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Automate changelog generation from commits, PRs, and releases following Keep a Changelog format. Use when setting up release workflows, generating release notes, or standardizing commit conventions.
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| name | changelog-automation |
| description | Automate changelog generation from commits, PRs, and releases following Keep a Changelog format. Use when setting up release workflows, generating release notes, or standardizing commit conventions. |
Patterns and tools for automating changelog generation, release notes, and version management following industry standards.
# Changelog
All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
## [Unreleased]
### Added
- New feature X
## [1.2.0] - 2024-01-15
### Added
- User profile avatars
- Dark mode support
### Changed
- Improved loading performance by 40%
### Deprecated
- Old authentication API (use v2)
### Removed
- Legacy payment gateway
### Fixed
- Login timeout issue (#123)
### Security
- Updated dependencies for CVE-2024-1234
[Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
[1.2.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0
<type>[optional scope]: <description>
[optional body]
[optional footer(s)]
| Type | Description | Changelog Section |
|---|---|---|
feat | New feature | Added |
fix | Bug fix | Fixed |
docs | Documentation | (usually excluded) |
style | Formatting | (usually excluded) |
refactor | Code restructure | Changed |
perf | Performance | Changed |
test | Tests | (usually excluded) |
chore | Maintenance | (usually excluded) |
ci | CI changes | (usually excluded) |
build | Build system | (usually excluded) |
revert | Revert commit | Removed |
MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH
MAJOR: Breaking changes (feat! or BREAKING CHANGE)
MINOR: New features (feat)
PATCH: Bug fixes (fix)
# Install tools
npm install -D @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventional
npm install -D husky
npm install -D standard-version
# or
npm install -D semantic-release
# Setup commitlint
cat > commitlint.config.js << 'EOF'
module.exports = {
extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'],
rules: {
'type-enum': [
2,
'always',
[
'feat',
'fix',
'docs',
'style',
'refactor',
'perf',
'test',
'chore',
'ci',
'build',
'revert',
],
],
'subject-case': [2, 'never', ['start-case', 'pascal-case', 'upper-case']],
'subject-max-length': [2, 'always', 72],
},
};
EOF
# Setup husky
npx husky init
echo "npx --no -- commitlint --edit \$1" > .husky/commit-msg
// .versionrc.js
module.exports = {
types: [
{ type: "feat", section: "Features" },
{ type: "fix", section: "Bug Fixes" },
{ type: "perf", section: "Performance Improvements" },
{ type: "revert", section: "Reverts" },
{ type: "docs", section: "Documentation", hidden: true },
{ type: "style", section: "Styles", hidden: true },
{ type: "chore", section: "Miscellaneous", hidden: true },
{ type: "refactor", section: "Code Refactoring", hidden: true },
{ type: "test", section: "Tests", hidden: true },
{ type: "build", section: "Build System", hidden: true },
{ type: "ci", section: "CI/CD", hidden: true },
],
commitUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/commit/{{hash}}",
compareUrlFormat:
"{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/compare/{{previousTag}}...{{currentTag}}",
issueUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/issues/{{id}}",
userUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{user}}",
releaseCommitMessageFormat: "chore(release): {{currentTag}}",
scripts: {
prebump: 'echo "Running prebump"',
postbump: 'echo "Running postbump"',
prechangelog: 'echo "Running prechangelog"',
postchangelog: 'echo "Running postchangelog"',
},
};
// package.json scripts
{
"scripts": {
"release": "standard-version",
"release:minor": "standard-version --release-as minor",
"release:major": "standard-version --release-as major",
"release:patch": "standard-version --release-as patch",
"release:dry": "standard-version --dry-run"
}
}
// release.config.js
module.exports = {
branches: [
"main",
{ name: "beta", prerelease: true },
{ name: "alpha", prerelease: true },
],
plugins: [
"@semantic-release/commit-analyzer",
"@semantic-release/release-notes-generator",
[
"@semantic-release/changelog",
{
changelogFile: "CHANGELOG.md",
},
],
[
"@semantic-release/npm",
{
npmPublish: true,
},
],
[
"@semantic-release/github",
{
assets: ["dist/**/*.js", "dist/**/*.css"],
},
],
[
"@semantic-release/git",
{
assets: ["CHANGELOG.md", "package.json"],
message:
"chore(release): ${nextRelease.version} [skip ci]\n\n${nextRelease.notes}",
},
],
],
};
# .github/workflows/release.yml
name: Release
on:
push:
branches: [main]
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
release_type:
description: "Release type"
required: true
default: "patch"
type: choice
options:
- patch
- minor
- major
permissions:
contents: write
pull-requests: write
jobs:
release:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: "20"
cache: "npm"
- run: npm ci
- name: Configure Git
run: |
git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
- name: Run semantic-release
env:
GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}
run: npx semantic-release
# Alternative: manual release with standard-version
manual-release:
if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
fetch-depth: 0
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: "20"
- run: npm ci
- name: Configure Git
run: |
