Changelog Skill: User-Facing, Not Commit-Facing
A changelog is for users, not for git archaeologists. The auto-generated "from git log" approach dumps 47 entries including "fix typo" and "rename internal var" — useless to anyone reading the release. This skill filters to user-facing changes first, then groups them Keep-a-Changelog style.
An installable changelog skill. Reads a git range, filters out non-user-facing commits, and groups what's left into a clean Keep-a-Changelog block ready for CHANGELOG.md.
What It Does
- Pulls the right range —
<previous tag>..HEAD - Filters internal churn — pure refactors, test-only changes, CI tweaks all skipped
- Groups by intent — Added / Changed / Deprecated / Removed / Fixed / Security
- Surfaces breaking changes — separate section above Added, with migration notes
Install in 30 Seconds
Pick your tool above and download:
- Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/changelog/SKILL.md - OpenAI Codex CLI: append to
AGENTS.md - Cursor: append to
.cursorrules
Run when cutting a release. Paste the output under a new ## [<version>] - <date> heading.
Why Filtering Beats Dumping
A changelog that lists every commit is a changelog nobody reads. A changelog with 6 entries — the 2 features users will use, the 3 fixes that resolve open issues, and the 1 breaking change with a migration note — is the changelog people quote when they upgrade. This skill stays in that band by refusing to pad.
Install once, ship release notes worth reading.