Changelog Manager

Quick Start

Create or update a changelog:

# Review recent commits
git log --oneline --since="2024-01-01"

# Check current version
cat package.json | grep version

Instructions

Step 1: Review Changes

Gather changes since last release:

# Get commits since last tag
git log $(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)..HEAD --oneline

# Or since specific date
git log --since="2024-01-01" --pretty=format:"%s"

Step 2: Categorize Changes

Group by type following Keep a Changelog:

Category	Description	Examples
Added	New features	New API endpoint, new command
Changed	Changes to existing	Updated algorithm, changed default
Deprecated	Soon-to-be removed	Old API marked deprecated
Removed	Removed features	Deleted unused function
Fixed	Bug fixes	Fixed crash, corrected calculation
Security	Security fixes	Patched vulnerability

Step 3: Format Entry

Follow Keep a Changelog format:

## [Version] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- New feature description
- Another new feature

### Changed
- Modified behavior description

### Fixed
- Bug fix description

Step 4: Update CHANGELOG.md

Add new entry at the top (after "Unreleased"):

# 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]

## [2.1.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- User authentication with JWT tokens
- Rate limiting for API endpoints

### Changed
- Updated database schema for better performance
- Improved error messages

### Fixed
- Fixed memory leak in background worker
- Corrected timezone handling in reports

## [2.0.0] - 2023-12-01

### Added
- Complete API rewrite
- GraphQL support

### Changed
- **BREAKING**: New authentication system

### Removed
- Legacy v1 API endpoints

Keep a Changelog Format

Version Header

## [Version] - YYYY-MM-DD

• Use semantic versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH)
• Include release date
• Link to release tag

Change Categories

Order of sections:

1. Added
2. Changed
3. Deprecated
4. Removed
5. Fixed
6. Security

Writing guidelines:

• Start with verb: "Added", "Fixed", "Updated"
• Be specific but concise
• Include issue/PR numbers if applicable
• Highlight breaking changes with BREAKING

Examples

Good entries:

### Added
- User profile page with avatar upload (#123)
- Export data to CSV functionality

### Fixed
- Fixed crash when uploading files over 10MB (#456)
- Corrected calculation in tax report

Bad entries:

### Added
- Stuff
- Various improvements

### Fixed
- Bug fixes

Semantic Versioning

Determine version bump:

Change Type	Version Bump	Example
Breaking change	MAJOR	1.0.0 → 2.0.0
New feature	MINOR	1.0.0 → 1.1.0
Bug fix	PATCH	1.0.0 → 1.0.1

Breaking changes:

• Removed functionality
• Changed API signatures
• Changed behavior that breaks existing code

Automation

Generate from Commits

If using conventional commits:

# Install
npm install -g conventional-changelog-cli

# Generate
conventional-changelog -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s

Pre-release Checklist

• All changes categorized
• Version number updated
• Release date added
• Breaking changes highlighted
• Links to issues/PRs included
• Unreleased section cleared