changelog

name	changelog
description	Post-release docs sync — regenerate CHANGELOG.md from git tags, install the post-tag GitHub Actions hook, and diagnose drift. Use when a release just landed and the CHANGELOG didn't update, when a project wants to adopt shipyard-managed release notes, or when CI flags "CHANGELOG.md out of date".

Post-release docs sync

Shipyard-owned changelog regeneration + post-tag commit-back. Opt-in via [release.changelog] + [release.post_tag_hook] in .shipyard/config.toml. Absent sections = no behavior change.

Quick reference

Task	Command
Scaffold config + warn about existing CHANGELOG	shipyard changelog init
Regenerate CHANGELOG.md	shipyard changelog regenerate
CI drift check	shipyard changelog check (exit 1 on drift)
Print release notes for one tag	shipyard changelog regenerate --release-notes v0.9.0
Render to stdout instead of writing	shipyard changelog regenerate --stdout
Install post-tag workflow	shipyard release-bot hook install
Run the hook locally (dry tag)	shipyard release-bot hook run --tag v0.9.0

When to run regen

• Hook didn't fire. A tag landed but CHANGELOG.md is still stale — either RELEASE_BOT_TOKEN is missing, the workflow was uninstalled, or the tag didn't match only_for_tag_pattern. Run shipyard changelog regenerate locally to catch up, then PR it in.
• Previewing the next release. Merge candidate landed in a PR branch. Run regen locally to see what the bullet will look like.
• CI drift gate. shipyard changelog check in a PR workflow lights up red if a human hand-edited the wrong block and the generator would have produced different output.

How drift is caught

shipyard changelog check rebuilds from scratch and compares to the file on disk. Any difference is "drift." Wire it into CI:

- name: Check CHANGELOG.md is in sync with tags
  run: shipyard changelog check

Exit codes: 0 clean, 1 drift, 2 config missing / tag missing.

Config reference — [release.changelog]

Field	Meaning	Default
enabled	Opt-in switch. Absent = no behavior change.	false
repo_url	GitHub repo URL used for PR links + release backlinks.	auto-detect
path	CHANGELOG path to overwrite.	CHANGELOG.md
tag_filter	Glob of tags to walk. Restricts further to strict PREFIX + vMAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.	v*
product	Name in the CHANGELOG header "All notable changes to {product}…".	project name
skip_commit_patterns	Subjects dropped from entries (regex list, case-insensitive).	chore/release bumps
title	H1 text.	Changelog
header_comment	Full <!-- … --> block emitted between intro and first entry. Default omits the block — keeps shipyard-identifying text out of the rendered file. Migrating off another generator? Set this to the previous header verbatim for byte-identity.	None

Config reference — [release.post_tag_hook]

Field	Meaning	Default
enabled	Opt-in switch.	false
command	Shell command the workflow runs. Swap for a custom script if you don't want shipyard's generator.	shipyard changelog regenerate
watch	Files to stage-and-commit if diffed after command.	["CHANGELOG.md"]
trailers	Commit trailers appended to the docs-sync commit.	three *: skip trailers
only_for_tag_pattern	Glob restricting which tags trigger sync.	v*
max_push_attempts	Rebase-retry attempts before giving up.	5
bot_identity.name / bot_identity.email	git committer identity for the bot commit.	shipyard-release-bot

Two capabilities, separately usable

• Hook only — point command at your own script, keep shipyard's rebase-retry + trailer plumbing.
• Generator only — run shipyard changelog regenerate from your own workflow if you don't want shipyard to own the committing side.

Workflow-file upgrades are explicit

The shipped .github/workflows/post-tag-sync.yml pins SHIPYARD_VERSION to whatever shipyard rendered it. Re-run shipyard release-bot hook install after upgrading the local CLI to refresh the pin — otherwise the workflow keeps installing the older version even after you upgrade. Pinning is intentional (consumer protection from drift); explicit re-install is the upgrade path.

The install step pipes to bash, not sh — dash (Ubuntu's /bin/sh) rejects set -o pipefail used by the install script. Tests guard this.

Skill-sync gotcha

Anything under src/changelog.rs, src/app/changelog_cmd.rs, or commands/changelog.md touches this skill's path map. Update this file in the same PR, or pass --skip-skill-update changelog --skill-reason "..." to shipyard pr (only when the change is genuinely mechanical).