@williamthorsen/release-kit 10.3.1 → 10.3.2

package/.readyup/kits/default.js

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /** @noformat — @generated. Do not edit. Compiled by rdy. */
 /* eslint-disable */
-export const __readyupVersion = "0.26.0";
+export const __readyupVersion = "0.27.0";
 
 
 // .readyup/kits/default.ts
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ function detectRepoType() {
 
 // .readyup/kits/default.ts
 function getMinVersion() {
-  const picked = { "version": "10.3.1" };
+  const picked = { "version": "10.3.2" };
   if (typeof picked["version"] !== "string") {
     throw new TypeError("release-kit/package.json: 'version' must be a string");
   }

package/.readyup/kits/npm-auto-publish.js

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /** @noformat — @generated. Do not edit. Compiled by rdy. */
 /* eslint-disable */
-export const __readyupVersion = "0.26.0";
+export const __readyupVersion = "0.27.0";
 
 
 // .readyup/kits/npm-auto-publish.ts

package/.readyup/manifest.json

@@ -7,10 +7,10 @@
       ],
       "name": "default",
       "path": "kits/default.js",
-      "readyupVersion": "0.26.0",
+      "readyupVersion": "0.27.0",
       "source": "kits/default.ts",
       "sourceHash": "fe239d01",
-      "targetHash": "d3143e73"
+      "targetHash": "6b363809"
     },
     {
       "checklists": [
@@ -19,10 +19,10 @@
       ],
       "name": "npm-auto-publish",
       "path": "kits/npm-auto-publish.js",
-      "readyupVersion": "0.26.0",
+      "readyupVersion": "0.27.0",
       "source": "kits/npm-auto-publish.ts",
       "sourceHash": "ac484613",
-      "targetHash": "461ded99"
+      "targetHash": "2e324215"
     }
   ]
 }

package/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,6 +2,20 @@
 
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
+## 10.3.2 — 2026-08-13
+
+### ♻️ Refactoring
+
+- Adopt toolbelt.errors for error-message extraction and cause-chaining (#652)
+
+  Improves error reporting by adopting standardized ways of capturing and describing errors across the codebase.
+
+### ⚙️ Tooling
+
+- Upgrade the lint config and clear its violations (#671)
+
+  Upgrades `@williamthorsen/eslint-config-typescript`, along with other config packages, and clears lint violations surfaced by the newly activated rules.
+
 ## 10.3.0 — 2026-08-08
 
 ### 🎉 Features

package/dist/esm/bin/release-kit.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 import { parseArgsOrExit, readPackageVersion, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { checkWorkTypesDrift } from "../checkWorkTypesDrift.js";
 import { commitCommand } from "../commitCommand.js";
 import { createGithubReleaseCommand } from "../createGithubReleaseCommand.js";
@@ -258,7 +259,6 @@ Options:
 }
 const args = process.argv.slice(2);
 const command = args[0];
-const flags = args.slice(1);
 if (command === '--version' || command === '-V') {
     console.info(VERSION);
     process.exit(0);
@@ -267,6 +267,7 @@ if (command === undefined || ['--help', '-h'].includes(command)) {
     showUsage();
     process.exit(0);
 }
+const flags = args.slice(1);
 if (command === 'prepare') {
     if (flags.some((f) => f === '--help' || f === '-h')) {
         showPrepareHelp();
@@ -284,7 +285,7 @@ if (command === 'commit') {
         commitCommand(flags);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.exit(1);
     }
     process.exit(0);
@@ -349,11 +350,11 @@ if (command === 'init') {
 }
 if (command === 'sync-labels') {
     const subcommand = flags[0];
-    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === undefined || ['--help', '-h'].includes(subcommand)) {
         showSyncLabelsHelp();
         process.exit(0);
     }
+    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === 'init') {
         if (subflags.some((f) => f === '--help' || f === '-h')) {
             showSyncLabelsInitHelp();
@@ -397,11 +398,11 @@ if (command === 'sync-labels') {
 }
 if (command === 'overrides') {
     const subcommand = flags[0];
-    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === undefined || ['--help', '-h'].includes(subcommand)) {
         showOverridesHelp();
         process.exit(0);
     }
+    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === 'validate') {
         if (subflags.some((f) => f === '--help' || f === '-h')) {
             showOverridesValidateHelp();
@@ -426,11 +427,11 @@ if (command === 'overrides') {
 }
 if (command === 'work-types') {
     const subcommand = flags[0];
-    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === undefined || ['--help', '-h'].includes(subcommand)) {
         showWorkTypesHelp();
         process.exit(0);
     }
+    const subflags = flags.slice(1);
     if (subcommand === 'check') {
         if (subflags.some((f) => f === '--help' || f === '-h')) {
             showWorkTypesCheckHelp();

