Automatically generate changelogs

Automatically generating changelogs can be accomplished through tools and practices that parse commit messages, track changes in your codebase, and format the output into human-readable changelog files. Here’s how you can set it up:

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1. Follow a Conventional Commit Format

To generate changelogs automatically, your commits should follow a structured format like Conventional Commits, such as:

pgsql
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feat: add user login functionality
fix: correct typo in dashboard title
chore: update dependencies

Common tags:

• feat: a new feature

• fix: a bug fix

• docs: documentation changes

• style: code style changes (formatting, missing semi colons, etc.)

• refactor: code refactoring

• test: adding or updating tests

• chore: maintenance tasks

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2. Use Changelog Generation Tools

Here are some popular tools that automate changelog creation:

a. standard-version (Node.js)

A powerful tool for versioning and changelog generation using Conventional Commits.

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npm install --save-dev standard-version

Usage:

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npx standard-version

Generates or updates a CHANGELOG.md and bumps version in package.json.

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b. conventional-changelog CLI

Install globally:

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npm install -g conventional-changelog-cli

Generate changelog:

bash
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conventional-changelog -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s

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c. release-it

Customizable release automation tool.

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npm install --save-dev release-it

Config in .release-it.json or package.json:

json
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{
  "plugins": {
    "@release-it/conventional-changelog": {
      "preset": "angular"
    }
  }
}

Run with:

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npx release-it

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d. GitHub Actions for Automation

You can automate changelog generation during CI/CD with GitHub Actions. Example workflow:

yaml
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name: Generate Changelog
on:
  push:
    tags:
      - 'v*'
jobs:
  changelog:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Generate Changelog
        run: npx conventional-changelog -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s

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3. Best Practices

• Commit discipline: Enforce Conventional Commits with a pre-commit hook (e.g., via Husky).

• Semantic versioning: Combine with tools that bump versions based on commit type (feat = minor, fix = patch).

• Review changelogs: Automatically generated logs should still be reviewed before publishing.

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4. Additional Tools

• Gitmoji + gitmoji-changelog: If using emoji-based commit messages.

• Keep a Changelog format: Some tools can format the output following keepachangelog.com.

• Semantic Release: Fully automates the release process with changelogs, versioning, and publishing.

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Summary

By adopting structured commit messages and using tools like standard-version or conventional-changelog, you can automate changelog generation efficiently. Integration with CI/CD pipelines ensures your changelogs remain consistent and up to date without manual effort.