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home / skills / nweii / agent-stuff / update-changelog

update-changelog skill

/skills/update-changelog

This skill updates changelog files following Keep a Changelog conventions and can adjust skill metadata for versioning and visibility.

npx playbooks add skill nweii/agent-stuff --skill update-changelog

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (3)
SKILL.md
1.7 KB
---
name: update-changelog
description: "Update changelog files following Keep a Changelog conventions. Use for project changelogs or skill changelogs. Handles version sections, change type groupings, and skill-specific metadata updates."
metadata:
  author: nweii
  version: "1.0.0"
---

# Update Changelog

Update changelog files following [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com) conventions.

## Usage

```
/update-changelog <version> <change_type> <message>
/update-changelog <skill_path> <version> <change_type> <message>
```

## Parameters

- `<version>`: Version number (e.g., "1.1.0")
- `<change_type>`: One of: "added", "changed", "deprecated", "removed", "fixed", "security"
- `<message>`: Description of the change
- `<skill_path>` (optional): Path to skill folder for skill changelogs

## Process

1. Check for existing changelog (CHANGELOG.md or changelog.md), create if missing
2. Find or create section for the specified version with today's date
3. Add the new entry under the appropriate change type heading
4. Format according to Keep a Changelog conventions
5. Write the updated changelog back to file

## Format Conventions

- Group changes by type (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security)
- List changes as bullet points
- Include date for version sections (YYYY-MM-DD)
- Keep entries concise but descriptive
- No emojis

## Example Output

```markdown
## [1.2.0] - 2025-01-24

### Added
- New markdown to BlockDoc conversion feature

### Fixed
- Bug in HTML renderer causing incorrect output
```

---

## Skill & Plugin Changelogs

For skill-specific conventions (updating `metadata.version` in SKILL.md) or plugin changelog formats, see [skill-plugin-conventions.md](skill-plugin-conventions.md).

Overview

This skill updates CHANGELOG files following Keep a Changelog conventions for projects and individual skills. It creates or updates version sections, groups entries by change type, and can update skill-specific manifest metadata when present. Use it to keep release notes consistent and machine-friendly.

How this skill works

The skill locates a changelog file (CHANGELOG.md or changelog.md) or creates one if missing. It finds or creates a version section with today’s date, inserts the message under the correct change-type heading (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security), and reformats the file to match Keep a Changelog rules. Optionally it updates the skill manifest version field when a skill path is supplied, then writes the file back to disk.

When to use it

  • Preparing a release and you need a standardized changelog entry
  • Adding a change for a skill in a mono-repo or nested skill folder
  • Automating release-note updates in CI or pre-release workflows
  • Ensuring changelog entries follow Keep a Changelog formatting rules
  • Updating both changelog and skill manifest version together

Best practices

  • Use semantic version numbers (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) when invoking the skill
  • Choose the correct change type from: added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed, security
  • Keep messages concise and descriptive—one change per invocation when possible
  • Run the skill from CI with a controlled authoring script to avoid merge conflicts
  • Commit changelog changes in the same PR as associated code changes

Example use cases

  • Add a bugfix entry before creating a patch release: /update-changelog 1.1.1 fixed "Corrected null pointer in parser"
  • Record a new feature in a skill folder and bump its manifest: /update-changelog path/to/skill 1.2.0 added "Support for streaming responses"
  • Automate changelog updates in a pipeline step after tagging a release
  • Create an initial changelog file and version section when onboarding a new project

FAQ

What change types are supported?

Use one of: added, changed, deprecated, removed, fixed, security. The skill maps them to the corresponding headings.

What happens if the changelog is missing?

The skill creates a new CHANGELOG.md using Keep a Changelog structure, adds the version section and your entry, then writes the file.