package/dist/esm/buildChangelogEntries.js

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { extractVersion } from "./changelogJsonUtils.js";
 import { DEFAULT_WORK_TYPES } from "./defaults.js";
 import { COMMIT_PREPROCESSOR_PATTERNS, PIPE_SCOPE_SOURCE } from "./parseCommitMessage.js";
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ export function buildChangelogEntries(config, tag, options) {
         return transformReleases(releases, devOnlySections);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to build changelog entries for tag ${tag}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to build changelog entries for tag ${tag}`, error);
     }
 }
 function parseCliffContext(json) {

package/dist/esm/buildDependencyGraph.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 function isPackageJsonSubset(value) {
     return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null;
 }
@@ -51,18 +52,14 @@ function readPackageJsonSubset(filePath) {
         content = readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to read ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, {
-            cause: error,
-        });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to read ${filePath}`, error);
     }
     let parsed;
     try {
         parsed = JSON.parse(content);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to parse JSON in ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, {
-            cause: error,
-        });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to parse JSON in ${filePath}`, error);
     }
     if (!isPackageJsonSubset(parsed)) {
         throw new Error(`Invalid package.json at ${filePath}`);

package/dist/esm/changelogJsonFile.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import stringify from 'json-stringify-pretty-compact';
 import semver from 'semver';
 import { isChangelogEntry } from "./changelogJsonUtils.js";
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ function readExistingEntries(filePath) {
         return parsed.filter(isChangelogEntry);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        console.warn(`Warning: could not parse existing ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}; treating as empty`);
+        console.warn(`Warning: could not parse existing ${filePath}: ${describeError(error)}; treating as empty`);
         return [];
     }
 }

package/dist/esm/changelogOverrides.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { isRecord } from "./typeGuards.js";
 const OVERRIDES_FILENAME = '.meta/changelog-overrides.json';
 const VALID_AUDIENCE_VALUES = new Set(['all', 'dev', 'skip']);
@@ -15,7 +16,7 @@ export function loadChangelogOverrides(path) {
     }
     catch (error) {
         return {
-            errors: [`Failed to read override file ${path}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`],
+            errors: [`Failed to read override file ${path}: ${describeError(error)}`],
         };
     }
     let parsed;
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ export function loadChangelogOverrides(path) {
     }
     catch (error) {
         return {
-            errors: [`Failed to parse override file ${path}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`],
+            errors: [`Failed to parse override file ${path}: ${describeError(error)}`],
         };
     }
     const result = validateChangelogOverrides(parsed);

package/dist/esm/checkWorkTypesDrift.js

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { dirname, resolve } from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { formatErrorLine } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
-import { buildFetchInit, errorMessage, hasExpectedTopLevelShape } from "./workTypesUtils.js";
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
+import { buildFetchInit, hasExpectedTopLevelShape } from "./workTypesUtils.js";
 export const UPSTREAM_WORK_TYPES_URL = 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/williamthorsen/codeassembly/main/packages/agents/content/skills/_data/work-types.json';
 function resolveDefaultLocalPath() {
     const moduleDir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ export async function checkWorkTypesDrift(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 3,
-            message: `Local work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${errorMessage(error)}`,
+            message: `Local work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${describeError(error)}`,
         };
     }
     const fetchInit = buildFetchInit();
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ export async function checkWorkTypesDrift(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 2,
-            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to fetch upstream work-types.json: ${errorMessage(error)}`),
+            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to fetch upstream work-types.json: ${describeError(error)}`),
         };
     }
     if (response.status === 404) {
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ export async function checkWorkTypesDrift(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 3,
-            message: `Upstream work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${errorMessage(error)}`,
+            message: `Upstream work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${describeError(error)}`,
         };
     }
     if (!hasExpectedTopLevelShape(upstreamJson)) {

