Make Changelog
Plan git tag-to-tag version sections and commit counts so your agent can write an accurate changelog before you tag a release.
Overview
make-changelog is an agent skill for the Ship phase that lists git tag-to-tag commit ranges (and Unreleased) so you can generate structured changelog sections.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/gupsammy/claudest --skill make-changelogWhat is this skill?
- list_ranges.py maps consecutive git tags to ranges plus an Unreleased bucket with commit counts
- Supports fill mode via --since-tag to append only newer sections after a partial changelog
- Emits text or JSON so the agent can batch-generate per-version changelog copy
- Documents exit codes 0/1/2 for usage, success, and git errors suitable for scripted workflows
- Defaults to current directory repo path with optional explicit repo_path argument
- list_ranges.py defines three exit codes: 0 success, 1 usage error, 2 runtime git error
- Outputs commit counts per tag-to-tag range including Unreleased
Adoption & trust: 1 installs on skills.sh; 253 GitHub stars; 3/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits); trending (+100% hot-view momentum).
What problem does it solve?
You are about to release but do not know which tag boundaries and commit counts should become changelog sections without hand-parsing git log.
Who is it for?
Indie maintainers who tag releases in git and want the agent to draft notes section-by-section instead of one giant unstructured log dump.
Skip if: Repos with no tags or no git history, or teams that only use continuous deployment with no versioned changelog at all.
When should I use this skill?
You are preparing a release and need tag-to-tag ranges with commit counts to drive changelog section generation.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a planned set of version ranges in text or JSON ready for the agent to turn into user-facing release notes before you tag and publish.
- Text or JSON list of version ranges with commit counts
- Planned changelog sections including Unreleased when applicable
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Changelog planning sits in Ship because it bridges code freeze and the public release narrative solo builders owe users and app stores. Launch subphase is the canonical shelf for release notes, version sections, and Unreleased headers that accompany shipping.
How it compares
Structured tag-range planning with commit counts, not a substitute for conventional-changelog commit parsers or hosted release-note bots.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is make-changelog for?
Solo developers and small teams using agentic coding tools who ship versioned software from git repositories and need repeatable changelog section planning.
When should I use make-changelog?
Use it in Ship right before cutting a release tag, refreshing GitHub Releases, or updating CHANGELOG.md after a sprint of merged PRs.
Is make-changelog safe to install?
It runs local git subprocesses against your repo path; review the Security Audits panel on this Prism page and avoid pointing it at untrusted directories.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Make Changelog
#!/usr/bin/env python3 """ List git version ranges for changelog generation. Given a git repository, outputs tag-to-tag ranges (plus Unreleased) with commit counts. Used by the make-changelog skill to plan which version sections to generate. Usage: list_ranges.py [repo-path] [--since-tag TAG] [--output text|json] Exit codes: 0 success 1 usage error 2 runtime error (not a git repo, no commits, or --since-tag not found) Examples: list_ranges.py # all ranges in current directory list_ranges.py /path/to/repo --output json # structured output for skill list_ranges.py --since-tag v1.2.0 --output json # fill mode: only newer ranges """ from __future__ import annotations import argparse import json import os import subprocess import sys from datetime import date def git(args: list[str], cwd: str) -> tuple[str, int]: result = subprocess.run( ["git"] + args, capture_output=True, text=True, cwd=cwd ) return result.stdout.strip(), result.returncode def main() -> None: parser = argparse.ArgumentParser( description=__doc__, formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter, ) parser.add_argument( "repo_path", nargs="?", default=".", help="Path to git repository (default: current directory)", ) parser.add_argument( "--since-tag", metavar="TAG", help="Only include ranges newer than this tag (fill mode)", ) parser.add_argument( "--output", choices=["text", "json"], default="text", help="Output format (default: text)", ) args = parser.parse_args() repo = os.path.abspath(args.repo_path) # Validate: must be a git repo _, rc = git(["rev-parse", "--git-dir"], repo) if rc != 0: print(f"Error: {repo} is not a git repository", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(2) # Validate: must have at least one commit count_out, rc = git(["rev-list", "--count", "HEAD"], repo) if rc != 0 or not count_out.isdigit() or int(count_out) == 0: print("Error: repository has no commits", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(2) # Collect all tags, oldest to newest tags_out, _ = git( ["tag", "--sort=version:refname", "--format=%(refname:short)\t%(creatordate:short)"], repo, ) all_tags: list[dict] = [] if tags_out: for line in tags_out.splitlines(): parts = line.split("\t", 1) if len(parts) == 2 and parts[0]: all_tags.append({"tag": parts[0], "date": parts[1]}) # Apply --since-tag: drop tags up to and including the anchor if args.since_tag: tag_names = [t["tag"] for t in all_tags] if args.since_tag not in tag_names: print( f"Error: --since-tag '{args.since_tag}' not found in repository tags", file=sys.stderr, ) sys.exit(2) idx = tag_names.index(args.since_tag) all_tags = all_tags[idx + 1:] # Build one range per tag (oldest-to-newest order, reversed at end) ranges: list[dict] = [] for i, tag_info in enumerate(all_tags): from_ref = all_tags[i - 1]["tag"] if i > 0 else "" to_ref = tag_info["tag"] if from_ref: count_cmd = ["rev-list", "--count", f"{from_ref}..{to_ref}"] else: count_cmd = ["rev-list", "--count", to_ref] c_out, _ = git(count_cmd, repo) commit_count = int(c_out) if c_out.isdigit() else 0 ranges.append({ "label": tag_info["tag"].lstrip("v"), "from_ref": from_ref, "to_ref": to_ref, "date": tag_info["date"], "commit_count": commit_count, }) # Unreleased section (commits after latest tag, or all commits if no tags) if all_tags: latest_tag = all_tags[-1]["tag"] u_out, _ = git(["rev-list", "--count", f"{latest_tag}..HEAD"], repo) unreleased_count = int(u