Generate Changelog

Generate changelog

Generate a changelog by calling bin/generate-changelog, then filling in the Changes and Fixes sections based on the commits in the generated changelog.

When to use

• The user asks for release notes or a changelog.

Procedure

1. Run the script to generate the base changelog:
   • bin/generate-changelog <arguments>
   • Default to bin/generate-changelog origin/production..master when no arguments are provided.
2. For each commit, read the full commit message, diff, and any linked pull requests or issues to fully understand the changes being made.
   • For pull requests: gh pr view <number> --json title,body
   • For issues: gh issue view <number> --json title,body
3. For each change, classify it as either a Change or a Fix and summarize it in one bullet point.
   • If a change is not user-visible, exclude it from the changelog.
4. Replace the bullets in the Changes and Fixes sections.
   • Keep the rest of the generated output structure unchanged (date, commit table, compare link).
5. Return the completed changelog in the requested format.

Classification guidelines

• Put user-visible features, enhancements, changes, and improvements under Changes.
• Put bug fixes under Fixes.
• Keep each item to one bullet point.
• Do not include internal changes that are not user-visible, such as refactors, code cleanup, test case fixes, or dependency updates.
• Do not include fixes for bugs that were introduced during development and were never released to production.
• Read each commit along with any linked issues or pull requests to fully understand the changes.

Writing guidelines

• Use clear user-facing wording, not internal implementation details.
• If no user-visible items exist for a section, leave the section header and omit bullets for that section.
• Refer to https://danbooru.donmai.us/forum_topics/17913 for examples of well-written changelogs.

Stop conditions

Stop and ask the user before continuing if:

• The commit range is missing or invalid.
• bin/generate-changelog fails.
• GitHub authentication is required for gh commands and is not available.
• A change is ambiguous and it's unclear whether it belongs in Changes, Fixes, or should be excluded entirely.

Completion checks

• Script was run successfully.
• Changes and Fixes bullets were replaced from commit-derived summaries.
• Non-user-visible/internal-only work was excluded.