package/dist/esm/createGithubReleaseCommand.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { parseArgsOrExit, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { createGithubReleases } from "./createGithubRelease.js";
 import { formatPrivateSkip } from "./formatPrivateSkip.js";
 import { parseRequestedTags } from "./parseRequestedTags.js";
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ export async function createGithubReleaseCommand(argv) {
         outcome = createGithubReleases(publishableTags, changelogJsonOutputPath, dryRun, sectionOrder);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to create GitHub Releases: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to create GitHub Releases: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     if (outcome.skipped.length > 0) {

package/dist/esm/deriveWorkspaceConfig.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { basename } from 'node:path';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { isRecord } from "./typeGuards.js";
 export function deriveWorkspaceConfig(workspacePath) {
     const dir = basename(workspacePath);
@@ -9,8 +10,7 @@ export function deriveWorkspaceConfig(workspacePath) {
         parsed = JSON.parse(readFileSync(packageJsonPath, 'utf8'));
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-        throw new Error(`Failed to read ${packageJsonPath}: ${message}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to read ${packageJsonPath}`, error);
     }
     const name = isRecord(parsed) ? parsed['name'] : undefined;
     if (typeof name !== 'string' || name.length === 0) {

package/dist/esm/discoverWorkspaces.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { glob } from 'glob';
 import { parse } from 'yaml';
 import { isRecord } from "./typeGuards.js";
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ export async function discoverWorkspaces() {
         content = readFileSync(workspaceFile, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        console.warn(`Warning: Failed to read ${workspaceFile}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        console.warn(`Warning: Failed to read ${workspaceFile}: ${describeError(error)}`);
         return undefined;
     }
     const parsed = parse(content);

package/dist/esm/getCommitsSinceTarget.js

@@ -1,12 +1,10 @@
 import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { GIT_OUTPUT_LIMIT } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 const FIELD_SEPARATOR = '\u{1F}';
 function isNoTagError(err) {
     return typeof err === 'object' && err !== null && 'status' in err && err.status === 128;
 }
-function errorMessage(err) {
-    return err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
-}
 function findLatestTag(tagPrefixes) {
     if (tagPrefixes.length === 0) {
         throw new Error('findLatestTag: tagPrefixes must contain at least one entry');
@@ -24,7 +22,7 @@ function findLatestTag(tagPrefixes) {
         if (isNoTagError(error)) {
             return undefined;
         }
-        throw new Error(`Failed to run 'git describe': ${errorMessage(error)}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to run 'git describe'`, error);
     }
 }
 const RELEASE_COMMIT_PREFIX = 'release:';
@@ -59,7 +57,7 @@ export function getCommitsSinceTarget(tagPrefixes, paths) {
         }).trim();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to run 'git log' for range '${range}': ${errorMessage(error)}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to run 'git log' for range '${range}'`, error);
     }
     if (logOutput === '') {
         return { tag, commits: [] };

