browser'], withEnv({
-    IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT: '.release/' + build
-  }));
-});
-
-if (checkCommitted) {
-  console.log('\n=== Committed build outputs\n');
-  builds.forEach(function (build) {
-    var committed = fs.readFileSync(path.join(root, build));
-    if (committed.equals(fs.readFileSync(path.join(stage, build)))) {
-      console.log(build + ' matches the fresh build.');
-    } else {
-      console.log(build + ' does not match the fresh build; run `npm run build` and commit it.');
-      failures.push('Committed ' + build);
-    }
-  });
-}
-
-console.log('');
-if (failures.length) {
-  console.error('Release check failed:\n  ' + failures.join('\n  '));
-  process.exitCode = 1;
-} else {
-  console.log('Release check passed.');
-}
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 37a1b1b..a779f33 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
     "test": "npm run test:node && npm run test:browser",
     "test:browser": "playwright test --config=spec/playwright.config.js",
     "test:node": "jasmine --config=./spec/jasmine.json",
-    "test:release": "node make/release-check.js",
+    "test:release": "npm run build && IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.js npm test && IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test && git diff --exit-code -- imagediff.js imagediff.min.js",
     "test:serve": "node spec/server.js"
   },
   "keywords": [
diff --git a/spec/CliSpec.js b/spec/CliSpec.js
index e4353f4..f80e000 100644
--- a/spec/CliSpec.js
+++ b/spec/CliSpec.js
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 // Smoke tests for the imagediff command-line tool. Runs the real binary
-// against the spec fixtures and checks its documented behavior. IMAGEDIFF_BIN
-// points it at another copy of the binary (see make/release-check.js).
+// against the spec fixtures and checks its documented behavior.
 var
   childProcess = require('child_process'),
   fs = require('fs'),
@@ -10,7 +9,7 @@ var
 describe('imagediff CLI', function () {
 
   var
-    BIN = process.env.IMAGEDIFF_BIN || path.join(__dirname, '..', 'bin', 'imagediff'),
+    BIN = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'bin', 'imagediff'),
     CHECKMARK = path.join(__dirname, 'images', 'checkmark.png'),
     XMARK = path.join(__dirname, 'images', 'xmark.png'),
     PNG_SIGNATURE = Buffer.from([0x89, 0x50, 0x4e, 0x47, 0x0d, 0x0a, 0x1a, 0x0a]);
diff --git a/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js b/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
index 527c499..61c742c 100644
--- a/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
+++ b/spec/ImageDiffSpec.js
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 var isNode    = typeof module !== 'undefined';
 var Canvas    = isNode && require('canvas');
-// IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY points the Node specs at a build (see make/release-check.js).
-var imagediff = imagediff || require(process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || '../js/imagediff.js');
+// IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY (a path from the repository root) tests a built file
+// instead of the source, e.g. IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test.
+var imagediff = imagediff || require(
+  require('path').join(__dirname, '..', process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || 'js/imagediff.js')
+);
 
 describe('ImageUtils', function() {
 
diff --git a/spec/LoadSpec.js b/spec/LoadSpec.js
index a814e00..ef5c571 100644
--- a/spec/LoadSpec.js
+++ b/spec/LoadSpec.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ var
 
 describe('loading imagediff', function () {
 
-  var LIBRARY = require.resolve(process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || path.join(__dirname, '..', 'js', 'imagediff.js'));
+  var LIBRARY = path.join(__dirname, '..', process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY || 'js/imagediff.js');
 
   // Runs `body` in a child process with `canvas` unresolvable and calls back
   // with the JSON it prints.
diff --git a/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js b/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
index dcba940..e1ccb3a 100644
--- a/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
+++ b/spec/browser/jasmine.spec.js
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 // Runs the Jasmine specs in spec/index.html and reports each failed spec.
-// IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT (a path from the repository root) loads a built file
+// IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY (a path from the repository root) loads a built file
 // instead of the source.
 var test = require('@playwright/test').test;
 var expect = require('@playwright/test').expect;
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ test('jasmine specs pass in the browser', async function ({ page }) {
   var errors = [];
   page.on('pageerror', function (error) { errors.push(error.message); });
 