git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
- name: Bump version and generate changelog
run: npx standard-version --release-as ${{ inputs.release_type }}
- name: Push changes
run: git push --follow-tags origin main
- name: Create GitHub Release
uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
with:
tag_name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}
body_path: RELEASE_NOTES.md
generate_release_notes: true
# cliff.toml
[changelog]
header = """
# Changelog
All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
"""
body = """
{% if version %}\
## [{{ version | trim_start_matches(pat="v") }}] - {{ timestamp | date(format="%Y-%m-%d") }}
{% else %}\
## [Unreleased]
{% endif %}\
{% for group, commits in commits | group_by(attribute="group") %}
### {{ group | upper_first }}
{% for commit in commits %}
- {% if commit.scope %}**{{ commit.scope }}:** {% endif %}\
{{ commit.message | upper_first }}\
{% if commit.github.pr_number %} ([#{{ commit.github.pr_number }}](https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/{{ commit.github.pr_number }})){% endif %}\
{% endfor %}
{% endfor %}
"""
footer = """
{% for release in releases -%}
{% if release.version -%}
{% if release.previous.version -%}
[{{ release.version | trim_start_matches(pat="v") }}]: \
https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/{{ release.previous.version }}...{{ release.version }}
{% endif -%}
{% else -%}
[unreleased]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/{{ release.previous.version }}...HEAD
{% endif -%}
{% endfor %}
"""
trim = true
[git]
conventional_commits = true
filter_unconventional = true
split_commits = false
commit_parsers = [
{ message = "^feat", group = "Features" },
{ message = "^fix", group = "Bug Fixes" },
{ message = "^doc", group = "Documentation" },
{ message = "^perf", group = "Performance" },
{ message = "^refactor", group = "Refactoring" },
{ message = "^style", group = "Styling" },
{ message = "^test", group = "Testing" },
{ message = "^chore\\(release\\)", skip = true },
{ message = "^chore", group = "Miscellaneous" },
]
filter_commits = false
tag_pattern = "v[0-9]*"
skip_tags = ""
ignore_tags = ""
topo_order = false
sort_commits = "oldest"
[github]
owner = "owner"
repo = "repo"
# Generate changelog
git cliff -o CHANGELOG.md
# Generate for specific range
git cliff v1.0.0..v2.0.0 -o RELEASE_NOTES.md
# Preview without writing
git cliff --unreleased --dry-run
# pyproject.toml
[tool.commitizen]
name = "cz_conventional_commits"
version = "1.0.0"
version_files = [
"pyproject.toml:version",
"src/__init__.py:__version__",
]
tag_format = "v$version"
update_changelog_on_bump = true
changelog_incremental = true
changelog_start_rev = "v0.1.0"
[tool.commitizen.customize]
message_template = "{{change_type}}{% if scope %}({{scope}}){% endif %}: {{message}}"
schema = "<type>(<scope>): <subject>"
schema_pattern = "^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore)(\\(\\w+\\))?:\\s.*"
bump_pattern = "^(feat|fix|perf|refactor)"
bump_map = {"feat" = "MINOR", "fix" = "PATCH", "perf" = "PATCH", "refactor" = "PATCH"}
# Install
pip install commitizen
# Create commit interactively
cz commit
# Bump version and update changelog
cz bump --changelog
# Check commits
cz check --rev-range HEAD~5..HEAD
## What's Changed
### 🚀 Features
{{ range .Features }}
- {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}
{{ end }}
### 🐛 Bug Fixes
{{ range .Fixes }}
- {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}
{{ end }}
### 📚 Documentation
{{ range .Docs }}
- {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}
{{ end }}
### 🔧 Maintenance
{{ range .Chores }}
- {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}
{{ end }}
## New Contributors
{{ range .NewContributors }}
- @{{ .Username }} made their first contribution in #{{ .PR }}
{{ end }}
**Full Changelog**: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v{{ .Previous }}...v{{ .Current }}
# Release v2.1.0 - January 15, 2024
## Summary
This release introduces dark mode support and improves checkout performance
by 40%. It also includes important security updates.
## Highlights
### 🌙 Dark Mode
Users can now switch to dark mode from settings. The preference is
automatically saved and synced across devices.
### ⚡ Performance
- Checkout flow is 40% faster
- Reduced bundle size by 15%
## Breaking Changes
None in this release.
## Upgrade Guide
No special steps required. Standard deployment process applies.
## Known Issues
- Dark mode may flicker on initial load (fix scheduled for v2.1.1)
## Dependencies Updated
| Package | From | To | Reason |
| ------- | ------- | ------- | ------------------------ |
| react | 18.2.0 | 18.3.0 | Performance improvements |
| lodash | 4.17.20 | 4.17.21 | Security patch |
# Feature with scope
feat(auth): add OAuth2 support for Google login
# Bug fix with issue reference
fix(checkout): resolve race condition in payment processing
Closes #123
# Breaking change
feat(api)!: change user endpoint response format
BREAKING CHANGE: The user endpoint now returns `userId` instead of `id`.
Migration guide: Update all API consumers to use the new field name.
# Multiple paragraphs
fix(database): handle connection timeouts gracefully
Previously, connection timeouts would cause the entire request to fail
without retry. This change implements exponential backoff with up to
3 retries before failing.
The timeout threshold has been increased from 5s to 10s based on p99
latency analysis.
Fixes #456
Reviewed-by: @alice
! or footer