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Changelog Automation

Free

Automate changelog generation for streamlined release processes.

by wshobson38.7k stars on wshobson/agents
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Updated Jul 18, 2026
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Free · Opens the source repo

What Changelog Automation does

Changelog Automation is a bash script designed to streamline the process of generating changelogs, release notes, and managing versioning according to established standards. By adhering to the Keep a Changelog format, this skill ensures that all notable changes to a project are documented consistently and clearly. This is particularly useful for teams looking to maintain high-quality documentation as part of their development workflows.

The skill supports automation in various aspects of release management, including the generation of release notes from commits and pull requests. It encourages the implementation of Conventional Commits, which standardizes commit message formats, making it easier to track changes and their implications. This is beneficial for teams that want to improve their release workflows and minimize manual errors when documenting changes.

In addition to generating changelogs, Changelog Automation provides best practices for writing clear commit messages and linking them to relevant issues. This not only enhances collaboration among team members but also aids in future reference when reviewing changes. The skill emphasizes the importance of automation in the release process, helping teams to reduce the burden of manual documentation and focus on delivering value through their software.

Overall, Changelog Automation is ideal for development teams that prioritize clear communication and documentation in their release processes. It is especially suited for projects that require regular updates and need to maintain a high standard of documentation to enhance user experience and transparency.

When to use it

Use this skill when setting up automated changelog generation or implementing Conventional Commits in your development workflow.

When not to use it

This skill may not be suitable for projects that do not require detailed changelogs or for teams that prefer manual documentation processes.

What you can build with it

Automating Release Notes

Use Changelog Automation to automatically generate release notes from your commits and pull requests, ensuring consistency and saving time.

Standardizing Commit Messages

Implement Conventional Commits with this skill to maintain a clear and consistent commit history, improving collaboration across your team.

Managing Versioning

Utilize the skill to manage semantic versioning effectively, making it easier to track changes and communicate updates to stakeholders.

How to install Changelog Automation

View source

1. Install with the skills CLI

npx skills add wshobson/agents/changelog-automation --agent claude-code

2. Or install it manually

Download the skill folder and drop it into ~/.claude/skills/ for all projects, or .claude/skills/ to scope it to one repo. Restart Claude Code so it picks up the new skill.

Anthropic's agentic coding CLI, and the reference implementation of Agent Skills. Drop a skill folder into ~/.claude/skills and Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches the skill's description. Claude Code docs

Inside SKILL.md

Written by wshobson

Changelog Automation

Patterns and tools for automating changelog generation, release notes, and version management following industry standards.

When to Use This Skill

  • Setting up automated changelog generation
  • Implementing Conventional Commits
  • Creating release note workflows
  • Standardizing commit message formats
  • Generating GitHub/GitLab release notes
  • Managing semantic versioning

Core Concepts

1. Keep a Changelog Format

# 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/1.1.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).

## Detailed patterns and worked examples

Detailed pattern documentation lives in `references/details.md`. Read that file when the navigation tier above is insufficient.

## Summary

This release introduces dark mode support and improves checkout performance
by 40%. It also includes important security updates.

## Highlights

### 🌙 Dark Mode

Users can now switch to dark mode from settings. The preference is
automatically saved and synced across devices.

### ⚡ Performance

- Checkout flow is 40% faster
- Reduced bundle size by 15%

## Breaking Changes

None in this release.

## Upgrade Guide

No special steps required. Standard deployment process applies.

## Known Issues

- Dark mode may flicker on initial load (fix scheduled for v2.1.1)

## Dependencies Updated

| Package | From    | To      | Reason                   |
| ------- | ------- | ------- | ------------------------ |
| react   | 18.2.0  | 18.3.0  | Performance improvements |
| lodash  | 4.17.20 | 4.17.21 | Security patch           |

Commit Message Examples

# Feature with scope
feat(auth): add OAuth2 support for Google login

# Bug fix with issue reference
fix(checkout): resolve race condition in payment processing

Closes #123

# Breaking change
feat(api)!: change user endpoint response format

BREAKING CHANGE: The user endpoint now returns `userId` instead of `id`.
Migration guide: Update all API consumers to use the new field name.

# Multiple paragraphs
fix(database): handle connection timeouts gracefully

Previously, connection timeouts would cause the entire request to fail
without retry. This change implements exponential backoff with up to
3 retries before failing.

The timeout threshold has been increased from 5s to 10s based on p99
latency analysis.

Fixes #456
Reviewed-by: @alice

Best Practices

Do's

  • Follow Conventional Commits - Enables automation
  • Write clear messages - Future you will thank you
  • Reference issues - Link commits to tickets
  • Use scopes consistently - Define team conventions
  • Automate releases - Reduce manual errors

Don'ts

  • Don't mix changes - One logical change per commit
  • Don't skip validation - Use commitlint
  • Don't manual edit - Generated changelogs only
  • Don't forget breaking changes - Mark with ! or footer
  • Don't ignore CI - Validate commits in pipeline

Frequently asked questions about Changelog Automation

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