Changelog Writer

Read the git log and write a user-facing changelog entry in Keep a Changelog format. Use when the user wants to document what changed in a release, write release notes, or update their CHANGELOG.md.

hamzafarooq ad26216 1.4 KB Updated

File contents

Run git log --oneline to get the recent commits. Ask the user: "What version number is this release, and what date?"

Then produce a changelog entry:

[Version] — [Date]

Added

New features visible to users. One bullet per feature. Start each bullet with a verb (e.g. "Added ability to…", "New export option for…").

Changed

Behavior that changed for existing users. Flag anything that changes how something works, even if it's an improvement.

Fixed

Bugs that were resolved. Be specific — "Fixed crash when uploading files larger than 10MB" not "Fixed bugs."

Removed

Features or settings that are gone. If something was deprecated, this is where it moves to.

Security

Security fixes always get their own section, even if minor.


Rules:

  • Write for users, not engineers — no commit hashes, branch names, or internal ticket IDs
  • If a commit message is too technical to translate, ask what the user-facing impact was
  • One bullet per change — don't merge multiple changes into one line
  • Present tense: "Adds…" or past tense: "Added…" — pick one and be consistent

Append the entry to CHANGELOG.md if it exists. Create it if it doesn't.

hamzafarooq/claude-code-starter/tree/main/.claude/skills/changelog-writer commit ad2621604b

Frequently asked questions

npx skillmds@latest add hamzafarooq/changelog-writer