CHANGELOG Generator Skill

Purpose

This skill provides systematic guidance for generating CHANGELOG entries that follow conventional commits format and semantic versioning principles, ensuring clear and consistent change history documentation.

When to Use

• After feature implementation and documentation updates
• Need to document changes for users and developers
• Following conventional commits format
• Determining semantic version increments
• Creating release notes

CHANGELOG Generation Workflow

1. Analyze Changes

Objective: Understand what changed in this feature/fix.

Review commit history:

# View commits since last release/main
git log --oneline main..HEAD

# View detailed commits
git log main..HEAD

# View files changed
git diff --stat main..HEAD

# View actual changes
git diff main..HEAD

Identify change types:

• New features added
• Bug fixes implemented
• Documentation updates
• Performance improvements
• Security enhancements
• Breaking changes
• Deprecations

Review issue and PR:

• Read original issue description
• Review acceptance criteria
• Check PR description
• Note any breaking changes
• Identify security implications

Deliverable: Clear understanding of all changes

---

2. Determine Change Type

Objective: Classify the change according to conventional commits.

Conventional Commit Types:

Type	Description	Version Impact	Use When
feat	New feature	MINOR (0.X.0)	Adding new functionality
fix	Bug fix	PATCH (0.0.X)	Fixing a bug
docs	Documentation	PATCH (0.0.X)	Only docs changed
style	Code style	PATCH (0.0.X)	Formatting, whitespace
refactor	Code refactoring	PATCH (0.0.X)	Code restructure, no behavior change
perf	Performance	PATCH (0.0.X)	Performance improvements
test	Tests	PATCH (0.0.X)	Adding/updating tests
chore	Maintenance	PATCH (0.0.X)	Build, deps, configs
BREAKING CHANGE	Breaking change	MAJOR (X.0.0)	Incompatible API changes

Decision Tree:

Does it add new functionality?
  └─ Yes → `feat` (MINOR bump)
  └─ No  → Does it fix a bug?
      └─ Yes → `fix` (PATCH bump)
      └─ No  → Is it a breaking change?
          └─ Yes → `BREAKING CHANGE` (MAJOR bump)
          └─ No  → Choose appropriate type (PATCH bump)

Breaking Changes: A breaking change occurs when:

• Public API signature changes
• Required parameters added
• Return types changed
• Behavior changes in incompatible way
• Configuration format changes
• Removal of features

Examples:

feat: add user authentication system (#123)
fix: resolve memory leak in cache manager (#124)
docs: update API documentation for v2.0 (#125)
refactor: simplify database connection logic (#126)
perf: optimize query performance with indexing (#127)
BREAKING CHANGE: change authentication API (#128)

Deliverable: Identified change type and version impact

---

3. Calculate Semantic Version

Objective: Determine the next version number.

Semantic Versioning Format: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH

Version Increment Rules:

• MAJOR (X.0.0): Breaking changes, incompatible API
• MINOR (0.X.0): New features, backward compatible
• PATCH (0.0.X): Bug fixes, backward compatible

Read current version:

# From CHANGELOG.md
head -20 CHANGELOG.md

# From pyproject.toml (Python)
grep "^version" pyproject.toml

# From package.json (Node.js)
grep '"version"' package.json

# From __init__.py (Python)
grep "__version__" src/__init__.py

Calculate next version:

# Example calculation
current = "1.2.3"  # Current version

# For MAJOR bump (breaking change)
next = "2.0.0"

# For MINOR bump (new feature)
next = "1.3.0"

# For PATCH bump (bug fix)
next = "1.2.4"

Pre-release versions:

1.0.0-alpha.1  # Alpha release
1.0.0-beta.1   # Beta release
1.0.0-rc.1     # Release candidate

Deliverable: Next version number

---

4. Generate CHANGELOG Entry

Objective: Create properly formatted CHANGELOG entry.

