write-changelog

by microsoft

Write a CHANGELOG.md entry for a new extension release. Use when: writing changelog, updating changelog, adding release notes, preparing a release, documenting…

npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github --skill write-changelog

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Write Changelog Entry

Generate a new entry in CHANGELOG.md for an extension release by gathering closed issues and merged PRs from a GitHub milestone.

Inputs

The user must provide:

Extension version number - the version for the changelog heading (e.g. 0.134.0)
GitHub milestone name - the milestone to query (e.g. 1.112.0)

Procedure

1. Gather Milestone Items

Search for all closed items in the milestone scoped to microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github:

Issues (bugs/features): Search for closed issues with milestone:"<name>" repo:microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github is:closed
Merged PRs: Search for merged PRs with milestone:"<name>" repo:microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github is:pr is:merged

2. Classify Items

Sort every item into one of these buckets:

Bucket	Criteria
Changes	Feature requests, enhancements, new settings, new commands, infrastructure improvements (e.g. dependency upgrades, build system changes)
Fixes	Items labeled `bug`, or PRs that fix a specific issue
Thank You	Merged PRs authored by external contributors (user type is not `Bot`, and user is not a GitHub staff / `site_admin`)
Skip	Version-bump PRs (title is just a version like "0.132.0"), test plan items, items from other repos

3. Write the Entry

Insert the new section at the top of CHANGELOG.md, directly after the # Changelog heading and before the previous release section.

Follow this format exactly:

## <version>

### Changes

- Description of change one.
- Description of change two with setting `"settingName"`.

### Fixes

- Short description of bug. https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github/issues/<number>
- Another bug fix. https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github/issues/<number>

**_Thank You_**

* [@username (Display Name)](https://github.com/username): Short description of contribution [PR #1234](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github/pull/1234)

Format Rules

Changes: Write a concise, user-facing description. Do NOT link to issues. Use backticks for setting names and commands. Each entry is a single - bullet.
Fixes: Use the issue title (cleaned up for readability) followed by a space and the full issue URL. Each entry is a single - bullet. If a fix came from a PR without a linked issue, describe it without a URL.
Thank You: Use * bullets (not - ). Format: [@login (Name)](profile-url): Description [PR #number](pr-url). Only include for external community contributors.
Sections: Omit any section (### Changes, ### Fixes, **_Thank You_**) if there are no items for it.
No blank lines between bullets within a section.
One blank line between sections.

4. Validate

Confirm the new section is positioned correctly (after # Changelog, before the previous version).
Verify all issue/PR links are correct and point to microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github.
Ensure no duplicate entries.