fix(init): npm packages are always publish, never build-only

The root cause of the binary-less web-compiler: init offered "build-only
(GitHub Release artifacts)" for an npm package and it got picked. For npm that
is meaningless — prebuilt binaries ship inside the tarball, not as Release
assets — so a Rust-compiler npm package routed its binaries to a cosmetic
GitHub Release instead of npm publish.

init now skips the mode prompt for npm (always publish); the build-only choice
is only offered for cargo/generic packages (standalone-binary distribution),
with a clearer label. Combined with the earlier is_build_only() normalization,
both fresh configs and any existing build-only npm config now publish correctly.

Author: Thanga-Ganapathy

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/). Work in progress lives un
   `download-artifact` in the publish job when only matrix packages feed it.
 
 ### Changed
+- **init** — An npm package is no longer offered the `build-only` mode: its prebuilt binaries ship
+  inside the npm tarball, so it is always `publish`. `build-only` (standalone binaries on a GitHub
+  Release) is now only prompted for cargo/generic packages, and its label clarifies that.
 - **init** — Default-selected build targets are now the five widely-supported platforms
   (`linux-x64/arm64`, `darwin-x64/arm64`, `win32-x64`); `win32-arm64` and 32-bit targets remain in
   the registry for explicit opt-in (they are rarely in a package's resolver set and need extra

crates/core/src/init.rs

@@ -1039,18 +1039,26 @@ impl InitPrompt for StdinInitPrompt {
             enabled[opt.index]
         };
 
-        let mode = match Select::new(
-            &format!("{pkg_name} — mode:"),
-            vec![
-                "publish (to registry)",
-                "build-only (GitHub Release artifacts)",
-            ],
-        )
-        .raw_prompt()?
-        .index
-        {
-            1 => Mode::BuildOnly,
-            _ => Mode::Publish,
+        // An npm package is always published to the registry — its prebuilt binaries ship *inside*
+        // the tarball, so "build-only" (= GitHub Release assets, no registry push) never applies.
+        // Only cargo/generic packages, which can be distributed as standalone binaries, get the
+        // choice.
+        let mode = if adapter == Ecosystem::Npm {
+            Mode::Publish
+        } else {
+            match Select::new(
+                &format!("{pkg_name} — mode:"),
+                vec![
+                    "publish (to registry)",
+                    "build-only (standalone binaries on a GitHub Release)",
+                ],
+            )
+            .raw_prompt()?
+            .index
+            {
+                1 => Mode::BuildOnly,
+                _ => Mode::Publish,
+            }
         };
 
         let matrix = Select::new(