/changelog

Updates a release unit's CHANGELOG.md in preparation for tagging it. Ratel releases per unit (ADR-0008): each unit ships on its own tag (<prefix>-v*) at its own version. The CI gate in .github/workflows/release.yml rejects any tag whose unit CHANGELOG doesn't contain the version being released, so this skill must run before git tag.

Run it once per unit you're releasing.

Release units it touches

The units and their manifests/CHANGELOGs live in one registry — scripts/release-units.mjs — which every release tool reads. Run node scripts/release-units.mjs --list for the authoritative set; the current units are:

@ratel-ai/mcp-server lives in ratel-ai/ratel-mcp and maintains its own CHANGELOG there.

Procedure

1. Pick the unit and read its version

If the user hasn't named the unit, run node scripts/releasable.mjs — it lists which units have commits since their last release tag. Pick the unit $UNIT being released.

Read its canonical version:

node scripts/release-units.mjs --version "$UNIT"   # -> $TARGET

If the user supplies a different version explicitly, prefer that and warn them the working tree disagrees.

2. Determine the diff range

The range is from the unit's own last release tag to HEAD:

prefix=$(node scripts/release-units.mjs --tag-prefix "$UNIT")
FROM=$(git describe --tags --match "${prefix}*" --abbrev=0 2>/dev/null || true)

If $FROM is empty the unit has never shipped; the whole history is in range.

3. Generate the draft

bash .claude/skills/changelog/draft.sh --unit "$UNIT"

It emits a single ### <package-name> block for the unit, containing either Keep-a-Changelog sections (### Added, ### Fixed, ### Changed) or the sentinel _No user-facing changes._. (Omit --unit to draft every unit at once.) With no <from-ref> argument the script ranges each unit from its own last tag automatically.

If draft.sh exits 127, git-cliff is missing. Tell the user how to install it (the script's stderr already does), and stop.

4. Branch on RC vs GA

Inspect $TARGET, and edit only this unit's CHANGELOG:

• RC (X.Y.Z-rc.N): prepend a new section above the most recent versioned section:

  ## [X.Y.Z-rc.N] - YYYY-MM-DD
  
  <draft content for the unit, or the sentinel>
  

  Copy

  Use today's date in YYYY-MM-DD (UTC).

• GA (no -rc suffix): enter GA-collapse mode:

  1. Find every ## [X.Y.Z-rc.*] section already present that matches the same MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH as $TARGET.
  2. Union their bullet entries (per subsection: ### Added, ### Changed, ### Fixed) with the new draft entries from step 3 (commits since the last RC tag).
  3. Deduplicate bullets within each subsection (case-insensitive, whitespace-normalised).
  4. Drop the _No user-facing changes._ sentinel if any real entries exist; keep it only if the unioned set is empty.
  5. Replace all the matched RC sections with a single ## [X.Y.Z] - YYYY-MM-DD section containing the merged content.
  6. Leave non-matching prior versions (e.g. ## [0.1.4]) untouched.

5. Curate with the user

Show the unit's CHANGELOG pending changes in the conversation. Ask the user to confirm or edit. Common curation moves:

• Rephrase bullets for user-facing clarity (the draft uses commit subjects verbatim).
• Drop bullets that are not user-visible (internal refactors that slipped past cliff.toml's skip rules).
• Merge duplicates that survived deduplication.
• Promote / demote between Added / Changed / Fixed if the commit prefix was wrong.

6. Write the file

Once approved, write only this unit's CHANGELOG using the Edit tool. Do not commit. The release commit is the user's responsibility — they typically include the CHANGELOG alongside the version bump in a single release: <unit>-vX.Y.Z commit.

If releasing more than one unit, repeat from step 1 for each.

7. Remind

Tell the user:

• The CHANGELOG is staged in the working tree (unstaged).
• Next step is the release commit + <unit>-v<version> tag + push.
• The release.yml tag-version-check job verifies the unit's CHANGELOG contains the tag version; if it doesn't, the release is blocked.

Conventions

• Date format: YYYY-MM-DD in UTC.
• Subsection order: ### Added, ### Changed, ### Fixed, ### Removed, ### Deprecated, ### Security. Omit empty subsections.
• Sentinel: _No user-facing changes._ for a unit with no in-scope commits.
• Keep ## [Unreleased] at the top — it stays empty between releases.

Why this exists

ADR 0008 (docs/adr/0008-release-engineering.md) records the per-unit tag/version split, the CHANGELOG mechanism, and the rationale. Read it if you're unsure why something is structured the way it is.