Changelog Generator

This util allows you to generate changelog entries without causing merge conflicts.

Getting started

Setup environment

Go into the changelog folder and run the following commands

Create virtual environment

python3 -m venv venv

Activate environment

source venv/bin/activate

Install dependencies

python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Add a new entry

python3 ./src/changelog.py add

The command will ask you for the required information to create a new changelog entry.

The entry will then be added to the unreleased folder as a .json file.

You can edit any .json file directly as well, the commands only exist to simplify your workflow.

Make a release

python3 ./src/changelog.py release <name-of-the-release>

The command will do the following:

1. Move all log entries from unreleased to the new release folder
2. Add a meta entry to the releases.json file
3. Generate a new changelog.md

After you made a release you can move the changelog.md file to the root of the project.

Additional commands

Purge

python3 ./src/changelog.py purge

This command will delete:

• generated changelog.md
• entries directory
• releases.json

Be careful when running purge since it will delete these files permanently!

Generate

python3 ./src/changelog.py generate

This command will generate a new changelog.md file without making a new release.

FAQ

Why do we need this tool?

Before we used this tool we just added changelog entries manually to the changelog.md which lead to us having regular merge conflicts when multiple people would add a log of the same type during the same release cycle. Those conflicts were annoying and ate up pipeline minutes.

Can you edit the logs manually?

Yes, every log file and any meta files are editable and can be edited if a mistake was made during the generation process.

Can you edit the changelog.md file manually?

No. The changelog.md file is generated automatically and should never be edited directly. Any change you make to the file will be deleted when it's regenerated.

What determines the order of the releases in the changelog?

The order is determined by the order of the releases inside releases.json. If you wish to change the order you will have to move the release inside the releases array to the desired position.

Should I commit my changelog entries?

Yes, every changelog entry should be committed as part of your MR.

Can I add bullet points to my entry?

Yes, you can. If you need to add bullet points for when new templates are created for example, you can do so by adding your bullet point strings to the bullet_points list of a changelog entry.

You can only do this by directly editing the .json file at the moment since it's a fringe use case and wouldn't make sense to add as a prompt when creating the entry via the CLI.

What should I do if I need to make changes to an existing release?

If you have generated a new release, and you notice afterwards that you meant to change one of the entries before making the release you can change the content of the changelog entry in the JSON file directly and then run python3 ./src/changelog.py generate