add-change

name	add-change
description	Create a bumpy bump file describing which packages changed and how, for version bumping and changelog generation. Use when the user wants to record a change, add a bump file, or prepare packages for release.
argument-hint	[description of changes]
allowed-tools	Read Grep Glob Bash Edit Write

Create a bumpy bump file

You are helping the user create a bumpy bump file — a markdown file in .bumpy/ that describes which packages changed and how. Bumpy uses these to bump versions and generate changelogs.

Steps

1. Gather context

First, understand what changed. Run these in parallel:

• git diff --stat — see which files changed
• git diff --cached --stat — see staged changes
• bumpy status --json — see if there are already pending bump files

If the user provided a description via $ARGUMENTS, use that as additional context for understanding the change.

Review the diff output to understand the scope of changes.

2. Identify affected packages

Determine which workspace packages are affected by the changes. Map changed files to their packages based on directory structure.

If unsure which packages exist, run:

bumpy status --packages 2>/dev/null || cat package.json

3. Determine bump levels

For each affected package, choose the appropriate bump level:

Level	When to use
major	Breaking changes: removed/renamed exports, changed function signatures, dropped support
minor	New features: added exports, new options, new functionality
patch	Bug fixes, internal refactors, documentation, dependency updates

Use none in a bump file to acknowledge a change without triggering a direct bump. Cascading bumps from other packages can still apply normally.

4. Write a clear summary

Write a concise summary for the CHANGELOG entry. Keep it short — ideally a single sentence, at most two. Good summaries:

• Start with a verb: "Added...", "Fixed...", "Refactored..."
• Focus on user-facing impact, not implementation details
• Are specific enough to be useful months later
• Avoid filler, jargon, or restating the bump level
• Don't list every file changed — describe the logical change

Bad: "Updated the authentication module to fix an issue where the token refresh mechanism was not properly handling expired refresh tokens, causing silent failures in the auth flow." Good: "Fixed token refresh failing silently on expired refresh tokens."

5. Create or update the bump file

Check if there are already bump files on this branch (from step 1's bumpy status). If one exists that covers the same logical change, update it in place by editing the .bumpy/<name>.md file directly — adjust the package list, bump levels, and summary to reflect the current state of the branch. Don't create a new bump file for every incremental change on the same branch.

If no relevant bump file exists yet, create one with the non-interactive CLI:

bumpy add \
  --packages "<pkg1>:<bump>,<pkg2>:<bump>" \
  --message "<summary>" \
  --name "<short-descriptive-name>"

The --name should be a short kebab-case slug describing the change (e.g., fix-auth-token-refresh, add-encryption-api).

Example

If the user fixed a bug in @myorg/auth that also required a type change in @myorg/types:

bumpy add \
  --packages "@myorg/auth:patch,@myorg/types:patch" \
  --message "Fixed token refresh failing silently when the refresh token has expired." \
  --name "fix-token-refresh"

Advanced: cascading bumps

If a change in a core package should explicitly cascade to dependents with specific bump levels, write the bump file directly instead of using the CLI:

cat > .bumpy/<name>.md << 'EOF'
---
"@myorg/core":
  bump: minor
  cascade:
    "@myorg/plugin-*": patch
    "@myorg/cli": minor
"@myorg/utils": patch
---

Added new encryption provider. Plugins need a patch bump for compatibility.
EOF

Advanced: omitting an entry from the changelog

If a change needs a version bump but shouldn't appear in the changelog (internal refactor, dependency tidy-up, etc.), add the $changelog: false reserved key. The bump still applies and cascades normally, but this file's body is omitted from the changelog and release notes — write the body anyway as a note for reviewers:

cat > .bumpy/<name>.md << 'EOF'
---
"@myorg/core": patch
$changelog: false
---

Internal refactor of the config loader — no user-facing change.
EOF

It's a file-level flag (a bump file has one shared body), so it applies to every package the file lists.

Important notes

• Only include packages that have actual code changes — bumpy handles dependency propagation automatically
• Never list a package configured with directBump: false (check .bumpy/_config.json packages and each package.json "bumpy" field) — such packages only receive propagated bumps; bump the package that drives them (e.g. their fixed-group member) instead
• If the user hasn't made any changes yet, ask what they're planning to change
• If the change doesn't affect any publishable packages (e.g., only root config files), suggest using bumpy add --empty to satisfy CI checks
• One bump file per logical change — don't combine unrelated changes
• Keep bump files up to date — as work continues on a branch, the bump file should reflect the final state of all changes, not just the first commit. If packages were added/removed or the bump level changed (e.g., a patch fix grew into a minor feature), update the existing bump file accordingly