Read existing CHANGELOG:

# Read CHANGELOG to understand format
Read CHANGELOG.md

CHANGELOG Format (Keep a Changelog):

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

## [Unreleased]

## [1.3.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- User authentication system with JWT tokens (#123)
- Password reset functionality (#125)
- Email verification for new accounts (#126)

### Changed
- Updated user profile API to include avatar URL (#127)
- Improved error messages for validation failures (#128)

### Fixed
- Memory leak in cache manager (#124)
- Race condition in concurrent requests (#129)

### Security
- Implemented rate limiting for login attempts (#130)
- Added CSRF protection for all forms (#131)

### Performance
- Optimized database queries with proper indexing (#132)
- Reduced API response time by 40% (#133)

### Deprecated
- `/api/v1/users` endpoint (use `/api/v2/users`) (#134)

### Removed
- Legacy authentication method (#135)

## [1.2.3] - 2024-01-01

### Fixed
- Critical bug in payment processing (#120)

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.3.0...HEAD
[1.3.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.3...v1.3.0
[1.2.3]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.2...v1.2.3

Entry Categories:

Category	Use For
Added	New features, new capabilities
Changed	Changes in existing functionality
Fixed	Bug fixes
Deprecated	Features marked for removal
Removed	Removed features
Security	Security improvements/fixes
Performance	Performance improvements

Writing Guidelines:

• Start with verb: "Add", "Fix", "Update", "Remove"
• Be specific and clear
• Include issue/PR reference (#number)
• Write from user perspective
• Group related changes
• Highlight breaking changes

Example Entries:

### Added
- User authentication system with JWT tokens and refresh token support (#123)
  - Supports email/password and OAuth providers
  - Includes session management and logout functionality
- Comprehensive test suite with 95% coverage (#125)

### Changed
- **BREAKING**: Authentication API now requires `Authorization` header instead of query parameter (#126)
- Database schema updated to support user roles (#127)

### Fixed
- Memory leak in cache manager causing high RAM usage (#124)
- Race condition in concurrent file uploads (#128)
- Incorrect error messages for validation failures (#129)

### Security
- Implemented rate limiting (100 req/min per IP) to prevent brute force attacks (#130)
- Added input sanitization to prevent XSS attacks (#131)
- Updated dependencies to fix security vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-1234) (#132)

### Performance
- Optimized database queries with proper indexing, reducing query time by 60% (#133)
- Implemented Redis caching for frequently accessed data (#134)
- Reduced API response time from 500ms to 200ms average (#135)

Deliverable: CHANGELOG entry content

---

5. Update CHANGELOG.md

Objective: Insert new entry into CHANGELOG.md.

Process:

1. Read current CHANGELOG.md
2. Find insertion point (after "## [Unreleased]" or at top)
3. Insert new version entry
4. Update comparison links at bottom
5. Verify formatting

Update CHANGELOG.md:

# Changelog

## [Unreleased]

## [1.3.0] - 2024-01-15  ← NEW ENTRY HERE

### Added
- Your new features

### Fixed
- Your bug fixes

## [1.2.3] - 2024-01-01  ← Previous entry

### Fixed
- Previous fixes

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.3.0...HEAD  ← Update this
[1.3.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.3...v1.3.0  ← Add this
[1.2.3]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.2...v1.2.3

Use Edit tool:

# Read the file first
Read CHANGELOG.md

# Then edit to insert new entry
Edit CHANGELOG.md
old_string: "## [Unreleased]\n\n## [1.2.3]"
new_string: "## [Unreleased]\n\n## [1.3.0] - 2024-01-15\n\n### Added\n- Feature description (#123)\n\n## [1.2.3]"

Deliverable: Updated CHANGELOG.md file

---

6. Update Version Numbers

Objective: Update version in all relevant files.

Files to update:

pyproject.toml (Python)

[project]
name = "project-name"
version = "1.3.0"  # Update this

init.py (Python)

"""Package initialization."""

