Editing Changelog

{{Short description|Record of changes made to a project}}
{{for|information on Wikipedia changelogs|Help:Page history|selfref=y}}
A '''changelog''' (also spelled '''change log''')<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kuchenrither |first1=Richard D. |last2=Hite |first2=Robert W. |last3=Gerali |first3=Catherine R. |last4=Brennan |first4=William F. |last5=Wilson |first5=David |title=New Innovations for Program Management … Challenges and Successes |journal=Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation |date=1 January 2008 |volume=2008 |issue=14 |pages=2331–2344 |doi=10.2175/193864708788734656}}</ref> is a log or record of all notable changes made to a project.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lewko |first1=Caroline |title=Developer Relations: How to Build and Grow a Successful Developer Program |date=2021 |publisher=Apress L. P |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-1484271636 |pages=189–194}}</ref> The project is often a [[website]] or software project, and the changelog usually includes records of changes such as bug fixes, new features, etc.  Some [[Open-source software|open-source]] projects include a changelog as one of the top-level files in their distribution.

A changelog has historically included all changes made to a project. An alternative approach has been suggested that the log should instead contain "a curated, chronologically ordered list of notable changes for each version of a project" and should not be a "dump" of a git log "because this helps nobody".<ref name="keepachangelog">{{Cite web|url=https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/|title=Keep a Changelog|website=keepachangelog.com}}</ref>

Although the [[GNU]] ([[Automake]]) canonical naming convention for the file is ''ChangeLog'',<ref>[https://www.gnu.org/software/automake/manual/html_node/Gnits.html#Gnits The GNU automake manual].</ref> it is sometimes alternatively named as ''CHANGES'' or ''HISTORY'' (''NEWS'' is usually a different file reflecting changes between releases, not between the commits).  Another convention is to call it a ''CHANGELOG''.<ref name="keepachangelog"/> Some [[project maintainer]]s will append a ''.txt'' suffix to the file name if the changelog is [[plain text]], a ''.md'' suffix if it is in [[Markdown]], or a ''.rst'' suffix if it is in [[reStructuredText]].

Some [[revision control]] systems are able to generate the relevant information for a changelog, if the goal is to include all changes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Atlassian|title=What is version control {{!}} Atlassian Git Tutorial|url=https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/what-is-version-control|access-date=2022-02-17|website=Atlassian|language=en}}</ref>

==Format==
Changelog files are organized by paragraphs, which define a unique change within a function or file.
The [[GNU coding standards|GNU Coding standards]] recommend the following format:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/html_node/Style-of-Change-Logs.html |title=GNU Coding Standards: Style of Change Logs |website=Gnu.org |access-date=2019-09-03}}</ref>
<pre>
YYYY-MM-DD␣␣John Doe␣␣<johndoe@example.com>

    * myfile.ext (myfunction): my changes made
    additional changes.

    * myfile.ext (unrelated_change): my changes made
    to myfile.ext but completely unrelated to the above.

    * anotherfile.ext (somefunction): more changes made by me.
</pre>

Between the date and the name, and again between the name and the email address, there are two spaces each. It is common to enclose the email address in &lt; and &gt;. The [[Emacs |Emacs editor]] creates such entries when creating additional changelog entries.

==Changelogs in wikis==
Most [[wiki]] software includes ''changelogs'' as a fundamental feature (often called ''history'' in this context). For example, the "View history" link at the top<ref>[[Help:Page_history]].</ref> of a [[Wikipedia]] entry links to that page's changelog. This feature is vital for complying   with the attribution requirements of some copyright licenses.{{Citation needed|reason=This sentence needs a reliable source, how is the page history vital to this?|date=September 2017}}

==Product changelogs==

A product changelog can keep customers in the loop about what's new. It helps to announce new features, latest releases, and relevant news directly in-app.{{cn|date=February 2022}}

==See also==
{{cmn|colwidth=30em|
* [[Log file]]
* [[Change control]]
* [[Release notes]]
* [[Web feed]]
* [[Diff]]
* [[Technology roadmap]]
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Change-Logs GNU Coding Standards: Change Logs]
* [http://keepachangelog.com/ Keep a CHANGELOG]
* [https://co-pilot.dev/changelog Checklist for creating a changelog]
{{Wiktionary|changelog}}
[[Category:Computer files]]
[[Category:Free software culture and documents]]
[[Category:Technical communication]]