Keep a Changelog Format

This skill provides guidelines for writing and formatting changelogs following the Keep a Changelog specification.

Core Principles

1. Changelogs are for humans - Write for users, not machines
2. Every version gets a section - Including [Unreleased] for upcoming changes
3. Changes are grouped by type - Consistent categorization
4. Versions are linkable - Each version header links to comparison
5. Latest version comes first - Reverse chronological order
6. Release dates are shown - ISO format: YYYY-MM-DD

Change Categories

Use these categories in this order:

Category	Description	When to Use
Added	New features	New functionality users can now do
Changed	Changes in existing functionality	Behavior modifications, improvements
Deprecated	Soon-to-be removed features	Features marked for future removal
Removed	Removed features	Features that no longer exist
Fixed	Bug fixes	Corrections to existing functionality
Security	Security vulnerability fixes	Security-related changes

Category Guidelines

Added

• New user-facing features
• New API endpoints
• New configuration options
• New integrations

Changed

• Performance improvements
• UX/UI changes
• Default value changes
• Behavior modifications

Deprecated

• Features planned for removal
• APIs being replaced
• Include migration path when possible

Removed

• Breaking changes (removed functionality)
• Deleted APIs or features
• Always note what replaced it (if applicable)

Fixed

• Bug corrections
• Error handling improvements
• Edge case fixes

Security

• Vulnerability patches
• Security-related fixes
• Always include CVE if available

Entry Writing Guidelines

Use Imperative Mood

Start entries with imperative verbs:

Do	Don't
Add support for...	Added support for...
Fix crash when...	Fixed a crash that occurred when...
Remove deprecated...	Removed the deprecated...
Change default to...	Changed the default to...

Focus on User Impact

Write from the user's perspective:

Good (User-focused)	Bad (Implementation-focused)
Add dark mode toggle	Implement ThemeProvider context
Fix login failing silently	Add try-catch to auth handler
Speed up page load by 40%	Optimize database queries

Be Specific and Concise

Good (Specific)	Bad (Vague)
Fix crash when uploading files over 10MB	Fix upload bug
Add CSV export for transaction history	Add export feature
Change session timeout from 30 to 60 minutes	Update session settings

Include Context When Helpful

Use parenthetical context for clarity:

- Add OAuth2 support (Google, GitHub)
- Fix timezone handling (UTC offset calculation)
- Change rate limit (100 → 500 requests/minute)

Changelog Structure

# Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/).

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- New entries go here

## [1.0.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- Initial public release
- Feature A with description
- Feature B with description

### Changed
- Improvement to existing feature

### Fixed
- Bug fix description

## [0.9.0] - 2024-01-01

### Added
- Beta release features

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.0.0...HEAD
[1.0.0]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v0.9.0...v1.0.0
[0.9.0]: https://github.com/owner/repo/releases/tag/v0.9.0

Semantic Versioning Connection

Changelog categories map to version bumps:

Category	Version Impact
Removed (after v1.0)	MAJOR bump
Removed (before v1.0)	MINOR bump
Added, Changed	MINOR bump
Deprecated, Fixed, Security	PATCH bump

What NOT to Include

• Internal refactoring (unless it affects users)
• Dependency updates (unless they affect functionality)
• Test changes
• CI/CD changes
• Documentation-only changes (unless user-facing docs)
• Code style/formatting changes

Reference Files

• references/entry-examples.md - Examples of well-written vs poorly-written entries