-  var script = process.env.IMAGEDIFF_SCRIPT;
-  await page.goto('/spec/' + (script ? '?lib=' + encodeURIComponent(script) : ''));
+  var library = process.env.IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY;
+  await page.goto('/spec/' + (library ? '?lib=' + encodeURIComponent(library) : ''));
   await page.waitForFunction(function () {
     return window.specResults && window.specResults.done;
   });
diff --git a/spec/index.html b/spec/index.html
index 7013a2d..0f3dff9 100644
--- a/spec/index.html
+++ b/spec/index.html
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
     });
   </script>
   <script>
-    // ?lib= loads a built file instead of the source (see make/release-check.js).
+    // ?lib= loads a built file instead of the source (see IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY).
     var lib = /[?&]lib=([^&]*)/.exec(window.location.search);
     document.write('<script src="' + (lib ? decodeURIComponent(lib[1]) : 'js/imagediff.js') + '"><\/script>');
   </script>

From f9761bf709356b430041a10c20d2e02a0c8cf01e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: hgt-bot <hgt-bot@humblesoftware.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 11:27:01 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 3/3] build: add an npm release command that builds and
 validates

Replace test:release with `npm run release`, which builds the release
files and runs the specs against both (test:built). `npm publish`
(prepublishOnly) refuses to publish if the built files differ from what's
committed or fail the specs, without rebuilding.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 CONTRIBUTING.md | 8 +++++---
 README.md       | 4 ++--
 package.json    | 4 +++-
 3 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 8407dc1..892fd2a 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -23,10 +23,12 @@ docs: trim local setup to the essentials
 
 ## Releasing
 
-On the release PR, after `npm run build` and committing the build outputs, run:
+In the release PR, run:
 
 ```sh
-npm run test:release
+npm run release
 ```
 
-It rebuilds, runs `npm test` against the built `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` (through `require` in Node and in a page, along with the CLI specs), and then fails if the fresh build differs from the committed build outputs. Publish only once it passes.
+It builds `imagediff.js` and `imagediff.min.js` and runs `npm test` against each, through `require` in Node and in a page. Commit the built files once it passes. It doesn't bump the version, tag or publish.
+
+After merging, `npm publish` checks the committed built files again before publishing: it refuses if they differ from what's committed or if the specs fail against them. It doesn't rebuild, so what's published is what's committed.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9d79a79..343457e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,8 +92,8 @@ npm test
 * `npm run test:node` runs the specs, including a smoke test of the `imagediff` CLI, in Node.js against [node-canvas](https://github.com/Automattic/node-canvas) (the optional `canvas` dependency, which `npm ci` installs from prebuilt binaries on common platforms).
 * `npm run test:browser` runs the specs in headless Chromium with Playwright.
 * `npm run test:serve` serves the specs at http://localhost:8085/spec/ to watch them run in a browser.
-* `IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test` runs the same specs against a built file (a path from the repository root) instead of the source: through `require` in Node and as a `<script>` global in Chromium.
-* `npm run test:release` builds, runs `npm test` against `imagediff.js` and then `imagediff.min.js`, and fails if the build changed the committed build outputs. Run it on the release PR before publishing; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#releasing).
+* `IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test` runs the same specs against a built file (a path from the repository root) instead of the source: through `require` in Node and as a `<script>` global in Chromium. `npm run test:built` does this for `imagediff.js` and then `imagediff.min.js`.
+* `npm run release` builds the release files and then runs `npm run test:built`, leaving them ready to commit. `npm publish` runs `npm run test:built` first (without rebuilding) and refuses to publish if it fails or if the built files differ from what's committed. See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#releasing).
 * `npm run build` (or `make imagediff`) writes `imagediff.js` (license header + `js/imagediff.js`) and `imagediff.min.js`, minified with [terser](https://terser.org/) to ES5 output. Run it only when preparing a release; see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md#build-outputs).
 
 ### Dev container
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index a779f33..8c01261 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -9,10 +9,12 @@
   "homepage": "http://HumbleSoftware.github.com/js-imagediff/",
   "scripts": {
     "build": "node make/build.js",
+    "prepublishOnly": "git diff --exit-code --stat HEAD -- imagediff.js imagediff.min.js && npm run test:built",
+    "release": "npm run build && npm run test:built",
     "test": "npm run test:node && npm run test:browser",
     "test:browser": "playwright test --config=spec/playwright.config.js",
+    "test:built": "IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.js npm test && IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test",
     "test:node": "jasmine --config=./spec/jasmine.json",
-    "test:release": "npm run build && IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.js npm test && IMAGEDIFF_LIBRARY=imagediff.min.js npm test && git diff --exit-code -- imagediff.js imagediff.min.js",
     "test:serve": "node spec/server.js"
   },
   "keywords": [