Changelog

Changelog

References: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/, https://semver.org/, https://pvp.haskell.org/.

This skill maintains a hand-curated KAC. It detects auto-managed setups and steps aside; it never proposes adopting tooling. Cutting a release (tagging, version-file edits) is out of scope — bootstrap and review-against-commits only.

Defer to auto-tooling

If any are present the changelog is auto-managed — surface the detection and stop unless the user overrides:

• .changeset/ — changesets
• .release-please-manifest.json / release-please-config.json — release-please
• cliff.toml / .cliff.toml — git-cliff
• package.json "release" / "semantic-release", or .releaserc* / release.config.* — semantic-release
• pyproject.toml [tool.towncrier], or newsfragments/ — towncrier

Treat any clearly auto-managed CHANGELOG the same way.

What to include

Entries describe changes visible to consumers of the deliverable — users of the library / CLI / service, not contributors to the repo.

Include: public API changes (additions, removals, renames, signatures), observable behavior changes (output, errors, defaults), user-facing bug fixes, perceptible performance changes, security fixes, breaking deprecations, and supported-platform / runtime / dependency changes users must adapt to.

Skip: typos, comment-only changes, internal refactors, test changes, build/CI tweaks, dependency bumps users don't perceive, doc fixes (unless docs are the deliverable), and fixes for bugs no released version exhibited.

The test: "would a user of this project notice or care?" If no, skip.

Ruling-out heuristic: if removing the entry would leave the eventual release notes equally accurate, it doesn't belong. This catches both the user-impact failures above and pre-release deltas-of-deltas (see Pre-first-release mode).

Pre-first-release mode

Detect: git tag is empty AND no version sections appear below [Unreleased]. The project has never shipped — surface this explicitly and switch behavior.

Pre-first-release entries are not deltas; they're the inaugural feature set. Collapse to a single ### Added bucket — every change is "added" from a future user's perspective. Don't author Changed / Removed / Fixed / Deprecated / Security entries: they describe deltas no user will witness. Fold runtime, dependency, or platform requirements into the matching Added line (e.g. "CLI tool, requires Node.js 20+" — not a separate Changed line).

Pivot when the first release lands (v0.1.0, or PVP equivalent): subsequent [Unreleased] sections split by bucket because they're now deltas against a shipped artifact. Spell this out at bootstrap so the future cutover is expected.

Format invariants

• ## [Unreleased] at the top; releases below as ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD, newest first.
• Section order (post-first-release): Added → Changed → Deprecated → Removed → Fixed → Security. Omit empty sections unless the file already keeps them. Don't pre-seed empty subsection headers — add a header only when its first entry lands. Pre-first-release uses ### Added only.
• Comparison links at the bottom ([X.Y.Z]: https://.../compare/...).
• Released versions are immutable. If a PR merged after its target tag, move the entry from the released section back to [Unreleased] rather than editing the released section.

Versioning

Default: semver 2.0.0 — MAJOR breaking, MINOR additions, PATCH fixes.

Haskell (any of *.cabal, cabal.project, stack.yaml, package.yaml present): PVP A.B.C.D. Both A and B together form the major version — a bump in either means breaking change. C is for API additions. D is maintainer-defined, typically non-API patches. The leading A is the "epoch" — discretionary, used for major directional shifts and documented in the PVP FAQ as a recognized convention.

Bootstrap names the scheme in the seeded header so future review classifications stay consistent. The skill does not perform bumps.

Evidence

Source entries from the repository, not invention:

• git status --short, git diff, git diff --cached — pending changes.
• git log --oneline <last-tag>..HEAD — commits since the last release.
• Existing CHANGELOG.md headings and link style.

If a change is real and user-visible but its KAC category isn't clear from the diff, mark TBD (owner needed) instead of guessing.

Modes

Bootstrap (no CHANGELOG.md): seed a minimal KAC 1.1.0 skeleton — ## [Unreleased], a header link to keepachangelog.com, and a note naming the versioning scheme (semver or PVP). No empty subsection headers under [Unreleased]. If pre-first-release (no git tags), note in the seed that entries collect under a single ### Added until the first release cuts. Optionally backfill ## [X.Y.Z] sections from existing git tags — ask first, never unsolicited. Do not propose adopting tooling.

Review (CHANGELOG exists): walk commits since the last release tag (or since the last [Unreleased] update), apply the user-impact filter and the ruling-out heuristic, classify each kept change, and update [Unreleased]. Pre-first-release: single ### Added bucket, fold runtime/dependency requirements into their feature lines. Post-first-release: classify into one of the six KAC sections. Used both during work as discoveries land and at release-prep time.

Procedure

1. Detect auto-tooling. If present, surface and stop unless overridden.
2. Determine versioning scheme (PVP if Haskell, else semver).
3. Detect pre-first-release: git tag empty AND no version sections below [Unreleased]. Surface the state; it changes step 6.
4. Pick the mode: bootstrap / review.
5. Walk evidence; apply the user-impact filter and ruling-out heuristic; drop anything that fails.
6. Map kept changes:
   • Pre-first-release: single ### Added bucket; fold dependency / platform requirements into their feature line.
   • Post-first-release: classify into Added / Changed / Deprecated / Removed / Fixed / Security; create section headers only when populated.
7. Verify: section order preserved, no empty subsection headers, no released-version mutation, no fabricated entries, no skipped-category items present.