JSR is a modern package registry for JavaScript and TypeScript. This skill covers creating, configuring, documenting, and publishing ESR packages with minimal overhead.

To create a package:

1. Write code in TypeScript as ESM (using import/export)
2. Create config - jsr.json (or add JSR properties to deno.json):

   {
     "name": "@scope/package-name",
     "version": "1.0.0",
     "exports": "./mod.ts"
   }
   

3. Publish - npx jsr publish or deno publish

Key Differences from npm:

• ESM-only: No CommonJS. All modules must use import/export.
• Direct specifiers in code: Use npm:lodash@4 or jsr:@std/encoding@1 directly in imports without package.json entries.
• TypeScript source preferred: Publish .ts files directly, not compiled .js + .d.ts. JSR handles compilation and auto-generates docs.
• Auto-generated docs: JSDoc comments on functions, interfaces, classes become your package documentation. No need for separate docs.

Publishing

# Validate before publishing
npx jsr publish --dry-run # Shows files to publish, validates rules, doesn't publish

# Publish from local machine
npx jsr publish # Opens browser for auth, publishes when approved

# (or use GitHub Actions, see below)

GitHub Actions (OIDC)

1. Link repo to package in JSR settings (jsr.io → package → settings → GitHub repo)
2. Create .github/workflows/publish.yml:

name: Publish
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
jobs:
  publish:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      id-token: write
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
      - run: npx jsr publish

No secrets needed.

Configuration (jsr.json or deno.json)

Minimal: (preferred for new packages as it is the most simple)

{
  "name": "@scope/pkg",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "exports": "./mod.ts"
}

Equivalent to:

{
  "name": "@scope/pkg",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "exports": {
    ".": "./mod.ts"
  }
}

With file filtering:

{
  "name": "@scope/pkg",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "exports": "./mod.ts",
  "publish": {
    "include": ["LICENSE", "README.md", "src/**/*.ts"],
    "exclude": ["src/**/*.test.ts"]
  }
}

Un-gitignoring files (e.g., publish dist/ even if in .gitignore):

{
  "publish": {
    "exclude": ["!dist"]
  }
}

Documentation (JSDoc)

All JSDoc comments in exported symbols generate package docs visible on jsr.io and in editor completions.

Module documentation (top of file):

/**
 * Utilities for searching the database.
 *
 * @example
 * ```ts
 * import { search } from "@scope/db";
 * search("query")
 * ```
 *
 * @module
 */

Function documentation:

/**
 * Search the database.
 * @param query Search string (max 50 chars for performance)
 * @param limit Number of results. Defaults to 20.
 * @returns Array of matched items
 */
export function search(query: string, limit?: number): string[]

Interfaces & Classes:

/** Options for search behavior */
export interface SearchOptions {
  /** Max results to return */
  limit?: number;
  /** Skip first N results (pagination) */
  skip?: number;
}

export class Database {
  /** The database name */
  name: string;
  constructor(name: string) { this.name = name }
  /** Close the connection */
  close(): void { }
}

Use {@link symbol} to link between documented symbols.

Full Documentation

• Publishing: https://jsr.io/docs/publishing-packages
• Writing docs: https://jsr.io/docs/writing-docs
• Package configuration: https://jsr.io/docs/package-configuration (jsr.json file)
• JSDoc tags: https://docs.deno.com/runtime/reference/cli/doc/#supported-jsdoc-tags
• Why JSR: https://jsr.io/docs/why
• Troubleshooting: https://jsr.io/docs/troubleshooting
• npm compatibility: https://jsr.io/docs/npm-compatibility
• About slow types: https://jsr.io/docs/about-slow-types