Keep a Changelog

Keep a Changelog

A changelog is written for one reader: a human, mid-upgrade, deciding what this release means for them. Every rule below serves that reader.

Format rules

• The file opens with the header prose from the skeleton in references/template.md — it names the format and the versioning scheme the file follows.
• ## [Unreleased] always sits first, collecting changes for the next release.
• Every released version has its own section, newest first: ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD (ISO 8601 date).
• Entries sit under ### Added / ### Changed / ### Deprecated / ### Removed / ### Fixed / ### Security, in that order, listing only the categories that have entries:
  • Added — new features.
  • Changed — changes in existing functionality.
  • Deprecated — features that still work but are scheduled for removal.
  • Removed — features removed in this release.
  • Fixed — bug fixes.
  • Security — vulnerability fixes.
• Version headings are markdown link references, resolved in a block at the foot of the file to compare URLs; the block covers every heading.
• A withdrawn release keeps its section, marked ## [1.0.1] - 2026-06-14 [YANKED], with a line saying why it was pulled.

Writing entries

An entry earns its place by being notable: the reader would notice the change or act on it. Internal refactors, CI tweaks, and invisible dependency bumps fall below the bar; security fixes are always above it.

• Write the change the reader experiences, in the reader's vocabulary: "Config paths may now be relative to the project root", not the commit title that produced it.
• Commits are raw material, never entries: translate each one, merge several into one notable change, split one that hides two.
• Deprecated is the reader's upgrade warning: name the replacement and, when known, the removal version.
• A breaking Changed entry says it breaks and names the migration step.

Create a changelog

1. Copy the skeleton from references/template.md into CHANGELOG.md.
2. List released versions from git tag (fall back to version history in the package manifest); create a dated section per version, newest first. For a history deeper than a handful of versions, ask the user how far back to backfill.
3. Fill each section from git log .., applying the Writing entries rules.
4. Write the link-reference block covering every heading.

Done when: the file matches the skeleton's shape, every version section has an ISO date and a resolving link reference, and ## [Unreleased] sits at the top.

Record changes

1. Establish the range to cover: from the newest change already recorded (the latest version's tag, or the last commit that touched CHANGELOG.md if Unreleased has entries) to HEAD.
2. Walk git log over that range commit by commit, judging each against the notable bar.
3. Write each notable change under its category in ## [Unreleased].

Done when: every commit in the range is accounted for — turned into an entry, folded into an existing entry, or judged below the notable bar.

Cut a release

1. Choose the version, unless the user named one: any Removed or breaking Changed entry → MAJOR; else any Added, Changed, or Deprecated entry → MINOR; else PATCH.
2. Rename ## [Unreleased] to ## [X.Y.Z] - and open a fresh, empty ## [Unreleased] above it.
3. Update the link-reference block: [Unreleased] compares ...HEAD; the new version compares ....

Done when: an empty Unreleased sits at the top, the new section carries today's date and every former Unreleased entry, and both updated references resolve.

Audit a changelog

1. Check every Format rule and every Writing entries rule against the file, top to bottom.
2. Cross-check git tag against version sections: a released version with no section is a violation — the reader mistakes the gap for "nothing changed".
3. Report violations grouped by rule, each with its concrete fix; apply the fixes when the request was to fix rather than to review.

Done when: every rule has been checked against every section, and each violation found is fixed or reported.