diff --git a/.changeset/dirty-ducks-relax.md b/.changeset/dirty-ducks-relax.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..77c6a9d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/dirty-ducks-relax.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'changesets-gitlab': minor
+---
+
+Add support for `PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC` variable checking the project root rather than `$HOME` for a `.npmrc` file when validating auth
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d8b207ff..e8968e8f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ GITLAB_CI_USER_EMAIL         # optional, default `gitlab[bot]@users.noreply.gitl
 GITLAB_COMMENT_TYPE          # optional, type of the comment. defaults to `discussion`. can be set to `note` to not create a discussion instead of a thread
 GITLAB_ADD_CHANGESET_MESSAGE # optional, default commit message for adding changesets on GitLab Web UI
 DEBUG_GITLAB_CREDENTIAL      # optional, default `false`
+PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC   # optional, check project root instead of HOME for a .npmrc file when validating auth
 ```
 
 ### Example workflow
@@ -83,44 +84,39 @@ release:
 
 #### With Publishing
 
-Before you can setup this action with publishing, you'll need to have an [npm token](https://docs.npmjs.com/creating-and-viewing-authentication-tokens) that can publish the packages in the repo you're setting up the action for and doesn't have 2FA on publish enabled ([2FA on auth can be enabled](https://docs.npmjs.com/about-two-factor-authentication)). You'll also need to [add it as a custom environment variable on your GitLab repo](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/variables/#custom-cicd-variables) with the name `NPM_TOKEN`. Once you've done that, you can create a file at `.gitlab-ci.yml` with the following content.
+To enable publishing of package(s), add a publish command to the `INPUT_PUBLISH` variable in your release step.
 
 ```yml
-stages:
-  - comment
-  - release
-
-before_script: yarn --frozen-lockfile
-
-comment:
-  image: node:lts-alpine
-  stage: comment
-  only: merge_requests
-  script: yarn changesets-gitlab comment
-
 release:
   image: node:lts-alpine
   only: main
   script: yarn changesets-gitlab
   variables:
-    INPUT_PUBLISH: yarn release
+    INPUT_PUBLISH: changeset publish
 ```
 
-By default the GitLab CI cli creates a `.npmrc` file with the following content:
+There's two ways you can authenticate with the GitLab CI cli.
+
+- Configure `$HOME/.npmrc` with auth
+  - Alternatively the project root `.npmrc` by setting `PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC` to `true`
+- Setting `NPM_TOKEN` in [custom CI/CD variables](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/variables/#custom-cicd-variables) (only works with the public registry `registry.npmjs.org`)
+
+If you're using the public npm registry, you'll need to have an [npm token](https://docs.npmjs.com/creating-and-viewing-authentication-tokens) that can publish the packages in the repo you're setting up the action for and doesn't have 2FA on publish enabled ([2FA on auth can be enabled](https://docs.npmjs.com/about-two-factor-authentication)).
+[Add it as a custom environment variable on your GitLab repo](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/variables/#custom-cicd-variables) with the name `NPM_TOKEN`.
+The GitLab CI cli then creates a `.npmrc` file with the following content:
 
 ```sh
 //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=${process.env.NPM_TOKEN}
 ```
 
-However, if a `.npmrc` file is found, the GitLab CI cli does not recreate the file. This is useful if you need to configure the `.npmrc` file on your own.
+If `.npmrc` exists in `$HOME` (or in the project root with `PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC` set to `true`), the GitLab CI cli does not touch the file.
+This is useful if you need to configure the `.npmrc` file on your own.
 For example, you can add a step before running the Changesets GitLab CI cli:
 
 ```yml
-script: |
-  cat << EOF > "$HOME/.npmrc"
-    email=my@email.com
-    //registry.npmjs.org/:_authToken=$NPM_TOKEN
-  EOF
+script:
+  - echo "//${NPM_REGISTRY}/:_authToken=${NPM_TOKEN}" >> ${HOME}.npmrc
+  - yarn changesets-gitlab
 ```
 
 #### With version script
diff --git a/src/main.ts b/src/main.ts
index 0f2625b4..5d8a3c4e 100644
--- a/src/main.ts
+++ b/src/main.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,14 @@ import { execSync, getOptionalInput, getUsername } from './utils.js'
 
 import { createApi } from './index.js'
 
+const getNpmrcPath = () => {
+  if (env.CI && env.PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC) {
+    return `${env.CI_PROJECT_DIR}/.npmrc`
+  }
+
+  return `${env.HOME}/.npmrc`
+}
+
 export const main = async ({
   published,
   onlyChangesets,
@@ -21,7 +29,6 @@ export const main = async ({
     CI,
     GITLAB_HOST,
     GITLAB_TOKEN,
-    HOME,
     NPM_TOKEN,
     DEBUG_GITLAB_CREDENTIAL = 'false',
   } = env
@@ -68,7 +75,7 @@ export const main = async ({
         'No changesets found, attempting to publish any unpublished packages to npm',
       )
 
-      const npmrcPath = `${HOME}/.npmrc`
+      const npmrcPath = getNpmrcPath()
       if (fs.existsSync(npmrcPath)) {
         console.log('Found existing .npmrc file')
       } else if (NPM_TOKEN) {
diff --git a/src/types.ts b/src/types.ts
index dd3932aa..66c57b9c 100644
--- a/src/types.ts
+++ b/src/types.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ export type Env = GitLabCIPredefinedVariables &
 
     HOME: string
     NPM_TOKEN?: string
+    PREFER_PROJECT_LEVEL_NPMRC?: string
   }
 
 type MergeRequestVariables =
@@ -44,10 +45,12 @@ type GitLabCIPredefinedVariables = { GITLAB_USER_NAME: string } & (
   | {
       // this is used to be checked if the current job is in a CI environment
       CI: undefined
+      CI_PROJECT_DIR: undefined
     }
   | {
       CI: 'true'
       CI_PROJECT_PATH: string
       CI_SERVER_URL: string
+      CI_PROJECT_DIR: string
     }
 )