package/dist/esm/init/initCommand.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { printError, printStep, printSuccess, reportWriteResult } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { hasPackageJson, isGitRepo, usesPnpm } from "./checks.js";
 import { detectRepoType } from "./detectRepoType.js";
 import { scaffoldFiles } from "./scaffold.js";
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@ export function initCommand({ dryRun, force, withConfig }) {
         eligible = checkEligibility();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        printError(`Eligibility check failed: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        printError(`Eligibility check failed: ${describeError(error)}`);
         return 1;
     }
     if (!eligible)
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ export function initCommand({ dryRun, force, withConfig }) {
         repoType = detectRepoType();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        printError(`Failed to detect repo type: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        printError(`Failed to detect repo type: ${describeError(error)}`);
         return 1;
     }
     printSuccess(`Detected: ${repoType}`);
@@ -50,7 +51,7 @@ export function initCommand({ dryRun, force, withConfig }) {
         results = scaffoldFiles({ repoType, dryRun, overwrite: force, withConfig });
     }
     catch (error) {
-        printError(`Failed to scaffold files: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        printError(`Failed to scaffold files: ${describeError(error)}`);
         return 1;
     }
     for (const result of results) {

package/dist/esm/init/scaffold.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { resolve } from 'node:path';
 import { findPackageRoot, writeFileWithCheck } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { createGithubReleaseWorkflow, publishWorkflow, releaseConfigScript, releaseWorkflow } from "./templates.js";
 export function copyCliffTemplate(dryRun, overwrite) {
     const destPath = '.config/git-cliff.toml';
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ export function copyCliffTemplate(dryRun, overwrite) {
         content = readFileSync(templatePath, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         return { filePath: destPath, outcome: 'failed', error: `Failed to read template ${templatePath}: ${message}` };
     }
     return writeFileWithCheck(destPath, content, { dryRun, overwrite });

package/dist/esm/loadConfig.js

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ var __rewriteRelativeImportExtension = (this && this.__rewriteRelativeImportExte
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import { pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { DEFAULT_CHANGELOG_JSON_CONFIG, DEFAULT_PROJECT_TAG_PREFIX, DEFAULT_RELEASE_NOTES_CONFIG, DEFAULT_VERSION_PATTERNS, DEFAULT_WORK_TYPES, } from "./defaults.js";
 import { deriveWorkspaceConfig } from "./deriveWorkspaceConfig.js";
 import { isRecord } from "./typeGuards.js";
@@ -23,14 +24,14 @@ export function readRootPackageVersion() {
         contents = readFileSync(absolutePath, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to read root ${ROOT_PACKAGE_JSON_PATH}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to read root ${ROOT_PACKAGE_JSON_PATH}`, error);
     }
     let parsed;
     try {
         parsed = JSON.parse(contents);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to parse root ${ROOT_PACKAGE_JSON_PATH}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to parse root ${ROOT_PACKAGE_JSON_PATH}`, error);
     }
     if (!isRecord(parsed)) {
         return { exists: true, version: undefined };

package/dist/esm/loadValidatedConfig.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { loadConfig } from "./loadConfig.js";
 import { validateConfig } from "./validateConfig.js";
 export async function loadValidatedConfig() {
@@ -7,7 +8,7 @@ export async function loadValidatedConfig() {
         raw = await loadConfig();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         reportError(`Failed to load config: ${message}`);
         return { status: 'invalid' };
     }

package/dist/esm/planReleaseNotesPreviews.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { extractVersion } from "./changelogJsonUtils.js";
 import { renderInjectedReadmeFromEntries } from "./injectReleaseNotesIntoReadme.js";
 export function planReleaseNotesPreviews(options) {
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ function readWorkspaceReadme(readmePath, warnings) {
         return { content: readFileSync(readmePath, 'utf8'), exists: true, unreadable: false };
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         warnings.push(`failed to read ${readmePath}: ${message}; skipping injected-README preview`);
         return { content: '', exists: false, unreadable: true };
     }

package/dist/esm/planVersionBump.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { bumpVersion } from "./bumpVersion.js";
 function isPackageJson(value) {
     return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && 'version' in value && typeof value.version === 'string';
@@ -34,18 +35,14 @@ function readPackageJson(filePath) {
         content = readFileSync(filePath, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to read ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, {
-            cause: error,
-        });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to read ${filePath}`, error);
     }
     let parsed;
     try {
         parsed = JSON.parse(content);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw new Error(`Failed to parse JSON in ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`, {
-            cause: error,
-        });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to parse JSON in ${filePath}`, error);
     }
     if (!isPackageJson(parsed)) {
         throw new Error(`No valid 'version' field found in ${filePath}`);