__version__ = "1.3.0"  # Update this
__author__ = "Author Name"

package.json (Node.js)

{
  "name": "package-name",
  "version": "1.3.0",  // Update this
  "description": "Package description"
}

setup.py (Python legacy)

setup(
    name="package-name",
    version="1.3.0",  # Update this
    ...
)

Update process:

# Find all files with version numbers
Grep pattern="version.*=.*[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+"

# Update each file
Edit pyproject.toml
old_string: 'version = "1.2.3"'
new_string: 'version = "1.3.0"'

Edit src/__init__.py
old_string: '__version__ = "1.2.3"'
new_string: '__version__ = "1.3.0"'

Deliverable: Version numbers updated in all files

---

7. Verify CHANGELOG Quality

Objective: Ensure CHANGELOG meets quality standards.

Quality Checklist:

• Version number correct (semantic versioning)
• Date is today's date (YYYY-MM-DD format)
• All changes categorized correctly
• Each entry has issue/PR reference
• Entries written from user perspective
• Breaking changes clearly marked
• Security fixes highlighted
• No typos or grammar errors
• Markdown formatted correctly
• Comparison links updated
• Consistent with previous entries

Review Examples:

Good Entry:

### Added
- User authentication system with JWT and OAuth support (#123)
- Password reset flow with email verification (#125)

✅ Clear, specific, includes references

Bad Entry:

### Added
- Authentication stuff
- Password thing

❌ Vague, no references, not informative

Good Breaking Change:

### Changed
- **BREAKING**: Authentication API now requires `Authorization: Bearer <token>` header instead of `?token=` query parameter (#126)
  - Migration: Update client code to send token in header
  - Old method will be removed in v2.0.0

✅ Clearly marked, explains change, provides migration path

Bad Breaking Change:

### Changed
- Auth API changed (#126)

❌ Not marked as breaking, no details, no migration help

Deliverable: Quality-verified CHANGELOG entry

---

CHANGELOG Best Practices

Writing Style

DO:

• ✅ Use clear, descriptive language
• ✅ Write from user perspective
• ✅ Be specific about what changed
• ✅ Include issue/PR references
• ✅ Group related changes
• ✅ Highlight breaking changes
• ✅ Explain security fixes
• ✅ Note performance improvements

DON'T:

• ❌ Use vague descriptions
• ❌ Write from developer perspective only
• ❌ Skip issue references
• ❌ Hide breaking changes
• ❌ Use technical jargon unnecessarily
• ❌ Forget to categorize changes

Version Numbering

DO:

• ✅ Follow semantic versioning strictly
• ✅ Increment MAJOR for breaking changes
• ✅ Increment MINOR for new features
• ✅ Increment PATCH for bug fixes
• ✅ Use pre-release versions (alpha, beta, rc)

DON'T:

• ❌ Use arbitrary version numbers
• ❌ Skip versions
• ❌ Use wrong version format
• ❌ Forget to update all version files

Change Categorization

Added: New features that users can now use

### Added
- Dark mode toggle in settings (#123)
- Export data to CSV functionality (#124)

Changed: Modifications to existing features

### Changed
- Improved search performance by 50% (#125)
- Updated UI layout for better mobile experience (#126)

Fixed: Bug fixes that users will notice

### Fixed
- Crash when opening large files (#127)
- Incorrect calculation in reports (#128)

Deprecated: Features marked for future removal

### Deprecated
- Legacy API endpoints (use v2 API) (#129)
  - Will be removed in version 3.0.0

Removed: Features that have been deleted

### Removed
- Support for Internet Explorer 11 (#130)

Security: Security improvements or fixes

### Security
- Fixed XSS vulnerability in comment system (CVE-2024-1234) (#131)
- Added rate limiting to prevent brute force attacks (#132)

Performance: Performance improvements

### Performance
- Reduced page load time by 40% through lazy loading (#133)
- Optimized database queries for reports (#134)

