changelog

name	changelog
description	Changelog style guide for writing RELEASE.md files. Use when creating or reviewing RELEASE.md, writing changelog entries, or preparing a PR that needs release notes.

Changelog Style Guide

This guide describes the style for writing RELEASE.md files for hegel-java. The style is modeled on the Hypothesis changelog.

Choosing RELEASE_TYPE

hegel-java is currently zerover (0.x.y), so the usual semver mapping does not apply. While we are pre-1.0:

• patch — Bug fixes, internal changes, and new features / non-breaking API additions. The default choice.
• minor — Breaking changes only. Any change that requires users to update their code (renamed/removed APIs, changed signatures, behavior changes that could break downstream tests) is a minor bump.
• major — Not used while we are zerover. Reserve for the eventual 1.0 and beyond.

If you find yourself reaching for minor because the change feels "big," check whether it actually breaks any caller. A large new feature that adds API surface without removing or changing existing behavior is still a patch.

Opening sentence pattern

Every entry should open with a sentence that signals the scope and nature of the change:

• Patch (fixes, improvements, new features): Start with "This patch ..."
• Minor (breaking changes): Start with "This release ..." and explain migration
• Tiny internal-only changes: A bare sentence is fine — "Internal refactoring." or "Clean up some internal code."

The opening verb should tell the reader what kind of change this is:

Change type	RELEASE_TYPE	Opening pattern
Bug fix	patch	"This patch fixes ..." or "Fix ..."
New feature	patch	"This patch adds ..."
Improvement	patch	"This patch improves ..."
Performance	patch	"This patch improves the performance of ..." or "Optimize ..."
Deprecation	minor	"This release deprecates ..."
Breaking change	minor	"This release changes ..." (then explain migration)
Internal-only	patch	"Internal refactoring." / "Refactor some internals." / "Clean up some internal code."

Describe the user impact, not the implementation

Bad: "Cache the encoded CBOR schema bytes in BasicGenerator instead of re-encoding them on every draw."

Good: "This patch improves the performance of value generation, particularly for tests that draw many values from the same generator. Generator schemas are now encoded once per generator rather than once per draw."

Bad: "Fixed a bug in TextGenerator."

Good: "This patch fixes Generators.text().minSize(n) occasionally producing strings shorter than n characters when the generated text contained codepoints outside the Basic Multilingual Plane."

Length calibration

• Internal-only changes: 1 sentence. ("Refactor some internals.")
• Simple bug fixes: 1-3 sentences. Describe the bug and what changed.
• New features: 1-2 short paragraphs. Describe what it does and why it's useful.
• Breaking changes / API changes: Multiple paragraphs. Include before/after code examples and migration guidance.

Don't pad entries. If a change can be described in one sentence, use one sentence.

Code examples

Include fenced code blocks for:

• New API features (show usage)
• Breaking changes (show before/after)
• Anything where seeing the code is clearer than describing it

Don't include code blocks for bug fixes or internal changes.

References

• Reference GitHub issues when relevant: ([#123](https://github.com/hegeldev/hegel-java/issues/123))
• Reference previous versions when building on prior work
• Reference related libraries/specs when relevant

Tone

• Third person, present tense for describing behavior
• Professional but conversational — be direct, not formal
• Honest about uncertainty: "This should improve performance", "We expect this to...", "In some cases this may..."
• It's okay to briefly explain why a change was made if the motivation isn't obvious

Things to avoid

• No emojis
• No bullet lists for single-topic entries (use them for multi-topic entries like API cleanups)
• No commit hashes or PR numbers in the text (issue numbers are fine)
• Don't describe the implementation when you can describe the effect
• Don't use vague language like "various improvements" — be specific about what changed
• Don't add marketing language or hype

Examples

Good patch (bug fix):

RELEASE_TYPE: patch

This patch fixes `Generators.fromRegex` failing to generate strings for patterns containing nested character-class negations.

Good patch (internal):

RELEASE_TYPE: patch

Internal refactoring of the CBOR encoding and decoding code.

Good patch (new feature):

RELEASE_TYPE: patch

This patch adds `Settings.suppressHealthCheck`, which disables individual health checks for a single test run.

This is useful when a health check is a false positive for your test — for example, a `filter` that is legitimately expensive but still finds enough valid inputs.

Good minor (breaking change):

RELEASE_TYPE: minor

This release changes `Generators.maps` to take an explicit key generator instead of always generating string keys.

Before:

```java
Generator<Map<String, Integer>> gen = Generators.maps(Generators.integers());
```

After:

```java
Generator<Map<String, Integer>> gen = Generators.maps(Generators.text(), Generators.integers());
```

To keep the previous behavior, pass `Generators.text()` as the key generator.