package/dist/esm/prepareCommand.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { parseArgsOrExit, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { assertCleanWorkingTree } from "./assertCleanWorkingTree.js";
 import { buildDependencyGraph } from "./buildDependencyGraph.js";
 import { discoverWorkspaces } from "./discoverWorkspaces.js";
@@ -87,7 +88,7 @@ export async function prepareCommand(argv) {
             assertCleanWorkingTree();
         }
         catch (error) {
-            reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+            reportError(describeError(error));
             process.exit(1);
         }
     }
@@ -97,7 +98,7 @@ export async function prepareCommand(argv) {
         discoveredPaths = await discoverWorkspaces();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     if (discoveredPaths === undefined) {
@@ -127,7 +128,7 @@ function runMonorepoMode(discoveredPaths, userConfig, options, only, setVersion,
         config = mergeMonorepoConfig(discoveredPaths, userConfig, rootPackage);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to resolve workspaces: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to resolve workspaces: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     if (setVersion !== undefined && config.project !== undefined) {
@@ -190,7 +191,7 @@ async function loadAndValidateConfig() {
         rawConfig = await loadConfig();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to load config: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to load config: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     if (rawConfig === undefined) {
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ function runAndReport(computePlan, dryRun) {
         plan = computePlan();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.stderr.write('No files were written; the working tree is unchanged.\n');
         process.exit(1);
     }
@@ -228,7 +229,7 @@ function runAndReport(computePlan, dryRun) {
         applyReleasePlan(plan);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.exit(1);
     }
     const formatError = runFormatCommand(plan.formatCommand);
@@ -249,7 +250,7 @@ function runFormatCommand(formatCommand) {
         return undefined;
     }
     catch (error) {
-        return error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        return describeError(error);
     }
 }
 function reportPlanFiles(plan, dryRun) {

package/dist/esm/previewTagPrefixes.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { execFileSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { basename } from 'node:path';
 import { GIT_OUTPUT_LIMIT } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { deriveWorkspaceConfig } from "./deriveWorkspaceConfig.js";
 import { detectUndeclaredTagPrefixes } from "./detectUndeclaredTagPrefixes.js";
 import { discoverWorkspaces } from "./discoverWorkspaces.js";
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ function buildPreviewRow(workspacePath, overridesByDir) {
         derivedPrefix = deriveWorkspaceConfig(workspacePath).tagPrefix;
     }
     catch (error) {
-        derivationError = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        derivationError = describeError(error);
     }
     const derivedTagCount = derivedPrefix === null ? 0 : countTagsMatching(derivedPrefix);
     const declaredIdentities = overridesByDir.get(dir) ?? [];

package/dist/esm/publishCommand.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { join } from 'node:path';
 import { parseArgsOrExit, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { assertCleanWorkingTree } from "./assertCleanWorkingTree.js";
 import { detectPackageManager } from "./detectPackageManager.js";
 import { formatPrivateSkip } from "./formatPrivateSkip.js";
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ export async function publishCommand(argv) {
             assertCleanWorkingTree();
         }
         catch (error) {
-            reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+            reportError(describeError(error));
             process.exit(1);
         }
     }
@@ -73,7 +74,7 @@ export async function publishCommand(argv) {
                 console.warn(`  ${t}`);
             }
         }
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.exit(1);
     }
 }

package/dist/esm/pushCommand.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { parseArgsOrExit, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { parseRequestedTags } from "./parseRequestedTags.js";
 import { pushRelease } from "./pushRelease.js";
 import { resolveCommandTags } from "./resolveCommandTags.js";
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ export async function pushCommand(argv) {
         }
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.exit(1);
     }
 }

