Changelogs

Seal can build changelog sections from merged pull requests in the GitHub repository configured as the project's Git remote.

Configure Sections

Add a [changelog] section to seal.toml and map headings to pull request labels:

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[changelog]
ignore-contributors = ["dependabot[bot]"]
ignore-labels = ["ci", "internal"]
include-contributors = true

[changelog.section-labels]
"Breaking changes" = ["breaking"]
"Enhancements" = ["enhancement"]
"Bug fixes" = ["bug"]
"Other changes" = ["__unknown__"]

Pull requests can appear in more than one section when they have labels from multiple mappings. Use the special __unknown__ label to include pull requests without labels. Pull requests with labels that are not mapped to a section do not appear in a section.

Seal uses CHANGELOG.md by default. Set changelog-path to use another file. See the configuration reference for all filtering and formatting options.

Update the Changelog During a Bump

When [changelog] is configured, seal bump fetches pull requests merged since the latest GitHub release and includes the new version section in its preview:

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seal bump minor --dry-run
seal bump minor

Pass --no-changelog when a particular version bump should update version files only.

Public repositories can use GitHub's unauthenticated API, but setting GITHUB_TOKEN or GH_TOKEN avoids the lower anonymous rate limit. Private repositories require a token with access to the repository.

Rebuild Changelog History

Generate a changelog from existing GitHub releases and merged pull requests:

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seal generate changelog --dry-run
seal generate changelog

Seal refuses to replace an existing changelog unless --overwrite is passed. Use --max-prs to limit how many recent pull requests Seal fetches before grouping them by release.

Generate Release Metadata

seal generate release reads the latest version section and writes JSON containing its title, body, and pre-release status:

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seal generate release

This output is intended for release automation.