-
Release candidate (RC): what it means and how to run one
A release candidate is a build that ships as the final version unless testing finds a blocker. Where RC sits after beta, how to version it, and exit rules.
Engineering5 min read
-
CHANGELOG.md: what goes in it and how to keep it current
A CHANGELOG.md is the reader-facing record of what changed in each version. The sections it needs, a full example, and the one habit that keeps it current.
Engineering6 min read
-
GitHub release notes: generate them, then make them readable
GitHub can draft release notes from merged pull requests in one click. What it holds, how release.yml shapes it, and the edit pass that makes it readable.
Engineering6 min read
-
Release management process for teams that ship often
A release management process for software teams in seven steps, with an owner and exit criteria for each, plus the DORA metrics and one more KPI to track.
Engineering7 min read
-
Who writes the changelog, and who should
Who writes the changelog? The PR author knows what changed; the PM knows why it matters. Neither alone writes an entry customers can actually use.
Engineering5 min read
-
Changelog file formats: JSON, YAML, or just Markdown
A changelog file's format decides whether it can feed a page and a widget, or only be read by a person. Markdown, JSON and YAML cost different things.
Engineering5 min read
-
A changelog check for GitHub Actions
A changelog check in GitHub Actions that refuses to merge without an entry, why relying on memory fails on a schedule, and what the check itself breaks.
Engineering5 min read
-
Git tags, releases, and your changelog
A git tag, a release, and a changelog entry are three records of one event. Conflating them is how a changelog drifts from what shipped. How they line up.
Engineering5 min read
-
Monorepo changelogs: one log, or one per package?
A monorepo can ship one changelog for the whole repo or one per package. Picking wrong makes releases either too noisy to read or too scattered to find.
Engineering5 min read
-
Semantic versioning and your changelog
Semantic versioning tells a caller how much a release can hurt before they read a word of it. What each number promises, and what an entry owes.
Engineering5 min read
-
How to build a changelog page people subscribe to
A changelog page is worth building when somebody returns to it. Where it lives, what an entry needs, feeds and markup, and how the widget fits alongside.
Engineering6 min read
-
Changelog automation, and its limits
Automate collection, formatting and publishing. Do not automate selection or wording. Here is where the line sits and what happens each time it moves.
Engineering6 min read
-
From conventional commits to a changelog
Conventional commits make a changelog derivable. They do not make it readable. Here is what the convention buys, where it stops, and how to bridge the gap.
Engineering5 min read
-
Keep a Changelog, actually implemented
The Keep a Changelog spec is one page and takes ten minutes to read. Implementing it is where teams drift. What it says, leaves open, and gets wrong.
Engineering5 min read
