PaperclipOrg
Claude Agent Skill · by Wshobson

Changelog Automation

A practical automation toolkit that generates standardized changelogs from your commit history using Keep a Changelog format and Conventional Commits. You get c

Install
Terminal · npx
$npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill changelog-automation
Works with Paperclip

How Changelog Automation fits into a Paperclip company.

Changelog Automation drops into any Paperclip agent that handles this kind of work. Assign it to a specialist inside a pre-configured PaperclipOrg company and the skill becomes available on every heartbeat — no prompt engineering, no tool wiring.

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Pre-configured AI company — 18 agents, 18 skills, one-time purchase.

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SKILL.md572 lines
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---name: changelog-automationdescription: Automate changelog generation from commits, PRs, and releases following Keep a Changelog format. Use when setting up release workflows, generating release notes, or standardizing commit conventions.--- # 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 ```markdown# 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). ## [Unreleased] ### Added - New feature X ## [1.2.0] - 2024-01-15 ### Added - User profile avatars- Dark mode support ### Changed - Improved loading performance by 40% ### Deprecated - Old authentication API (use v2) ### Removed - Legacy payment gateway ### Fixed - Login timeout issue (#123) ### Security - Updated dependencies for CVE-2024-1234 [Unreleased]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.2.0...HEAD[1.2.0]: https://github.com/user/repo/compare/v1.1.0...v1.2.0``` ### 2. Conventional Commits ```<type>[optional scope]: <description> [optional body] [optional footer(s)]``` | Type       | Description      | Changelog Section  || ---------- | ---------------- | ------------------ || `feat`     | New feature      | Added              || `fix`      | Bug fix          | Fixed              || `docs`     | Documentation    | (usually excluded) || `style`    | Formatting       | (usually excluded) || `refactor` | Code restructure | Changed            || `perf`     | Performance      | Changed            || `test`     | Tests            | (usually excluded) || `chore`    | Maintenance      | (usually excluded) || `ci`       | CI changes       | (usually excluded) || `build`    | Build system     | (usually excluded) || `revert`   | Revert commit    | Removed            | ### 3. Semantic Versioning ```MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH MAJOR: Breaking changes (feat! or BREAKING CHANGE)MINOR: New features (feat)PATCH: Bug fixes (fix)``` ## Implementation ### Method 1: Conventional Changelog (Node.js) ```bash# Install toolsnpm install -D @commitlint/cli @commitlint/config-conventionalnpm install -D huskynpm install -D standard-version# ornpm install -D semantic-release # Setup commitlintcat > commitlint.config.js << 'EOF'module.exports = {  extends: ['@commitlint/config-conventional'],  rules: {    'type-enum': [      2,      'always',      [        'feat',        'fix',        'docs',        'style',        'refactor',        'perf',        'test',        'chore',        'ci',        'build',        'revert',      ],    ],    'subject-case': [2, 'never', ['start-case', 'pascal-case', 'upper-case']],    'subject-max-length': [2, 'always', 72],  },};EOF # Setup huskynpx husky initecho "npx --no -- commitlint --edit \$1" > .husky/commit-msg``` ### Method 2: standard-version Configuration ```javascript// .versionrc.jsmodule.exports = {  types: [    { type: "feat", section: "Features" },    { type: "fix", section: "Bug Fixes" },    { type: "perf", section: "Performance Improvements" },    { type: "revert", section: "Reverts" },    { type: "docs", section: "Documentation", hidden: true },    { type: "style", section: "Styles", hidden: true },    { type: "chore", section: "Miscellaneous", hidden: true },    { type: "refactor", section: "Code Refactoring", hidden: true },    { type: "test", section: "Tests", hidden: true },    { type: "build", section: "Build System", hidden: true },    { type: "ci", section: "CI/CD", hidden: true },  ],  commitUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/commit/{{hash}}",  compareUrlFormat:    "{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/compare/{{previousTag}}...{{currentTag}}",  issueUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{owner}}/{{repository}}/issues/{{id}}",  userUrlFormat: "{{host}}/{{user}}",  releaseCommitMessageFormat: "chore(release): {{currentTag}}",  scripts: {    prebump: 'echo "Running prebump"',    postbump: 'echo "Running postbump"',    prechangelog: 'echo "Running prechangelog"',    postchangelog: 'echo "Running postchangelog"',  },};``` ```json// package.json scripts{  "scripts": {    "release": "standard-version",    "release:minor": "standard-version --release-as minor",    "release:major": "standard-version --release-as major",    "release:patch": "standard-version --release-as patch",    "release:dry": "standard-version --dry-run"  }}``` ### Method 3: semantic-release (Full Automation) ```javascript// release.config.jsmodule.exports = {  branches: [    "main",    { name: "beta", prerelease: true },    { name: "alpha", prerelease: true },  ],  plugins: [    "@semantic-release/commit-analyzer",    "@semantic-release/release-notes-generator",    [      "@semantic-release/changelog",      {        changelogFile: "CHANGELOG.md",      },    ],    [      "@semantic-release/npm",      {        npmPublish: true,      },    ],    [      "@semantic-release/github",      {        assets: ["dist/**/*.js", "dist/**/*.css"],      },    ],    [      "@semantic-release/git",      {        assets: ["CHANGELOG.md", "package.json"],        message:          "chore(release): ${nextRelease.version} [skip ci]\n\n${nextRelease.notes}",      },    ],  ],};``` ### Method 4: GitHub Actions Workflow ```yaml# .github/workflows/release.ymlname: Release on:  push:    branches: [main]  workflow_dispatch:    inputs:      release_type:        description: "Release type"        required: true        default: "patch"        type: choice        options:          - patch          - minor          - major