In simple English
Writing release notes by hand takes time and often gets forgotten. This tool reads your past Git history and builds a clean changelog file for you automatically. It groups your changes based on how you write your commit messages. You can change the layout and the headings to match any style you like. It is free to use and runs locally on your computer or inside your continuous integration server.
What it is
Git-cliff (a command-line tool that reads your Git history and generates formatted release notes) builds changelogs using customizable templates and commit patterns. It reads standard commit messages and allows custom rules to match your project style.
What it is good for
Solo builders who want to stop writing release notes by hand and need a reliable way to turn Git commit history into a professional changelog file for every software release.
- Formats your Git history into a clean changelog file automatically.
- Supports custom templates so you can design the exact layout you want.
- Runs fast on your local machine or inside an automated build pipeline.
- Requires you to follow a consistent commit message format for the best results.
- Needs you to learn a template language if you want to change the default design.
- Distributed as a command-line utility with no graphical interface.
Writing release notes by hand from memory before every software release.
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cargo install git-cliff