changelog-generator

name	changelog-generator
description	Automatically creates user-facing changelogs from git commits by analyzing commit history, categorizing changes, and transforming technical commits into clear, customer-friendly release notes. This skill should be used when preparing release notes, creating weekly or monthly product update summaries, or documenting changes for customers and users.

Changelog Generator

This skill transforms technical git commits into polished, user-friendly changelogs that customers and users will actually understand and appreciate.

Prerequisites

• Git: Required for reading commit history
• Repository access: Must be run from a git repository root
• Optional: Custom changelog style guide (CHANGELOG_STYLE.md)

When to Use This Skill

• Preparing release notes for a new version
• Creating weekly or monthly product update summaries
• Documenting changes for customers
• Writing changelog entries for app store submissions
• Generating update notifications
• Creating internal release documentation
• Maintaining a public changelog/product updates page

What This Skill Does

1. Scans Git History — Analyzes commits from a specific time period or between versions
2. Categorizes Changes — Groups commits into logical categories (features, improvements, bug fixes, breaking changes, security)
3. Translates Technical → User-Friendly — Converts developer commits into customer language
4. Formats Professionally — Creates clean, structured changelog entries
5. Filters Noise — Excludes internal commits (refactoring, tests, etc.)
6. Follows Best Practices — Applies changelog guidelines and brand voice

How to Use

Basic Usage

From your project repository:

Create a changelog from commits since last release

Generate changelog for all commits from the past week

Create release notes for version 2.5.0

With Specific Date Range

Create a changelog for all commits between March 1 and March 15

With Custom Guidelines

Create a changelog for commits since v2.4.0, using my changelog guidelines from CHANGELOG_STYLE.md

Process

Step 1: Gather Commits

Run the appropriate git command to collect commits:

# Commits since last tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline

# Commits from the past N days
git log --since="7 days ago" --oneline

# Commits between two versions
git log v2.4.0..v2.5.0 --oneline

# Full commit details
git log --since="7 days ago" --format="%H|%s|%an|%ad" --date=short

Step 2: Categorize Changes

Group each commit into one of these categories:

Category	Emoji	Include When
New Features	✨	New user-facing functionality
Improvements	🔧	Enhancements to existing features
Bug Fixes	🐛	Fixes for user-reported issues
Breaking Changes	⚠️	Changes that break backward compatibility
Security	🔒	Security-related fixes
Performance	⚡	Performance improvements
Deprecations	📦	Features being phased out

Step 3: Transform Technical → User-Friendly

For each commit, rewrite the technical description in user-friendly language:

Technical Commit	User-Friendly
feat: add pagination to /api/users	User Directory Pagination: Browse large user lists more easily with page-by-page navigation
fix: resolve null pointer in payment processor	Payment Processing Fix: Resolved issue where some payments would fail to process
refactor: migrate auth to OAuth2	(Exclude — internal change)
perf: optimize DB queries for dashboard	Faster Dashboard: Dashboard now loads 2x faster with optimized data queries

Filter out: internal refactoring, test updates, CI/CD changes, dependency bumps, code style fixes

Step 4: Format the Changelog

# What's New - [Version/Date Range]

## ✨ New Features

- **[Feature Name]**: [User-friendly description of what it does and why it matters]

## 🔧 Improvements

- **[Improved Feature]**: [What changed and the benefit to users]

## 🐛 Bug Fixes

- [Description of what was fixed in user terms]

## ⚠️ Breaking Changes

- [What changed and what users need to do differently]

## 🔒 Security

- [Security improvements made]

Step 5: Review and Refine

• Ensure all entries are in user-friendly language
• Verify no internal/technical jargon remains
• Check that categories are correct
• Remove any entries that don't affect users
• Ensure the tone matches your brand

Example

User: "Create a changelog for commits from the past 7 days"

Output:

# Updates - Week of March 10, 2024

## ✨ New Features

- **Team Workspaces**: Create separate workspaces for different projects. Invite team members and keep everything organized.

- **Keyboard Shortcuts**: Press ? to see all available shortcuts. Navigate faster without touching your mouse.

## 🔧 Improvements

- **Faster Sync**: Files now sync 2x faster across devices
- **Better Search**: Search now includes file contents, not just titles

## 🐛 Fixes

- Fixed issue where large images wouldn't upload
- Resolved timezone confusion in scheduled posts
- Corrected notification badge count

Tips

• Run from your git repository root
• Specify date ranges for focused changelogs
• Use your CHANGELOG_STYLE.md for consistent formatting
• Review and adjust the generated changelog before publishing
• Save output directly to CHANGELOG.md

Cline Workflow Notes

1. Install location: Copy this skill directory to .cline/skills/changelog-generator/ (project-level) or ~/.cline/skills/changelog-generator/ (global)
2. Activation: Cline will suggest this skill when you ask about release notes, changelogs, or version history
3. Progressive loading: Only metadata is loaded initially; full changelog patterns load via use_skill when needed