should work ??

.github/workflows/publish.yml

@@ -12,29 +12,25 @@ jobs:
         uses: actions/setup-node@v4
         with:
           node-version: '20.x'
+          registry-url: 'https://registry.npmjs.org'
 
-      - name: Setup .npmrc with authentication
+      - name: Configure npm authentication
         run: |
-          npm config set //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
-          npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/
-          npm config set always-auth true
-
-      - name: Debug - Check .npmrc content
-        run: |
-          echo "Contents of .npmrc:"
-          cat ~/.npmrc | sed 's/_authToken=.*/_authToken=***HIDDEN***/'
-          echo "NPM config:"
-          npm config list
+          npm config set //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken ${NPM_TOKEN}
+        env:
+          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Debug - Verify authentication
         run: |
           echo "Checking npm authentication:"
           npm whoami
-          echo "Checking package ownership:"
-          npm owner ls usagey
+        env:
+          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: npm ci
+        env:
+          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Run tests
         run: npm test
@@ -51,6 +47,8 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           PUBLISHED_VERSION=$(npm view usagey version 2>/dev/null || echo "0.0.0")
           echo "version=$PUBLISHED_VERSION" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        env:
+          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
       - name: Compare versions
         id: version_check
@@ -68,6 +66,8 @@ jobs:
             echo "No version change - skipping publish"
           fi
 
-      - name: Publish to npm with explicit registry
+      - name: Publish to npm
         if: steps.version_check.outputs.should_publish == 'true'
-        run: npm publish --registry https://registry.npmjs.org/ --access public
+        run: npm publish --access public
+        env:
+          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}