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A useful changelog entry tells readers who is affected, what changed, and whether they need to do anything. Put major or breaking changes where they are easy to spot, group the rest under clear headings, and link to practical details. Treat automatically generated notes as a draft: review them for accuracy, missing changes, and audience fit before publishing.
What belongs in a changelog?
A changelog is a readable record of meaningful changes. Release notes usually explain the changes in a particular release. They may appear alongside versioned software and downloadable assets, as GitHub describes for its releases (GitHub’s overview of releases). There is no single format every team must use: Keep a Changelog presents its approach as a convention, not a universal formal standard (Keep a Changelog 2.0).
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For each entry, answer the questions a reader needs in order: who is affected, what problem or need is involved, what changed, and what action—if any—is required. GitHub’s style guide recommends concise notes that answer readers’ questions sequentially, with current behavior described in present tense and active wording where possible (GitHub’s release-note style guidance).
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesHow to write an entry readers can understand
- Name the affected reader. Identify the relevant role, access level, workflow, or user group rather than starting with an internal ticket number.
- Describe the need or previous behavior. For a fix, say what was going wrong. For a feature, explain the task or need it addresses.
- State the change plainly. Use concrete user-facing terms. Explain technical jargon when it would prevent the intended reader from understanding the impact.
- Give the next step. Say whether readers need to upgrade, migrate, change a setting, or follow instructions. If no action is needed, do not imply that there is one.
- Link to useful detail. Add a relevant guide, issue, pull request, commit, security advisory, or migration instructions when it helps readers act or verify the change.
For example: “Workspace administrators can now set a longer session timeout. This helps teams keep shared terminals signed in during scheduled maintenance. See the session settings guide for setup details.” The entry starts with the affected role, gives the change and its purpose, then points to a next step.
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Choose headings and order for the release
Use headings that describe the changes, such as features, fixes, behavior changes, known issues, security fixes, and deprecations. For a long release, group entries by change type, affected component, or both. Put breaking changes and major features ahead of routine fixes so readers see the most consequential information first.
Make each kind of entry specific to its reader:
- Feature: say who benefits, what need it meets, what it does, and where to find instructions.
- Bug fix: describe the unexpected behavior readers encountered and what happens now.
- Behavior change: name the affected audience, explain the new behavior, and include the old behavior when that contrast matters.
- Known issue: identify who may encounter it, recognizable symptoms, and what to do next.
- Deprecation or retirement: state what is going away, the timing if known, and a replacement or migration path when available.
- Erratum: state what was corrected and when the correction was made.
Review coverage before publishing
Do not check only for new features and bug fixes. A 2022 peer-reviewed study of GitHub release-note issues recommends reviewing notes for the following categories, linking related work, and labeling changes systematically. These are evidence-informed review prompts, not a mandatory universal standard (the study).
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- Breaking changes
- New features and enhancements
- Fixed bugs
- Documentation changes
- Dependency or environment changes
- Security changes
- License changes
Not every release will contain an item in every category. The purpose is to catch a consequential change that might otherwise be omitted, not to fill every heading. For changes that affect different audiences, consider a brief end-user summary alongside a more detailed, traceable list for maintainers.
Should you generate release notes from commits or pull requests?
Automation can collect changes and prepare a first draft, but commit messages and changelog entries serve different readers. A commit may make sense to the team implementing it while saying little to a user deciding whether to upgrade. Keep a Changelog discusses tools that use structured commit conventions to select versions and draft content, while cautioning against treating generated text as a finished reader-facing changelog (Keep a Changelog 2.0).
GitHub’s automatically generated release notes can summarize merged pull requests and contributors and link to a full changelog. Teams can customize categories using labels and exclude selected labels or users. GitHub also calls for reviewing the generated notes to ensure they include the intended information (GitHub’s automatic release-note guide).
| Approach | Useful for | What to review |
|---|---|---|
| Manual drafting | Explaining impact in the language and level of detail suited to the intended reader. | Check that entries cover meaningful changes and include relevant links and next steps. |
| Generated draft | Gathering merged pull requests, contributors, or changes selected through structured conventions. | Check for missing work, noisy or misleading entries, correct categories, audience fit, and clear user-facing wording. |
A practical workflow is to use automation to gather candidate changes, then have a person turn them into concise explanations and verify coverage against the release. Decide where the final notes belong, too: platform release pages can pair notes with a release, while a repository changelog file can remain a portable, chronological record. Keep a Changelog discusses discoverability and portability as considerations when choosing where to publish (Keep a Changelog 2.0).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep versioning guidance in scope
Version numbering and changelog writing are related but distinct decisions. The UK Cabinet Office Digital Handbook gives a specific policy example: it says open-source projects, or projects whose changes affect third parties, must use a version compatible with Semantic Versioning (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) under that handbook. It maps major versions to incompatible API changes, minor versions to backward-compatible functionality, and patch versions to backward-compatible bug fixes. This is the handbook’s scoped guidance, not a universal rule for every project (UK Cabinet Office Digital Handbook).
Check your own project’s policy and obligations before adopting a format or versioning rule. A changelog convention may be a team choice; a particular organization, platform, or policy can impose additional requirements.
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