Changelog Tracker

Changelog Tracker Skill

This skill actively analyzes your git repository, examines uncommitted changes, and automatically updates documentation files (CHANGELOG.md and CLAUDE.md).

Execution Steps

When this skill is invoked, immediately execute the following actions:

1. Verify Git Repository

# Check if current directory is a git repository
git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree

If not a git repo, exit with message: "Not a git repository. This skill requires git."

2. Gather Change Information

Execute these commands in parallel:

# Get status of all files
git status --porcelain

# Get unstaged changes
git diff

# Get staged changes
git diff --cached

# Get list of modified files
git diff --name-only HEAD

# Get recent commits for context
git log --oneline -5

3. Read Current Documentation

Read these files (if they exist):

• CHANGELOG.md - to understand format and add new entries
• CLAUDE.md - to check if structural updates needed
• .gitignore - to understand project patterns

4. Analyze Changes

Based on the git diff output:

Categorize changes:

• New files → "Added"
• Modified files → "Changed" or "Fixed" (analyze diff content)
• Deleted files → "Removed"
• Build files (pom.xml, build.gradle, package.json) → May need CLAUDE.md update
• Config files → May need CLAUDE.md update

Filter out excluded changes:

• .idea/, .iml files
• .gitignore, .gitattributes
• *.md files (documentation only)
• Whitespace-only changes

Determine documentation needs:

• If substantive code changes exist → Update CHANGELOG.md
• If build/structure changes exist → Update CLAUDE.md

5. Update CHANGELOG.md

If CHANGELOG.md doesn't exist, create it:

# 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/).

## [Unreleased]

If it exists, find or create the ## [Unreleased] section.

Add entries under appropriate categories:

• Added
• Changed
• Deprecated
• Removed
• Fixed
• Security

Rules:

• Maximum 3 sentences per entry
• Start with action verb (Add, Fix, Change, Remove, etc.)
• Focus on WHAT changed and WHY
• One entry per logical change

Example:

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- Implement circular gesture navigation for tag selection. Optimized for small watch screens with touch-friendly hit areas.

### Fixed
- Resolve NullPointerException when database is empty on first launch. Added initialization checks in DataRepository.

6. Update CLAUDE.md (Conditional)

Only update if changes include:

• New build files or dependencies
• Project structure changes (new directories)
• New workflows or commands
• Architecture changes

Update relevant sections:

• Project Configuration
• Development Setup
• Project Structure
• Development Workflow

7. Stage Updated Files

git add CHANGELOG.md
git add CLAUDE.md  # only if modified

Verify with:

git status --porcelain

8. Report Results

Show the user:

• What files were analyzed
• What changes were detected
• What documentation was updated
• What entries were added to CHANGELOG.md
• What files are now staged

Implementation Notes

Use tools, not instructions:

• ✅ Execute Bash tool to run git commands
• ✅ Use Read tool to read existing documentation
• ✅ Use Edit tool to update files precisely
• ✅ Use Grep tool to search for patterns if needed
• ❌ Don't just tell the user to run commands

Be autonomous:

• Make decisions based on the actual changes seen
• Don't ask for permission for standard documentation updates
• Handle missing files gracefully
• Create CHANGELOG.md if it doesn't exist

Be accurate:

• Parse git diff output to understand actual changes
• Match existing CHANGELOG.md style and formatting
• Preserve existing content exactly
• Don't hallucinate changes

Quality Standards

Changelog Entries:

• Concise (≤3 sentences)
• Descriptive (explain what and why)
• Properly categorized
• Chronologically ordered (newest first in category)

CLAUDE.md Updates:

• Only when structurally necessary
• Maintain existing style
• Update specific sections, not entire file
• Keep accurate with code reality

Error Handling

If git commands fail:

• Report exact error
• Suggest resolution
• Don't continue with bad data

If files can't be read:

• Report specific file issue
• Continue with available data
• Create missing files if appropriate

If no changes detected:

• Report "No uncommitted changes found"
• Exit gracefully

Success Criteria

✅ Git repository verified ✅ All changes analyzed ✅ CHANGELOG.md updated with new entries ✅ CLAUDE.md updated if needed ✅ Documentation files staged ✅ User informed of updates