/changesets create

Decide whether the current branch needs a changeset, then either write one or report that none is required. Full policy lives in references/policy.md; this file is the decision flow for the create subcommand.

Subcommand

create is the only supported subcommand. Any other argument: report unsupported and stop.

Workflow

1. Resolve the branch and base

git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD
git fetch origin main --quiet
git diff --name-only --diff-filter=ACMR origin/main...HEAD

If the current branch is main, stop and tell the user changesets are only generated on feature branches.

2. Classify changed files

A path is exempt when it matches any of:

• .github/**
• .changeset/**
• docs/**
• scripts/**
• .claude/**
• Root dotfiles or docs at repo root: .gitignore, CLAUDE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, README.md
• Test-only files inside packages: packages/**/*.test.ts, packages/**/__tests__/**

Anything else (notably non-test files under packages/cli-core/src/** or packages/cli/**) is non-exempt and requires a changeset.

3. Branch on the result

All files exempt: run bun changeset status --since=origin/main to confirm. Then report to the user, naming the exempt categories that matched, and stop without writing a file. Do not create an empty changeset for fully exempt branches; changeset status already passes.

Some files non-exempt and .changeset/<slug>.md already exists for this branch: treat as a refresh. Read the existing file, then jump to step 5 with the existing slug.

Some files non-exempt, no changeset file exists, and every commit on the branch uses a non-user-facing prefix (refactor:, chore:, perf:, build:, ci:, style:, docs:, test:) and the diff has no observable effect on the CLI surface: skip to the empty-changeset path in step 7a.

Some files non-exempt, no changeset file exists, and the branch contains any user-facing commit (feat:, feat(, fix:, fix(, feat!:, fix!:) or the diff changes a flag, command, exported API, env var, output format, or any other user-visible surface: continue to step 4.

4. Pick the slug

Strip the conventional prefix from the branch name and kebab-case the rest. Drop username segments (wyattjoh/...).

If .changeset/<slug>.md already exists on main, suffix with -v2, -followup, or -part-2.

5. Decide the bump type

Read the cumulative branch diff (not just the latest commit), the PR title and body if a PR exists (gh pr view --json title,body 2>/dev/null), and recent commit subjects (git log origin/main..HEAD --pretty=%s).

Stop-and-ask gates. Pause, do not write, and prompt the user when:

1. The classification would be major.
2. Intent is genuinely ambiguous (refactor that may change observable behavior; dependency bump with unclear downstream effect).
3. The branch is a revert without a stated motivation.

When the split between minor and patch is unclear but the change is clearly non-breaking, default to patch and note the reasoning in the response.

6. Author the summary

• Imperative-present tense ("Add X", "Fix Y", "Remove Z"). Never past tense.
• User-facing language; a CLI user reads this. No internal file paths, class names, or implementation details.
• One sentence ending in a period. Continuation lines only when the change genuinely needs more context (each becomes an indented sub-bullet).
• Authored independently from the PR title. The PR title describes the work; the summary describes the user-visible result.
• Do not include (#123) or by @user; .changeset/changelog.js appends PR, commit, and author links at version time.

7. Write the file

Path: .changeset/<slug>.md. Content:

---
"clerk": <bump>
---

<summary>

Only "clerk" is valid. @clerk/cli-core is in the ignore list in .changeset/config.json and must not appear.

Write the file directly with the Write tool. Do not run bun changeset add; it is interactive and --message only pre-fills the summary.

7a. Empty changeset path

When step 3 routed here, the branch touches non-exempt paths but has no user-facing impact. CI requires a file; an empty one satisfies enforcement without producing a changelog entry or version bump.

Generate it with:

bun changeset --empty

This writes .changeset/<slug>.md with empty frontmatter (no package keys). Continue to step 8 to place the commit.

Skip steps 4 through 6: there is no slug to pick (the CLI generates one), no bump to choose, and no summary to author. When step 8 places a tip commit on a multi-commit branch, use the fixed title docs(changeset): add empty changeset since there is no summary.

8. Place the commit

Inspect the branch shape: git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline | wc -l.

When refreshing an existing changeset on a multi-commit branch, amend the existing tip docs(changeset): commit instead of stacking another.

Do not run git push or gh pr edit from this skill. Branches in this repo carry stack metadata in git config; ad-hoc push/edit corrupts it. Hand off to the stacked-prs:stacked-prs skill for any push or PR mutation.

9. Report

Tell the user:

• Which path the skill took: real changeset, refresh of an existing one, empty changeset (internal-only non-exempt change), or skip (fully exempt branch). For skip, name the exempt categories that matched.
• For real or refresh: the chosen slug, bump type, and summary.
• For empty: the slug the CLI generated.
• The commit placement (amended vs. new tip commit).
• Any follow-up: stacked-prs:stacked-prs push, PR description sync.

Examples

Exempt branch

Branch wyattjoh/scripts-rules touches only .claude/rules/scripts.md.

Report: "All changes are under .claude/** (exempt). No changeset required. bun changeset status will pass."

New feature

Branch feat/oauth-github adds GitHub OAuth to clerk login. Single commit.

Write .changeset/oauth-github.md:

---
"clerk": minor
---

Add GitHub as an OAuth provider for `clerk login`. Set `CLERK_GITHUB_CLIENT_ID` to enable.

Stage and amend the existing commit.

Refresh after new commits

Branch feat/oauth-github already has .changeset/oauth-github.md (minor). A new commit adds GitLab support. Rewrite the summary to cover the cumulative diff; bump stays minor. Amend the tip docs(changeset): commit (multi-commit branch).

Internal-only non-exempt change

Branch refactor/extract-logger moves a helper inside packages/cli-core/src/lib/. Single commit, prefix refactor:, no flag, command, or output change. Run bun changeset --empty. The CLI writes .changeset/<generated-slug>.md with empty frontmatter. Stage and amend the existing commit. The next release skips a version bump for this change but the branch passes enforcement.

Anti-patterns

• Empty changeset to bypass enforcement on user-facing changes (silently drops a real bump from the changelog).
• Past-tense or implementation-leaking summaries ("Added oauth.ts with GithubProvider class").
• Manually appending (#123) or by @user; the changelog renderer adds these.
• Using @clerk/cli-core as the package key.
• Creating a second changeset file on a branch that already has one (one changeset per PR).
• Running git push or gh pr edit directly from this skill.

References

• Full policy with rationale: references/policy.md
• Changelog renderer: .changeset/changelog.js
• Changesets config: .changeset/config.json
• Enforcement workflow: .github/workflows/enforce-changeset.yml