Automated Changelogs with GitHub: From Commits to Release Notes
Discover how to generate automated changelogs directly from your GitHub repository. Learn the best practices, tools, and services—including ShipLog—that make changelog automation effortless for modern dev teams.
Automated Changelogs with GitHub: From Commits to Release Notes
If you're maintaining software, you’ve probably faced this: pushing out a release and then scrambling to write changelogs by hand. It's tedious, easy to mess up, and usually the last thing developers want to do after merging dozens of pull requests.
The good news? You can automate your changelog generation directly from GitHub—and in this guide, we’ll show you how. From using conventional commits to integrating professional tools like ShipLog, you’ll learn how to streamline release documentation and keep your users informed.
Why Automate Changelog Creation?
Manually writing release notes is a waste of engineering time. Here’s why automation wins:
- Faster Releases: Generate release notes in seconds, not hours.
- Consistent Formatting: Every release follows the same polished structure.
- Less Human Error: No more forgotten commits or skipped features.
- Improved Communication: Users and stakeholders instantly see what’s new.
- Seamless GitHub Workflow: Auto-generate changelogs every time you tag a release.
The Role of Conventional Commits
Automated changelog tools rely on a predictable commit format. That’s where Conventional Commits come in.
Example Structure
<type>[optional scope]: <description>
[optional body]
[optional footer(s)]
Changelog-Relevant Types
- feat → New features
- fix → Bug fixes
- perf → Performance improvements
- refactor → Code improvements (optional for changelogs)
- docs, test, chore → Typically excluded
Good Example:
1feat(ui): add dark mode toggle
2fix(api): prevent null pointer on loginGenerating Changelogs with GitHub
1. GitHub Releases
GitHub already lets you generate release notes automatically from merged PRs. But the output is often raw and unpolished—good for devs, less useful for end users.
1# Create a new release from CLI
2gh release create v1.2.0 --generate-notesThis will produce a changelog, but it lacks proper categorization and formatting.
2. GitHub Actions + Conventional Changelog
You can integrate conventional-changelog-cli into a GitHub Actions workflow:
1name: Auto Changelog
2
3on:
4 push:
5 tags:
6 - 'v*'
7
8jobs:
9 changelog:
10 runs-on: ubuntu-latest
11 steps:
12 - uses: actions/checkout@v3
13 with:
14 fetch-depth: 0
15 - name: Generate Changelog
16 run: |
17 npx conventional-changelog-cli -p angular -i CHANGELOG.md -s -r 0
18 - name: Commit & Push
19 run: |
20 git config user.name "GitHub Action"
21 git config user.email "action@github.com"
22 git add CHANGELOG.md
23 git commit -m "docs: update changelog"
24 git pushThis ensures every tag comes with a changelog update.
3. ShipLog: Professional GitHub Integration
For teams that want production-grade changelogs, ShipLog is the go-to solution. Instead of hacking together scripts, ShipLog offers:
- 🔗 Direct GitHub Integration: Connect repos in seconds with a webhook.
- 🤖 AI-Powered Categorization: Automatically sorts commits & PRs into meaningful sections.
- 🎨 Branded Changelog Pages: Publish beautiful, user-friendly release notes.
- 👥 Team Collaboration: Review, edit, and approve before publishing.
- 🌍 Custom Domains: Host your changelog at
changelog.yourdomain.com. - 📊 Analytics Dashboard: Track how often users check your release notes.
ShipLog transforms raw commits into customer-facing changelogs without manual editing.
Best Practices for GitHub Changelogs
✅ Write Clear Commit Messages
Bad:
1fix: bugGood:
1fix(auth): resolve session timeout issue✅ Use GitHub Issue Linking
1feat: add user roles management
2Closes #42✅ Follow Semantic Versioning
fix:→ patch (1.0.1)feat:→ minor (1.1.0)BREAKING CHANGE:→ major (2.0.0)
✅ Don’t Overload the Changelog
Skip chore, style, test unless they’re user-facing.
Common Pitfalls
- ❌ Mixing Commit Styles (
feat,Fix,Added) → breaks automation - ❌ Overly Technical Notes ("refactor internal API call") → users don’t care
- ❌ Forgetting Breaking Changes → customers get blindsided
Quick Setup: ShipLog in 5 Minutes
- Sign up at ShipLog
- Connect your GitHub repository
- Enable webhook integration
- Push your next release tag
- ShipLog auto-generates a polished changelog page 🚀
Conclusion
Automated changelogs are no longer a “nice to have”—they’re a must for modern software teams. Whether you roll your own GitHub Actions setup or leverage a professional tool like ShipLog, automation ensures:
- Faster releases
- Happier users
- Fewer mistakes
Stop wasting time writing changelogs by hand. Automate the boring parts and focus on shipping value.
Ready to automate your release notes? Try ShipLog today and turn your GitHub commits into professional changelogs your users will love.