Changelog Generator

This skill transforms technical git commits into polished, user-friendly changelogs that your customers and users will actually understand and appreciate.

When to Use This Skill

• Preparing release notes for a new version
• Creating weekly or monthly product update summaries
• Documenting changes for customers
• Writing changelog entries for app store submissions
• Generating update notifications
• Creating internal release documentation
• Maintaining a public changelog/product updates page

What This Skill Does

1. Scans Git History: Analyzes commits from a specific time period or between versions
2. Categorizes Changes: Groups commits into logical categories (features, improvements, bug fixes, breaking changes, security)
3. Translates Technical → User-Friendly: Converts developer commits into customer language
4. Formats Professionally: Creates clean, structured changelog entries
5. Filters Noise: Excludes internal commits (refactoring, tests, etc.)
6. Follows Best Practices: Applies changelog guidelines and your brand voice

How to Use

Basic Usage

From your project repository:

Create a changelog from commits since last release

Generate changelog for all commits from the past week

Create release notes for version 2.5.0

With Specific Date Range

Create a changelog for all commits between March 1 and March 15

With Custom Guidelines

Create a changelog for commits since v2.4.0, using my changelog 
guidelines from CHANGELOG_STYLE.md

Instructions

When creating a changelog:

1. Analyze Git History

   • Use git log to retrieve commit messages for the specified time period
   • Default to commits since the last tag if no range specified
   • Look for commit conventions (Conventional Commits, semantic versioning tags)

2. Categorize Commits

   • ✨ New Features: New capabilities or functionality
   • 🔧 Improvements: Enhancements to existing features
   • 🐛 Bug Fixes: Corrections to defects
   • ⚠️ Breaking Changes: Changes that require user action
   • 🔒 Security: Security-related fixes or improvements
   • 📚 Documentation: Documentation updates (usually exclude from user-facing changelog)
   • 🧹 Internal: Refactoring, tests, build changes (exclude from user-facing changelog)

3. Transform Technical → User Language

   • Focus on what changed for the user, not how it was implemented
   • Use active voice and present tense
   • Explain the benefit, not the implementation
   • Replace technical jargon with plain language

   Examples:

   • ❌ "Refactored authentication service to use JWT tokens"

   • ✅ "Faster, more secure login experience"

   • ❌ "Added Redis caching layer to API endpoints"

   • ✅ "Pages load 50% faster"

   • ❌ "Implemented debounce on search input component"

   • ✅ "Search now responds instantly as you type"

4. Format the Changelog

   • Use clear section headers with emojis for visual scanning
   • Start with most impactful changes (features, breaking changes)
   • Use bold for the feature name, then explain in plain language
   • Keep entries concise (1-2 sentences)
   • Group related changes together

5. Apply Filters

   • Exclude commits marked as chore:, test:, docs:, refactor: (unless user-facing)
   • Skip merge commits and version bump commits
   • Combine multiple commits about the same feature into one entry
   • Remove developer-only changes

6. Add Context

   • Include the date or version number in the title
   • Add a brief introduction if it's a major release
   • Link to detailed documentation for breaking changes
   • Include migration guides when relevant

Example

User: "Create a changelog for commits from the past 7 days"

Output:

# Updates - Week of March 10, 2024

## ✨ New Features

- **Team Workspaces**: Create separate workspaces for different 
  projects. Invite team members and keep everything organized.

- **Keyboard Shortcuts**: Press ? to see all available shortcuts. 
  Navigate faster without touching your mouse.

## 🔧 Improvements

- **Faster Sync**: Files now sync 2x faster across devices
- **Better Search**: Search now includes file contents, not just titles

## 🐛 Fixes

- Fixed issue where large images wouldn't upload
- Resolved timezone confusion in scheduled posts
- Corrected notification badge count

Inspired by: Manik Aggarwal's use case from Lenny's Newsletter

Changelog Best Practices

Writing Style

• User-focused: Explain what changed for the user, not the code
• Benefit-oriented: Lead with why this matters
• Concise: Keep entries to 1-2 sentences
• Scannable: Use formatting to help users find what they care about

Structure

• Consistent categorization: Use the same categories every time
• Most important first: Features and breaking changes before bug fixes
• Chronological within categories: Newest changes first
• Visual hierarchy: Use headers, bold text, and emojis effectively

Content Guidelines

• Be specific: "Fixed login issues" → "Fixed issue where login failed with Google accounts"
• Quantify when possible: "Faster loading" → "Pages load 50% faster"
• Include context: Explain why changes were made for major updates
• Link to details: Reference documentation or migration guides for complex changes

Tips

• Run from your git repository root
• Specify date ranges for focused changelogs
• Use your CHANGELOG_STYLE.md for consistent formatting
• Review and adjust the generated changelog before publishing
• Save output directly to CHANGELOG.md

Related Use Cases

• Creating GitHub release notes
• Writing app store update descriptions
• Generating email updates for users
• Creating social media announcement posts

Example Transformations

Technical Commit → User-Friendly Entry

Technical Commit	User-Friendly Entry
"Add OAuth2 support for SSO integration"	"Single Sign-On: Log in with your company account"
"Optimize database queries with indexes"	"Dashboard loads 3x faster"
"Implement WebSocket connection for real-time updates"	"See changes instantly without refreshing"
"Add validation for email input fields"	"Helpful error messages when entering invalid emails"
"Fix memory leak in background sync worker"	"Improved app stability during long sessions"

Category Examples

✨ New Features

• New capabilities that didn't exist before
• Major additions to functionality
• New integrations or platform support

🔧 Improvements

• Performance enhancements
• UI/UX refinements
• Expanded existing functionality
• Better error messages

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Corrections to existing features
• Resolution of reported issues
• Fixes to edge cases

⚠️ Breaking Changes

• Changes requiring user action
• Removed features or APIs
• Changes to default behavior
• Migration steps required

🔒 Security

• Security patches
• Permission improvements
• Authentication enhancements
• Data protection updates