| name | changelog-generator |
| description | Generate Keep a Changelog entries from git log, commit history, or PR list — grouped by type with semver guidance |
Changelog Generator Skill
When to activate
- Preparing a release and need to update CHANGELOG.md
- Turning a list of commits or PRs into human-readable release notes
- Auditing what changed between two versions
- Deciding the next semver bump based on the types of changes
When NOT to use
- Fully automated CI changelogs — use
conventional-changelog-cli or release-please instead
- Single-commit patches where the commit message is sufficient
- Internal development notes that don't need public changelog entries
Instructions
Keep a Changelog format
## [Unreleased]
## [1.2.0] - 2026-05-15
### Added
- New feature descriptions (for `feat` commits)
### Changed
- Behaviour changes that aren't breaking (for `refactor`, `perf`)
### Deprecated
- Features that will be removed in a future version
### Removed
- Features removed in this version
### Fixed
- Bug fix descriptions (for `fix` commits)
### Security
- Security fix descriptions
Semver guidance from commit types
| Commit type | Semver bump |
|---|
fix, perf, docs, style, test, chore | Patch (1.0.X) |
feat, refactor | Minor (1.X.0) |
Any commit with BREAKING CHANGE or ! (e.g. feat!:) | Major (X.0.0) |
Workflow
From git log:
git log v1.1.0..HEAD --oneline --no-merges
Paste the output and ask Claude to generate changelog entries.
From a range:
Generate CHANGELOG.md entries for version 1.3.0 from these commits:
feat(auth): add OAuth2 Google login
feat(api): add bulk export endpoint
fix(billing): correct proration calculation for mid-cycle upgrades
fix(ui): fix date picker z-index on Safari
perf(db): add index on orders.user_id
chore(deps): upgrade SQLAlchemy to 2.0.36
docs: update API reference for export endpoint
Suggest the semver bump from 1.2.0.
Claude will:
- Categorise each commit into Added / Changed / Fixed / Security
- Rewrite each entry in user-facing language (not developer jargon)
- Group related entries
- Strip internal-only entries (
chore, style, test) from the public changelog
- Recommend the semver bump and explain why
Writing style for entries
- User-facing: "Add Google login" not "feat(auth): add OAuth2 Google login provider via passport.js"
- Past tense for the changelog body: "Fixed date picker on Safari"
- Imperative is acceptable: "Fix date picker z-index on Safari"
- No implementation details — "Improve database query performance" not "Add btree index on orders.user_id"
- Include the user impact for breaking changes: "Breaking: API responses now paginate by default. Pass
?per_page=1000 to restore previous behaviour."
Example
Input commits:
feat(export): add CSV bulk export for orders
feat!: remove deprecated /v1/users endpoint (use /v2/users)
fix(checkout): prevent double-charge on payment retry
fix(ui): sidebar collapse animation on mobile
perf: cache user permissions in Redis
chore: upgrade Node.js to 22.x
test: add e2e tests for checkout flow
Expected output:
## [2.0.0] - 2026-05-15
### Added
- Bulk CSV export for orders via the new `/orders/export` endpoint
### Changed
- User permissions are now cached, reducing API response times by ~40ms on average
### Removed
- **Breaking:** The deprecated `/v1/users` endpoint has been removed. Use `/v2/users` instead.
### Fixed
- Double-charge prevented when a payment retry occurs at checkout
- Sidebar collapse animation now works correctly on mobile devices
---
**Semver bump:** 1.x.x → 2.0.0 (MAJOR — breaking removal of /v1/users endpoint)