permissions:  contents: write  pull-requests: write jobs:  release:    runs-on: ubuntu-latest    steps:      - uses: actions/checkout@v4        with:          fetch-depth: 0          token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}       - uses: actions/setup-node@v4        with:          node-version: "20"          cache: "npm"       - run: npm ci       - name: Configure Git        run: |          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"       - name: Run semantic-release        env:          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}          NPM_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.NPM_TOKEN }}        run: npx semantic-release   # Alternative: manual release with standard-version  manual-release:    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'    runs-on: ubuntu-latest    steps:      - uses: actions/checkout@v4        with:          fetch-depth: 0       - uses: actions/setup-node@v4        with:          node-version: "20"       - run: npm ci       - name: Configure Git        run: |          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"       - name: Bump version and generate changelog        run: npx standard-version --release-as ${{ inputs.release_type }}       - name: Push changes        run: git push --follow-tags origin main       - name: Create GitHub Release        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1        with:          tag_name: ${{ steps.version.outputs.tag }}          body_path: RELEASE_NOTES.md          generate_release_notes: true``` ### Method 5: git-cliff (Rust-based, Fast) ```toml# cliff.toml[changelog]header = """# Changelog All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file. """body = """{% if version %}\    ## [{{ version | trim_start_matches(pat="v") }}] - {{ timestamp | date(format="%Y-%m-%d") }}{% else %}\    ## [Unreleased]{% endif %}\{% for group, commits in commits | group_by(attribute="group") %}    ### {{ group | upper_first }}    {% for commit in commits %}        - {% if commit.scope %}**{{ commit.scope }}:** {% endif %}\            {{ commit.message | upper_first }}\            {% if commit.github.pr_number %} ([#{{ commit.github.pr_number }}](https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/{{ commit.github.pr_number }})){% endif %}\    {% endfor %}{% endfor %}"""footer = """{% for release in releases -%}    {% if release.version -%}        {% if release.previous.version -%}            [{{ release.version | trim_start_matches(pat="v") }}]: \                https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/{{ release.previous.version }}...{{ release.version }}        {% endif -%}    {% else -%}        [unreleased]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/{{ release.previous.version }}...HEAD    {% endif -%}{% endfor %}"""trim = true [git]conventional_commits = truefilter_unconventional = truesplit_commits = falsecommit_parsers = [    { message = "^feat", group = "Features" },    { message = "^fix", group = "Bug Fixes" },    { message = "^doc", group = "Documentation" },    { message = "^perf", group = "Performance" },    { message = "^refactor", group = "Refactoring" },    { message = "^style", group = "Styling" },    { message = "^test", group = "Testing" },    { message = "^chore\\(release\\)", skip = true },    { message = "^chore", group = "Miscellaneous" },]filter_commits = falsetag_pattern = "v[0-9]*"skip_tags = ""ignore_tags = ""topo_order = falsesort_commits = "oldest" [github]owner = "owner"repo = "repo"``` ```bash# Generate changeloggit cliff -o CHANGELOG.md # Generate for specific rangegit cliff v1.0.0..v2.0.0 -o RELEASE_NOTES.md # Preview without writinggit cliff --unreleased --dry-run``` ### Method 6: Python (commitizen) ```toml# pyproject.toml[tool.commitizen]name = "cz_conventional_commits"version = "1.0.0"version_files = [    "pyproject.toml:version",    "src/__init__.py:__version__",]tag_format = "v$version"update_changelog_on_bump = truechangelog_incremental = truechangelog_start_rev = "v0.1.0" [tool.commitizen.customize]message_template = "{{change_type}}{% if scope %}({{scope}}){% endif %}: {{message}}"schema = "<type>(<scope>): <subject>"schema_pattern = "^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore)(\\(\\w+\\))?:\\s.*"bump_pattern = "^(feat|fix|perf|refactor)"bump_map = {"feat" = "MINOR", "fix" = "PATCH", "perf" = "PATCH", "refactor" = "PATCH"}``` ```bash# Installpip install commitizen # Create commit interactivelycz commit # Bump version and update changelogcz bump --changelog # Check commitscz check --rev-range HEAD~5..HEAD``` ## Release Notes Templates ### GitHub Release Template ```markdown## What's Changed ### 🚀 Features {{ range .Features }} - {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}  {{ end }} ### 🐛 Bug Fixes {{ range .Fixes }} - {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}  {{ end }} ### 📚 Documentation {{ range .Docs }} - {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}  {{ end }} ### 🔧 Maintenance {{ range .Chores }} - {{ .Title }} by @{{ .Author }} in #{{ .PR }}  {{ end }} ## New Contributors {{ range .NewContributors }} - @{{ .Username }} made their first contribution in #{{ .PR }}  {{ end }} **Full Changelog**: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v{{ .Previous }}...v{{ .Current }}``` ### Internal Release Notes ```markdown# Release v2.1.0 - January 15, 2024 ## Summary This release introduces dark mode support and improves checkout performanceby 40%. It also includes important security updates. ## Highlights ### 🌙 Dark Mode Users can now switch to dark mode from settings. The preference isautomatically 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 ```bash# Feature with scopefeat(auth): add OAuth2 support for Google login # Bug fix with issue referencefix(checkout): resolve race condition in payment processing Closes #123 # Breaking changefeat(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 paragraphsfix(database): handle connection timeouts gracefully Previously, connection timeouts would cause the entire request to failwithout retry. This change implements exponential backoff with up to3 retries before failing. The timeout threshold has been increased from 5s to 10s based on p99latency analysis. Fixes #456Reviewed-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