package/dist/esm/readCurrentVersion.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 function hasVersionField(value) {
     return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && 'version' in value && typeof value.version === 'string';
 }
@@ -11,7 +12,7 @@ export function readCurrentVersion(filePath) {
         }
     }
     catch (error) {
-        console.warn(`Failed to read current version from ${filePath}: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        console.warn(`Failed to read current version from ${filePath}: ${describeError(error)}`);
     }
     return undefined;
 }

package/dist/esm/releaseFiles.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { resolve } from 'node:path';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 export const RELEASE_TAGS_FILE = 'tmp/.release-tags';
 export const RELEASE_SUMMARY_FILE = 'tmp/.release-summary';
 export function resolveReleaseTagsPath() {
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ function describeTagsReadFailure(error) {
     if (getErrnoCode(error) === 'ENOENT') {
         return `No tags file found at ${tagsPath}. Run \`release-kit prepare\` first.`;
     }
-    const detail = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+    const detail = describeError(error);
     return `Cannot read the tags file at ${tagsPath}: ${detail}`;
 }
 function getErrnoCode(error) {

package/dist/esm/releasePrepareMono.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { join as joinPath } from 'node:path';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { buildChangelogEntries } from "./buildChangelogEntries.js";
 import { buildDependencyGraph } from "./buildDependencyGraph.js";
 import { buildEmptyReleaseEntry } from "./buildEmptyReleaseEntry.js";
@@ -402,16 +403,12 @@ function planFormatCommand(config, tags, modifiedFiles) {
 function findWorkspace(workspaces, dir) {
     return workspaces.find((w) => w.dir === dir);
 }
-function wrapStageError(stageLabel, error) {
-    const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-    return new Error(`${stageLabel}: ${message}`, { cause: error });
-}
 function tryStage(stageLabel, fn) {
     try {
         return fn();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        throw wrapStageError(stageLabel, error);
+        throw chainError(stageLabel, error);
     }
 }
 function workspaceStageLabel(dir) {

package/dist/esm/resolveCommandTags.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { deriveWorkspaceConfig } from "./deriveWorkspaceConfig.js";
 import { discoverWorkspaces } from "./discoverWorkspaces.js";
 import { resolveReleaseTags } from "./resolveReleaseTags.js";
@@ -8,7 +9,7 @@ export async function resolveCommandTags(tags) {
         discoveredPaths = await discoverWorkspaces();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     let workspaces;
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ export async function resolveCommandTags(tags) {
         }
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(`Failed to resolve workspaces: ${error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error)}`);
+        reportError(`Failed to resolve workspaces: ${describeError(error)}`);
         process.exit(1);
     }
     let resolvedTags;

package/dist/esm/resolveReleaseNotesConfig.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { DEFAULT_CHANGELOG_JSON_CONFIG, DEFAULT_RELEASE_NOTES_CONFIG } from "./defaults.js";
 import { loadConfig, resolveWorkTypes } from "./loadConfig.js";
 import { validateConfig } from "./validateConfig.js";
@@ -9,7 +10,7 @@ export async function resolveReleaseNotesConfig(options = {}) {
         rawConfig = await loadConfig();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         if (strictLoad) {
             reportError(`Failed to load config: ${message}`);
             process.exit(1);

package/dist/esm/sync-labels/generateCommand.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { dirname } from 'node:path';
 import { reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { stringify } from 'yaml';
 import { CONFIG_FILE_PATH } from "../loadConfig.js";
 import { loadValidatedConfig } from "../loadValidatedConfig.js";
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ export async function generateCommand({ check = false } = {}) {
         labels = resolveLabels(repoLabels);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         reportError(`Failed to resolve labels: ${message}`);
         return 1;
     }
@@ -64,7 +65,7 @@ export async function generateCommand({ check = false } = {}) {
         writeFileSync(LABELS_OUTPUT_PATH, content, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         reportError(`Failed to write ${LABELS_OUTPUT_PATH}: ${message}`);
         return 1;
     }

