semantic-release and changesets are version management and release automation tools that take fundamentally different approaches to the same problem. semantic-release automates the entire release process by analyzing commit messages following Conventional Commits, automatically bumping versions and publishing packages on every merge to your main branch. changesets decouples versioning from commits by having developers create markdown files describing changes, giving teams explicit control over when releases actually happen.
The choice between these tools significantly impacts your development workflow and CI/CD pipeline. semantic-release targets teams that want zero-touch release automation and are willing to enforce strict commit conventions. changesets targets teams managing monorepos with multiple interdependent packages, or those who prefer batching multiple changes into coordinated releases rather than publishing on every merge.
Choose changesets if you manage a monorepo, need to coordinate releases across multiple packages, or want explicit control over when code gets published to npm. The manual changeset workflow might feel like extra steps initially, but it prevents accidental releases and gives you the flexibility to batch changes, edit release notes, and time releases strategically. The ability to safely merge to main without triggering a release is invaluable for teams with multiple contributors or projects where release timing matters for coordination with documentation, marketing, or customer communications.
Choose semantic-release if you have a single package project and want completely hands-off automation. The commit-to-release pipeline works beautifully when every merge should potentially trigger a release, and the Conventional Commits requirement actually improves team discipline around change documentation. However, be prepared to invest in commit message tooling and training, and accept that you're committing to a release-on-merge workflow that can't easily be paused or batched without workflow gymnastics.