This repository contains a simple tool for reading and manipulating changelog files.

This tool currently expects to work with a file named 'changelog.md' in the current working directory. This is a markdown file that looks like this:

Changelog
=========

0.4.0 (????-??-??)
------------------

* Feature A
* Bugfix 3

0.3.0 (2023-02-08)
------------------

* First public release!

Questionmarks for the date indicate an unreleased version.

npm install changelog-tool --global

To tool can be used programmatically and with the CLI. The CLI has the following commands:

changelog init             - Create a new, empty npx changelog.
changelog add -m [message] - Adds a new line to the npx changelog.
changelog release          - Marks the current npx changelog as released.
changelog show             - Show the last npx changelog.
changelog show [version]   - Show the npx changelog of a specific version.
changelog list             - List all versions in the npx changelog.
changelog format           - Reformats the npx changelog in the standard format.

The add comment lets you add a new message at the bottom of the last unreleased version.

To use it, just run:

changelog add -m "Bug fix"

If there is no unreleased version, it will create a new section and increase the version number.

If the current change should result in a new major or minor version number, you can use the following arguments.

changelog add --minor -m "New feature"
changelog add --major -m "Backwards compatibility break"

These settings will automatically adjust the version string of the most recent unreleased version.

The release command will look for a recent unreleased version in the changelog (where the date is marked ????-??-??) and change it to the current date:

changelog release

If the tool detects a package.json file in the current directory, it will also call:

npm version [version] --no-git-tag-version

This command adjust the version field in package.json to match the latest changelog version.

If the tool detects if this is a git directory, it will also:

• Ensure that the working directory is clean.
• Commit the changes.
• Create a tag with git tag v[version].