Changelog Skill

Automate changelog generation from git commits and pull requests.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• On release or version bump
• When PR is merged
• When user requests changelog
• Before creating release
• When preparing release notes

Capabilities

1. Parse Git Commits

Extract information from commits:

• Parse commit messages following conventional commits format
• Extract type (feat, fix, docs, refactor, etc.)
• Extract scope (component/module)
• Extract description
• Extract breaking changes
• Extract issue references (#123)

2. Categorize Changes

Organize changes by category:

• Features (feat): New functionality
• Bug Fixes (fix): Bug fixes
• Documentation (docs): Documentation changes
• Refactoring (refactor): Code refactoring
• Performance (perf): Performance improvements
• Tests (test): Test additions/changes
• Chores (chore): Maintenance tasks
• Breaking Changes (BREAKING CHANGE): Breaking changes

3. Format Changelog Entries

Create formatted changelog entry:

• Use standard changelog format
• Group by category
• Include issue references
• Highlight breaking changes
• Include contributor credits if available

4. Update CHANGELOG.md

Update changelog file:

• Add new entry at top
• Follow existing format
• Include version number
• Include release date
• Maintain chronological order

Commit Message Format

Follows conventional commits (from .cursor/rules/git-workflow.mdc):

type(scope): subject

body (optional)

footer (optional)

Types:

• feat: New feature
• fix: Bug fix
• docs: Documentation
• style: Formatting
• refactor: Code refactoring
• test: Tests
• chore: Maintenance

Changelog Format

## [Version] - YYYY-MM-DD

### Added
- New feature description (#123)

### Changed
- Change description (#456)

### Fixed
- Bug fix description (#789)

### Breaking Changes
- Breaking change description (#999)

Workflow

1. Get Commits: Fetch commits since last release or tag
2. Parse Messages: Extract information from commit messages
3. Categorize: Group changes by type
4. Format: Generate formatted changelog entry
5. Update File: Add entry to CHANGELOG.md
6. Validate: Check format and completeness

Related Resources

Rules

• .cursor/rules/git-workflow.mdc – Commit message format
• .cursor/rules/documentation-standards.mdc – Documentation standards

Subagents

• .cursor/agents/changelog-generator.md – Changelog generation subagent

Commands

• /auto-changelog – Generate changelog automatically