package/dist/esm/sync-labels/initCommand.js

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { reportWriteResult, writeFileWithCheck } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { discoverWorkspaces } from "../discoverWorkspaces.js";
 import { CONFIG_FILE_PATH } from "../loadConfig.js";
 import { loadValidatedConfig } from "../loadValidatedConfig.js";
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ export async function syncLabelsInitCommand({ dryRun, force }) {
         workspacePaths = await discoverWorkspaces();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         process.stderr.write(`  Failed to discover workspaces: ${message}\n`);
         return 1;
     }

package/dist/esm/sync-labels/presets.js

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { createHash } from 'node:crypto';
 import { existsSync, readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { resolve } from 'node:path';
 import { findPackageRoot } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { chainError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors/candidate';
 import { parse } from 'yaml';
 import { isRecord } from "../typeGuards.js";
 export function hashPresetFile(presetName) {
@@ -22,8 +23,7 @@ export function loadPreset(presetName) {
         content = readFileSync(presetPath, 'utf8');
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-        throw new Error(`Failed to read preset "${presetName}": ${message}`, { cause: error });
+        throw chainError(`Failed to read preset "${presetName}"`, error);
     }
     const parsed = parse(content);
     if (!Array.isArray(parsed)) {

package/dist/esm/sync-labels/syncCommand.js

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { execSync } from 'node:child_process';
 import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { GIT_OUTPUT_LIMIT, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { checkRetiredSyncLabelsConfig } from "./retiredConfig.js";
 const WORKFLOW_FILE = '.github/workflows/sync-labels.yaml';
 function checkGhAvailable() {
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ export function syncLabelsCommand() {
         execSync('gh workflow run sync-labels.yaml', { stdio: 'inherit' });
     }
     catch (error) {
-        const message = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+        const message = describeError(error);
         reportError(`Failed to trigger workflow: ${message}`);
         return 1;
     }

package/dist/esm/syncWorkTypes.js

@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@ import { readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
 import { dirname, resolve } from 'node:path';
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 import { formatErrorLine } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { UPSTREAM_WORK_TYPES_URL } from "./checkWorkTypesDrift.js";
 import { isRecord } from "./typeGuards.js";
-import { buildFetchInit, errorMessage, hasExpectedTopLevelShape } from "./workTypesUtils.js";
+import { buildFetchInit, hasExpectedTopLevelShape } from "./workTypesUtils.js";
 function resolveDefaultLocalPath() {
     const moduleDir = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
     return resolve(moduleDir, 'work-types.json');
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ export async function syncWorkTypes(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 2,
-            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to fetch upstream work-types.json: ${errorMessage(error)}`),
+            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to fetch upstream work-types.json: ${describeError(error)}`),
         };
     }
     if (!response.ok) {
@@ -52,7 +53,7 @@ export async function syncWorkTypes(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 3,
-            message: `Upstream work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${errorMessage(error)}`,
+            message: `Upstream work-types.json is not valid JSON: ${describeError(error)}`,
         };
     }
     if (!hasExpectedTopLevelShape(upstreamJson)) {
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ export async function syncWorkTypes(dependencies = {}) {
     catch (error) {
         return {
             exitCode: 2,
-            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to write ${localPath}: ${errorMessage(error)}`),
+            message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to write ${localPath}: ${describeError(error)}`),
         };
     }
     return {

package/dist/esm/tagCommand.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { parseArgsOrExit, reportError } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { createTags } from "./createTags.js";
 const tagFlagSchema = {
     dryRun: { long: '--dry-run', type: 'boolean' },
@@ -10,7 +11,7 @@ export function tagCommand(argv) {
         createTags({ dryRun, noGitChecks });
     }
     catch (error) {
-        reportError(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
+        reportError(describeError(error));
         process.exit(1);
     }
 }

