chore: migrate from Lerna to NX Release with Version Plans

[Copilot]

Overview

Migrated package publishing from Lerna to NX Release with file-based versioning (Version Plans). Contributors now create version plan files via yarn nx release plan instead of relying on conventional commit messages for version bumps.

Configuration:

• Added release config in nx.json: versionPlans: true, projectsRelationship: "independent"
• Created .nx/version-plans/ for version plan files
• Updated .gitignore to track version plans, ignore cache/workspace-data

Workflows:

• publish-production.yml: lerna publish → nx release -y
• publish-alpha.yml: Uses nx release --skip-publish prerelease --preid=alpha.{SHA} followed by nx release publish --tag=alpha.{SHA} for alpha builds
  • Temporarily moves .nx/version-plans directory during alpha releases (version plans cannot be used with specifier arguments)

Dependency Cleanup:

• Removed lerna, conventional-changelog-cli, conventional-changelog-conventionalcommits
• Removed lerna.json
• Updated yarn.lock (−3107 lines)

Version Plan Format:

---
gamut: minor
gamut-styles: patch
---

Add ghost button variant and fix spacing

- New ghost variant for Button component
- Fixed Card margin spacing

CLI Usage:
All NX Release commands use correct flags per official documentation:

• Production uses -y (short form of --yes) on main nx release command
• Alpha uses --skip-publish (not --skipPublish) on main nx release command
• Subcommands (nx release version, nx release publish) don't accept --yes or -y flags

Exact versions for internal dependencies maintained (NX default). Alpha publishing unchanged from contributor perspective.

PR Checklist

• Related to designs: N/A
• Related to JIRA ticket: N/A
• I have run this code to verify it works
• This PR includes unit tests for the code change (N/A - infrastructure change)
• This PR includes testing instructions tests for the code change
• The alpha package of this PR is passing end-to-end tests in all relevant Codecademy repositories

Testing Instructions

Verify NX Release:

yarn nx release --dry-run  # Should complete without errors

Create version plan:

yarn nx release plan  # Interactive prompts to create version plan

Test version plan application:

echo -e "---\ngamut: patch\n---\n\nTest" > .nx/version-plans/test.md
yarn nx release --dry-run  # Should show gamut bumping 67.6.4 → 67.6.5
rm .nx/version-plans/test.md

Test alpha workflow locally:

# Simulate alpha versioning
mv .nx/version-plans .nx/version-plans.backup
yarn nx release --skip-publish prerelease --preid=alpha.test123 --dry-run
mv .nx/version-plans.backup .nx/version-plans

No action needed - workflows apply version plans on merge to main. Alpha builds continue working automatically.

PR Links and Envs

N/A - Infrastructure change, no end-user facing changes

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[CLAassistant]

Thank you for your submission! We really appreciate it. Like many open source projects, we ask that you all sign our Contributor License Agreement before we can accept your contribution.
1 out of 2 committers have signed the CLA.

✅ jakemhiller
❌ Copilot
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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.
✅ Project coverage is 89.78%. Comparing base (dba147a) to head (535b6d8).
✅ All tests successful. No failed tests found.

Additional details and impacted files

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##             main    #3254      +/-   ##
==========================================
+ Coverage   89.65%   89.78%   +0.12%     
==========================================
  Files         353      361       +8     
  Lines        5065     5147      +82     
  Branches     1606     1654      +48     
==========================================
+ Hits         4541     4621      +80     
- Misses        516      518       +2     
  Partials        8        8              

Flag	Coverage Δ
main	?
pull-request	89.78% <ø> (?)

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[nx-cloud]

View your CI Pipeline Execution ↗ for commit 535b6d8

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☁️ Nx Cloud last updated this comment at 2026-01-28 20:19:48 UTC

[jakemhiller]

@copilot there are problems with the CLI usage of nx release. --skipPublish and --yes are not valid options. make sure you are using the nx mcp and documentation https://nx.dev/docs/features/manage-releases to know exactly how to use nx release.

[Copilot]

@copilot there are problems with the CLI usage of nx release. --skipPublish and --yes are not valid options. make sure you are using the nx mcp and documentation https://nx.dev/docs/features/manag...

Fixed in commit 49904d3. Changes made:

Production workflow:

• Changed --yes to -y (the correct short form)

Alpha workflow:

• Removed invalid --skipPublish flag (correct flag is --skip-publish and only works on nx release, not nx release version)
• Removed --yes from nx release publish (not a valid flag for the publish subcommand)
• Changed to use nx release --skip-publish prerelease --preid="alpha.{SHA}" followed by nx release publish --tag="alpha.{SHA}"
• Added workaround to temporarily move .nx/version-plans directory during alpha builds (since version plans can't be used with a specifier argument)

Both workflows now use the correct NX Release CLI syntax per the official documentation.

[github-actions]

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