---

Examples

Example 1: New Feature

Scenario: Added user authentication system

Change Type: feat Version: 1.0.0 → 1.1.0 (MINOR bump)

CHANGELOG Entry:

## [1.1.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- User authentication system with email/password and OAuth support (#123)
  - JWT-based authentication with refresh tokens
  - Session management with configurable timeout
  - Password reset flow with email verification
- User profile management interface (#125)
- Role-based access control (RBAC) system (#126)

### Security
- Implemented bcrypt password hashing (#124)
- Added rate limiting for login attempts (5 per minute) (#127)
- CSRF protection for all authenticated endpoints (#128)

[1.1.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.0.0...v1.1.0

---

Example 2: Bug Fix

Scenario: Fixed memory leak

Change Type: fix Version: 1.1.0 → 1.1.1 (PATCH bump)

CHANGELOG Entry:

## [1.1.1] - 2024-01-16

### Fixed
- Memory leak in cache manager causing gradual RAM increase (#129)
- Race condition in concurrent file uploads (#130)
- Incorrect timezone handling in date filters (#131)

[1.1.1]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.1.1

---

Example 3: Breaking Change

Scenario: Changed authentication API

Change Type: BREAKING CHANGE Version: 1.1.1 → 2.0.0 (MAJOR bump)

CHANGELOG Entry:

## [2.0.0] - 2024-01-20

### Changed
- **BREAKING**: Authentication API now requires Bearer token in Authorization header (#132)
  - **Before**: `GET /api/resource?token=xxx`
  - **After**: `GET /api/resource` with `Authorization: Bearer xxx` header
  - **Migration**: Update all API clients to send token in header
  - Query parameter authentication will be removed in this version

- **BREAKING**: User model now requires email verification (#133)
  - All existing users marked as verified
  - New registrations require email confirmation
  - **Migration**: No action needed for existing users

### Added
- Improved token security with short-lived access tokens (#134)
- Automatic token refresh mechanism (#135)

### Deprecated
- `/auth/login-legacy` endpoint (use `/auth/login`) (#136)
  - Will be removed in v3.0.0

[2.0.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.1...v2.0.0

---

Supporting Resources

References

• Keep a Changelog
• Semantic Versioning
• Conventional Commits

Tools

# View git log
git log --oneline --graph --all

# View changes since tag
git log v1.0.0..HEAD

# View files changed
git diff --stat main..HEAD

# Create git tag
git tag -a v1.1.0 -m "Release version 1.1.0"
git push origin v1.1.0

---

Integration with Deployment Flow

Input: Completed feature implementation and documentation Process: Systematic CHANGELOG generation following conventions Output: Updated CHANGELOG.md with proper versioning Next Step: PR creation with CHANGELOG included

---

Complete Workflow Example

# 1. Review changes
git log --oneline main..HEAD
git diff --stat main..HEAD

# 2. Determine change type
# Decision: New feature → feat → MINOR bump

# 3. Calculate next version
# Current: 1.2.3
# Next: 1.3.0 (MINOR bump for new feature)

# 4. Read current CHANGELOG
Read CHANGELOG.md

# 5. Generate entry content
# Write comprehensive entry with all changes

# 6. Update CHANGELOG.md
Edit CHANGELOG.md
# Insert new version section

# 7. Update version files
Edit pyproject.toml
# Change version to 1.3.0

Edit src/__init__.py
# Change __version__ to "1.3.0"

# 8. Verify quality
# Review entry for completeness and clarity

# 9. Commit
git add CHANGELOG.md pyproject.toml src/__init__.py
git commit -m "chore: update CHANGELOG for v1.3.0"

---

Quality Standards

CHANGELOG is complete when:

• Version number follows semantic versioning
• All changes categorized correctly
• Each entry has issue/PR reference
• Breaking changes clearly marked
• Security fixes highlighted
• User perspective maintained
• Markdown properly formatted
• Version files updated
• Comparison links added
• No typos or errors