skillshare-changelog

Generate a CHANGELOG.md entry for a release. $ARGUMENTS specifies the tag version (e.g., v0.16.0) or omit to auto-detect via git describe --tags --abbrev=0.

Scope: This skill updates CHANGELOG.md and syncs the website changelog (website/src/pages/changelog.md). It does NOT generate RELEASE_NOTES, update version numbers, or handle the full release workflow — use /release for that.

Workflow

Step 1: Determine Version Range

# Auto-detect latest tag
LATEST_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0)
# Find previous tag
PREV_TAG=$(git describe --tags --abbrev=0 "${LATEST_TAG}^")

echo "Generating changelog: $PREV_TAG → $LATEST_TAG"

Step 2: Collect Commits

git log "${PREV_TAG}..${LATEST_TAG}" --oneline --no-merges

Step 3: Categorize Changes

Group commits by conventional commit type:

| Prefix | Category |

|--------|----------|

| feat | New Features |

| fix | Bug Fixes |

| refactor | Refactoring |

| docs | Documentation |

| perf | Performance |

| test | Tests |

| chore | Maintenance |

Step 4: Read Existing Entries for Style Reference

Before writing, read the most recent 2-3 entries in CHANGELOG.md to match the established tone and structure. The style evolves over time — always match the latest entries, not a hardcoded template.

Step 5: Write User-Facing Entry

Write from the user's perspective. Only include changes users will notice or care about.

Include:

• New features with usage examples (CLI commands, code blocks)
• Bug fixes that affected user-visible behavior
• Breaking changes (renames, removed flags, scope changes)
• Performance improvements users would notice

Exclude:

• Internal test changes (smoke tests, test refactoring)
• Implementation details (error propagation, internal structs)
• Dev toolchain changes (Makefile cleanup, CI tweaks)
• Pure documentation adjustments

Wording guidelines:

• Don't use "first-class", "recommended" for non-default options
• Be factual: "Added X" / "Fixed Y" / "Renamed A to B"
• Include CLI example when introducing a new feature
• Use em-dash (—) to separate feature name from description
• Group related features under #### sub-headings when there are 2+ distinct areas

Step 6: Update CHANGELOG.md

Read existing CHANGELOG.md and insert new entry at the top, after the header. Match the style of the most recent entries exactly.

Structural conventions (based on actual entries):

## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD

### New Features

#### Feature Area Name

- **Feature name** — description with `inline code` for commands and flags

skillshare command --flag # usage example

  Additional context as sub-bullets or continuation text

#### Another Feature Area

- **Feature name** — description

### Bug Fixes

- Fixed specific user-visible behavior — with context on what changed
- Fixed another issue

### Performance

- **Improvement name** — description of what got faster

### Breaking Changes

- Renamed `old-name` to `new-name`

Key style points:

• Version numbers use [X.Y.Z] without v prefix in the heading
• Feature bullets use bold name — em-dash description format
• Code blocks use bash language tag for CLI examples
• Bug fixes describe the symptom, not the implementation
• Only include sections that have content (skip empty Performance, Breaking Changes, etc.)

Step 7: Sync Website Changelog

The website has its own changelog page at website/src/pages/changelog.md. After updating CHANGELOG.md, sync the new entry to the website version.

Differences between the two files:

• Website file has MDX frontmatter (title, description) and an intro paragraph — preserve these, don't overwrite
• Website file has a --- separator after the intro, before the first version entry
• The release entries themselves are identical in content

How to sync: Read the website changelog, then insert the same new entry after the --- separator (line after intro paragraph), before the first existing version entry. Do NOT replace the entire file — only insert the new entry block.

Rules

• User perspective — write for users, not developers
• No fabricated links — never invent URLs or references
• Verify features exist — grep source before claiming a feature was added
• No internal noise — exclude test-only, CI-only, or refactor-only changes
• Conventional format — follow existing CHANGELOG.md style exactly
• Always sync both — CHANGELOG.md and website/src/pages/changelog.md must have identical release entries