Is it not bizarre that you're blocked on a syntax formatter to make a release? If that's what's happening, it sounds like prettier should be core and non-optional, the same way gofmt is.
The commenter was talking about a release of create-react-app, which is a starter-kit/scaffold. For such a project with the goals of being a packaged collection of tools/configurations, it seems prudent to only release if your set of tools present a consistent experience.
Many js developers see formatters as a sane default, and create-react-app is a layer in the ecosystem that incorporates it as a "core" piece in the way that you meant above.
