Git Changelog Generator#

Generate structured changelogs from git history. Supports conventional commits, semantic versioning, and multiple output formats. Use when preparing releases, writing release notes, or documenting project history.

Usage#

bash

# Generate changelog for latest unreleased changes
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py

# Generate changelog between two tags
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --from v1.2.0 --to v1.3.0

# Generate for last N commits
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --last 20

# Generate since a date
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --since 2026-04-01

Output Formats#

bash

# Markdown (default)
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --format markdown

# Keep a Changelog format (keepachangelog.com)
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --format keepachangelog

# GitHub Release format
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --format github-release

# JSON (for programmatic use)
python3 scripts/generate_changelog.py --format json

How It Works#

1. Collect — reads git log between specified ranges
2. Parse — extracts conventional commit types (feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, chore, perf, ci)
3. Categorize — groups changes by type with human-readable headers
4. Enrich — adds PR links, issue references, author attribution, breaking change warnings
5. Format — outputs in the requested format

Conventional Commit Support#

Parses standard prefixes:

• feat: → Features
• fix: → Bug Fixes
• refactor: → Code Refactoring
• docs: → Documentation
• test: → Tests
• perf: → Performance
• ci: → CI/CD
• chore: → Maintenance
• BREAKING CHANGE: → Breaking Changes (highlighted)

Non-conventional commits are categorized as "Other Changes" with AI-assisted categorization.

Parameters#

ParameterDescriptionDefault--fromStart tag/commitLast tag--toEnd tag/commitHEAD--lastLast N commitsAll since last tag--sinceStart date (YYYY-MM-DD)None--formatOutput formatmarkdown``--outputWrite to filestdout--repoRepository pathCurrent directory--include-authorsShow commit authorsfalse--include-hashesShow commit hashesfalse--group-byGroup by type or scope``type

AI Enhancement#

When used as an agent skill, the AI can:

• Rewrite terse commit messages into human-readable descriptions
• Identify the most impactful changes and highlight them
• Generate a summary paragraph for release announcements
• Detect breaking changes even without conventional commit markers
• Cross-reference with issue trackers for richer context