changelog

/changelog - Generate Changelog Entry

Create changelog entries following Keep a Changelog format.

Usage

/changelog                    # Generate entry for recent changes
/changelog v1.2.0             # Generate entry for specific version
/changelog --unreleased       # Add to Unreleased section

Process

1. Analyze Changes

Review commits since last release:

# Find last release tag
git describe --tags --abbrev=0

# List commits since last tag
git log v1.1.0..HEAD --oneline

# Or list commits since date
git log --since="2024-01-01" --oneline

2. Categorize Changes

Group changes into categories:

Category	Description
Added	New features
Changed	Changes in existing functionality
Deprecated	Soon-to-be removed features
Removed	Removed features
Fixed	Bug fixes
Security	Security vulnerability fixes

3. Generate Entry

Format following Keep a Changelog:

## [1.2.0] - 2026-01-28

### Added
- User authentication with OAuth support (#123)
- Dark mode theme option (#145)
- Export data to CSV functionality

### Changed
- Improved dashboard loading performance by 40%
- Updated dependencies to latest versions

### Fixed
- Cart total calculation rounding error (#156)
- Mobile navigation menu not closing (#162)

### Security
- Patched XSS vulnerability in comment field

[1.2.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0

Changelog File Structure

# 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/1.1.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- [New feature in development]

## [1.2.0] - 2026-01-28

### Added
- Feature X

### Fixed
- Bug Y

## [1.1.0] - 2026-01-15

### Added
- Feature Z

[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

Writing Good Entries

Do

• Write for users, not developers
• Be specific about what changed
• Include issue/PR numbers for reference
• Group related changes together
• Highlight breaking changes prominently

Don't

• Include internal refactoring details
• List every commit
• Use technical jargon without explanation
• Forget to update version links

Examples

Good Entries

### Added
- Email notifications for order status changes (#234)
- Support for multiple payment methods including Apple Pay

### Changed
- Dashboard now loads 3x faster due to lazy loading
- Minimum password length increased to 12 characters

### Fixed
- Users no longer logged out after password reset (#267)
- PDF export now includes all table columns (#271)

### Security
- Fixed SQL injection vulnerability in search (CVE-2026-1234)

Bad Entries

### Changed
- Updated code
- Fixed stuff
- Refactored components
- Merged PR #123

Automation

From Git Commits

If using conventional commits:

# Generate from conventional commits
git log v1.1.0..HEAD --pretty=format:"%s" | \
  grep -E "^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore):" | \
  sort

With Release Tools

# Using standard-version
npx standard-version

# Using release-please
# Configured via GitHub Actions

Semantic Versioning Reference

When to bump versions:

Change Type	Version Bump	Example
Breaking changes	Major (X.0.0)	1.0.0 → 2.0.0
New features	Minor (0.X.0)	1.0.0 → 1.1.0
Bug fixes	Patch (0.0.X)	1.0.0 → 1.0.1

Tips

• Update changelog with every PR (in Unreleased)
• Convert Unreleased to version on release
• Keep entries user-focused
• Link to full diff at bottom of file
• Consider audience: users vs developers