changelog

name	changelog
description	Use when generating or updating a CHANGELOG.md file, writing release notes, or summarizing changes between versions based on git commits or PR history.

Changelog

Format: Keep a Changelog

Follow keepachangelog.com conventions:

# Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

## [Unreleased]

## [1.2.0] - 2025-03-15

### Added
- New feature X for users who need Y

### Changed
- Behavior of Z now does W instead of V

### Deprecated
- `oldMethod()` — use `newMethod()` instead, will be removed in v2.0

### Removed
- Dropped support for Node 16

### Fixed
- Cart total incorrectly calculated when coupon applied (#123)

### Security
- Updated `express` to patch CVE-2024-XXXX

## [1.1.0] - 2025-02-01
...

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
[1.2.0]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0
[1.1.0]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0

Section Types

Section	What goes here
Added	New features
Changed	Changes to existing functionality
Deprecated	Soon-to-be removed features
Removed	Removed features
Fixed	Bug fixes
Security	Security vulnerability fixes

Writing Good Entries

• Write for users, not developers: "Users can now export reports as PDF" not "add PDF export handler"
• Group related changes into a single entry
• Reference issue/PR numbers: (#123) or (closes #123)
• For breaking changes, be explicit about migration: "Renamed config.timeout to config.timeoutMs — update your config files"

Generating from Git Commits

When given a range of commits, map Conventional Commits types to changelog sections:

Commit type	Changelog section
feat	Added
fix	Fixed
perf	Changed
refactor	Changed (only if user-visible)
docs	(skip unless user-facing docs)
style, test, ci, chore	(skip)
BREAKING CHANGE	Changed + note at top of version

Semantic Versioning

• BREAKING CHANGE → bump MAJOR (1.x.x → 2.0.0)
• feat → bump MINOR (x.1.x → x.2.0)
• fix, perf → bump PATCH (x.x.1 → x.x.2)
• docs, chore, style → no version bump

Unreleased Section

Always maintain an [Unreleased] section at the top for changes not yet in a release. When releasing, rename it to the new version with a date.