ci: add internal-debug release mode (#14820)

This PR adds support for publishing internal-debug pre-releases,
designed to make debugging Payload packages easier during development.

## Usage

When manually triggering the publish-prerelease workflow, check the
"Enable debug mode" checkbox to publish an internal-debug release.

## Why?

Debug builds skip bundling, React Compiler transformations, and
minification. This makes it easier to:
- Inspect Payload source code directly in node_modules
- Set breakpoints and step through unminified code
- Make local modifications for testing/debugging purposes

Author: AlessioGr

.github/workflows/publish-prerelease.yml

@@ -5,6 +5,12 @@ on:
     # Run nightly at 10pm EST
     - cron: '0 3 * * *'
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      debug_build:
+        description: 'Enable debug build (uses internal-debug tag and pnpm build:debug)'
+        required: false
+        default: false
+        type: boolean
 
 env:
   DO_NOT_TRACK: 1 # Disable Turbopack telemetry
@@ -26,18 +32,23 @@ jobs:
         env:
           NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
 
-      - name: Determine release type
+      - name: Determine release type and debug flag
         id: determine_release_type
-        # Use 'canary' for main branch, 'internal' for others
+        # Use 'internal-debug' if debug mode, 'canary' for main branch, 'internal' for others
         run: |
-          if [[ ${{ github.ref_name }} == "main" ]]; then
+          if [[ "${{ inputs.debug_build }}" == "true" ]]; then
+            echo "release_type=internal-debug" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "debug_flag=--debug" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          elif [[ ${{ github.ref_name }} == "main" ]]; then
             echo "release_type=canary" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "debug_flag=" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           else
             echo "release_type=internal" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+            echo "debug_flag=" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
           fi
 
       - name: Release
-        run: pnpm publish-prerelease --tag ${{ steps.determine_release_type.outputs.release_type }}
+        run: pnpm publish-prerelease --tag ${{ steps.determine_release_type.outputs.release_type }} ${{ steps.determine_release_type.outputs.debug_flag }}
         env:
           NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
           NPM_CONFIG_PROVENANCE: true

package.json

@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
     "build:db-postgres": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/db-postgres\"",
     "build:db-sqlite": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/db-sqlite\"",
     "build:db-vercel-postgres": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/db-vercel-postgres\"",
+    "build:debug": "turbo build:debug --filter \"!blank\" --filter \"!website\" --filter \"!ecommerce\"",
     "build:drizzle": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/drizzle\"",
     "build:email-nodemailer": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/email-nodemailer\"",
     "build:email-resend": "turbo build --filter \"@payloadcms/email-resend\"",

packages/admin-bar/package.json

@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm copyfiles && pnpm build:types && pnpm build:swc",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",

packages/create-payload-app/package.json

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm pack-template-files && pnpm typecheck && pnpm build:swc",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",
     "lint": "eslint .",

packages/db-d1-sqlite/package.json

@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm build:swc && pnpm build:types",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",

packages/db-mongodb/package.json

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm build:types && pnpm build:swc",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc-build --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",

packages/db-postgres/package.json

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "rimraf .dist && rimraf tsconfig.tsbuildinfo  && pnpm build:types && pnpm build:swc && pnpm build:esbuild && pnpm renamePredefinedMigrations",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:esbuild": "echo skipping esbuild",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",

packages/db-sqlite/package.json

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm build:swc && pnpm build:types",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",

packages/db-vercel-postgres/package.json

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "rimraf .dist && rimraf tsconfig.tsbuildinfo  && pnpm build:types && pnpm build:swc && pnpm build:esbuild && pnpm renamePredefinedMigrations",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:esbuild": "echo skipping esbuild",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",

packages/drizzle/package.json

@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
   ],
   "scripts": {
     "build": "pnpm build:swc && pnpm build:types",
+    "build:debug": "pnpm build",
     "build:swc": "swc ./src -d ./dist --config-file .swcrc --strip-leading-paths",
     "build:types": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist",
     "clean": "rimraf -g {dist,*.tsbuildinfo}",