Changelog Generator

Automatically generate CHANGELOG.md from git commit history following Keep a Changelog format. Groups changes by type, links commits, and maintains semantic versioning.

What This Skill Does

• Parses git commit history
• Groups changes by type (Added, Changed, Fixed, etc.)
• Follows Keep a Changelog format
• Links to commits and PRs
• Supports conventional commits
• Updates existing CHANGELOG.md

Instructions

Phase 1: Analyze Git History

# Get commits since last release
git log v1.0.0..HEAD --pretty=format:"%H|%s|%an|%ad" --date=short

# Or all commits if no releases
git log --pretty=format:"%H|%s|%an|%ad" --date=short

Phase 2: Parse Commit Messages

Detect commit types (Conventional Commits):

feat: Add user authentication → Added
fix: Resolve login bug → Fixed
docs: Update README → Documentation
refactor: Simplify auth logic → Changed
perf: Optimize database queries → Changed
test: Add unit tests → Testing
chore: Update dependencies → Maintenance

Phase 3: Generate CHANGELOG

Format (Keep a Changelog):

# Changelog

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

The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- User authentication with JWT tokens [#42](https://github.com/user/repo/pull/42)
- Password reset functionality [@johndoe](https://github.com/johndoe) [abc123](https://github.com/user/repo/commit/abc123)
- Two-factor authentication support

### Changed
- Improved error handling in API endpoints
- Updated UI components to use new design system
- Refactored database connection pooling

### Fixed
- Login button not working on mobile devices [#38](https://github.com/user/repo/issues/38)
- Memory leak in background job processor
- SQL injection vulnerability in search endpoint

### Security
- Updated dependencies with known vulnerabilities
- Implemented rate limiting on auth endpoints
- Added CSRF protection

## [1.2.0] - 2025-01-10

### Added
- Dark mode support
- Export data to CSV functionality

### Fixed
- Cache invalidation issue
- Timezone handling in date picker

## [1.1.0] - 2025-01-05

### Added
- User profile customization
- Email notifications

### Changed
- Improved performance of dashboard queries

## [1.0.0] - 2025-01-01

### Added
- Initial release
- Core functionality
- Basic user management
- API endpoints

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD
[1.2.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0
[1.1.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0
[1.0.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/releases/tag/v1.0.0

Change Categories

Added

• New features
• New functionality
• New endpoints

Changed

• Changes in existing functionality
• Refactoring
• Performance improvements
• UI/UX updates

Deprecated

• Soon-to-be removed features
• Marked for removal

Removed

• Removed features
• Deleted functionality

Fixed

• Bug fixes
• Issue resolutions
• Error corrections

Security

• Security patches
• Vulnerability fixes
• Security improvements

Conventional Commits Support

Automatically categorize based on prefix:

feat:     → Added
fix:      → Fixed
docs:     → Documentation
style:    → Changed
refactor: → Changed
perf:     → Changed
test:     → Testing
build:    → Build
ci:       → CI/CD
chore:    → Maintenance
revert:   → Reverted

Advanced Features

Link to Issues/PRs

### Fixed
- Login bug (#42)           → Links to issue
- API timeout (PR #45)      → Links to PR
- Memory leak [abc123]      → Links to commit

Breaking Changes

## [2.0.0] - 2025-01-15

### ⚠️ BREAKING CHANGES
- Removed support for Node.js 14
- Changed API response format for /users endpoint
- Renamed environment variable `API_KEY` to `APP_API_KEY`

### Migration Guide
1. Update Node.js to version 18 or higher
2. Update API client to handle new response format
3. Rename environment variables in .env file

Semantic Version Detection

Based on changes:

• Major (X.0.0): Breaking changes
• Minor (0.X.0): New features (backward compatible)
• Patch (0.0.X): Bug fixes only

Tool Requirements

• Bash: Execute git commands
• Write: Create/update CHANGELOG.md
• Read: Read existing CHANGELOG

Examples

Example 1: Generate from Scratch

User: "Generate CHANGELOG from git history"

Output:

# Changelog

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- 15 new features

### Fixed
- 8 bug fixes

### Changed
- 12 improvements

(Full detailed changelog)

Example 2: Update Existing

User: "Update CHANGELOG with latest commits"

Process:

1. Read existing CHANGELOG.md
2. Get commits since last version
3. Add to [Unreleased] section
4. Preserve existing entries

Example 3: Release Version

User: "Generate CHANGELOG for v2.0.0 release"

Process:

1. Move [Unreleased] to [2.0.0]
2. Add release date
3. Create new [Unreleased] section
4. Update comparison links

Best Practices

1. Conventional Commits: Use consistent commit message format
2. Detailed Messages: Write descriptive commit messages
3. Link Issues: Reference issues/PRs in commits
4. Regular Updates: Update CHANGELOG with each release
5. Breaking Changes: Always document breaking changes prominently

Changelog

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• Conventional Commits support
• Keep a Changelog format
• Issue/PR linking
• Breaking changes detection

Author

GLINCKER Team

• Repository: claude-code-marketplace