package/dist/esm/validateOverridesCommand.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { formatErrorLine } from '@williamthorsen/nmr-core';
+import { describeError } from '@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors';
 import { buildChangelogEntries } from "./buildChangelogEntries.js";
 import { resolveOverridePath, validateAllChangelogOverrides, } from "./changelogOverrides.js";
 import { discoverWorkspaces } from "./discoverWorkspaces.js";
@@ -16,21 +17,21 @@ export async function validateOverridesCommand(dependencies = {}) {
         rawConfig = await load();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to load config: ${errorMessage(error)}`) };
+        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to load config: ${describeError(error)}`) };
     }
     let userConfig;
     try {
         userConfig = validateLoadedConfig(rawConfig);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        return { exitCode: 2, message: errorMessage(error) };
+        return { exitCode: 2, message: describeError(error) };
     }
     let discoveredPaths;
     try {
         discoveredPaths = await discover();
     }
     catch (error) {
-        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${errorMessage(error)}`) };
+        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to discover workspaces: ${describeError(error)}`) };
     }
     let inputs;
     try {
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ export async function validateOverridesCommand(dependencies = {}) {
                 : buildMonorepoInputs(discoveredPaths, userConfig, buildEntries);
     }
     catch (error) {
-        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to resolve overrides scope: ${errorMessage(error)}`) };
+        return { exitCode: 2, message: formatErrorLine(`Failed to resolve overrides scope: ${describeError(error)}`) };
     }
     const result = validate(inputs);
     return formatValidateOverridesResult(result);
@@ -70,9 +71,6 @@ function formatSummaryLine(errorCount, warningCount) {
 function pluralize(count, noun) {
     return count === 1 ? `${count} ${noun}` : `${count} ${noun}s`;
 }
-function errorMessage(error) {
-    return error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-}
 function defaultBuildEntries(config, tagPattern, includePaths) {
     const options = {};
     if (tagPattern !== undefined) {

package/dist/esm/workTypesUtils.d.ts

@@ -2,5 +2,4 @@ export declare function hasExpectedTopLevelShape(value: unknown): value is {
     tiers: unknown[];
     types: unknown[];
 };
-export declare function errorMessage(error: unknown): string;
 export declare function buildFetchInit(): RequestInit | undefined;

package/dist/esm/workTypesUtils.js

@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@ export function hasExpectedTopLevelShape(value) {
     }
     return Array.isArray(value.tiers) && Array.isArray(value.types);
 }
-export function errorMessage(error) {
-    return error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-}
 export function buildFetchInit() {
     const token = process.env['GITHUB_TOKEN'];
     if (token === undefined || token === '') {

package/package.json

@@ -1,8 +1,14 @@
 {
   "name": "@williamthorsen/release-kit",
-  "version": "10.3.1",
+  "version": "10.3.2",
   "description": "Version-bumping and changelog-generation toolkit for release workflows",
-  "keywords": [],
+  "keywords": [
+    "changelog",
+    "monorepo",
+    "release",
+    "semver",
+    "versioning"
+  ],
   "homepage": "https://github.com/williamthorsen/node-monorepo-tools/tree/main/packages/release-kit#readme",
   "bugs": {
     "url": "https://github.com/williamthorsen/node-monorepo-tools/issues"
@@ -14,6 +20,9 @@
   },
   "license": "ISC",
   "author": "William Thorsen <william@thorsen.dev> (https://github.com/williamthorsen)",
+  "sideEffects": [
+    "./dist/esm/bin/*.js"
+  ],
   "type": "module",
   "exports": {
     ".": {
@@ -39,16 +48,17 @@
     "CHANGELOG.md"
   ],
   "dependencies": {
+    "@williamthorsen/toolbelt.errors": "0.4.0",
     "glob": "13.0.6",
     "json-stringify-pretty-compact": "4.0.0",
     "semver": "7.8.5",
     "yaml": "2.9.0",
     "zod": "4.4.3",
-    "@williamthorsen/nmr-core": "0.9.3"
+    "@williamthorsen/nmr-core": "0.10.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@types/semver": "7.8.0",
-    "readyup": "0.26.0",
+    "readyup": "0.27.0",
     "smol-toml": "1.7.1"
   },
   "engines": {