GitHub actions: NPM publish fails with ERR! code ENEEDAUTH - node.js

Question

I've attempted to implement the official guide to publishing and installing a package with GitHub Actions: Authenticating to package registries with granular permissions
Fails with:
npm ERR! code ENEEDAUTH
npm ERR! need auth This command requires you to be logged in to https://npm.pkg.github.com
npm ERR! need auth You need to authorize this machine using `npm adduser`
package.json
{
"name": "#charneykaye/banana",
"version": "4.0.6",
"repository": "git#github.com:charneykaye/banana",
"description": "made by artists in a new algorithmic medium",
"bin": {
"banana": "./lib/index.js"
},
"author": "Charney Kaye <charney#xj.io>",
"license": "MIT",
"scripts": {
"start": "nodemon --watch 'src/**/*.ts' --exec 'ts-node' src/index.ts",
"start:windows": "nodemon --watch 'src/**/*.ts' --exec \"npx ts-node\" src/index.ts",
"create": "npm run build && npm run test",
"banana": "npx ts-node ./src/index.ts",
"test": "tsc -p . && jest --coverage --verbose --runInBand"
},
"dependencies": {
"commander": "^10.0.0",
"figlet": "^1.5.2",
"octokit": "^1.8.0"
},
"devDependencies": {
"#babel/core": "^7.20.12",
"#babel/preset-env": "^7.20.2",
"#babel/preset-typescript": "^7.18.6",
"#jest/globals": "^29.4.1",
"#types/jest": "^29.4.0",
"#types/node": "^18.11.18",
"babel-jest": "^29.4.1",
"jest": "^29.4.1",
"nodemon": "^2.0.20",
"ts-jest": "^29.0.5",
"ts-node": "^10.9.1",
"typescript": "^4.9.5"
},
"publishConfig": {
"registry": "https://npm.pkg.github.com"
},
"jest": {
"preset": "ts-jest",
"testEnvironment": "node",
"testMatch": [
"**/__tests__/**test.ts",
"**/__tests__/**test.tsx"
]
}
}
.github/workflow/ci.yml
name: "CI Build & Publish"
on:
push:
branches:
- main
jobs:
CI:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout
uses: actions/checkout#v2
- name: Setup Node.js
uses: actions/setup-node#v3
with:
node-version: 18.14
cache: 'npm'
- name: Install npm packages
run: npm install
- name: Unit tests
run: npm test
- name: Build Banana
run: npm run banana -- --build --env prod
- uses: actions/upload-artifact#v3
with:
name: banana
path: ./build/
- name: Publish NPM package
run: npm publish
.npmrc
#charneykaye:registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com

Answer 1

Needed to do a connect two more dots to get the token all the way to npm publish
Replace .npmrc with
//npm.pkg.github.com/:_authToken=${NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN}
#charneykaye:registry=https://npm.pkg.github.com
always-auth=true
and the last action in .github/workflow/ci.yml with
- name: Publish NPM package
run: npm publish
env:
NPM_CONFIG_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}