What format does it follow?

Keep a Changelog (keepachangelog.com) — the de facto standard. Sections: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security. [Unreleased] at the top, dated versions below.

How does it handle semver?

The generator prompts for the first version number (default 0.1.0 per semver). Subsequent releases you edit manually — the tool is a starter, not a git-aware release automator.

Can I use it with auto-changelog tools?

Yes — the output format is compatible with conventional-changelog, release-please, and changesets. Use this tool to seed your first CHANGELOG.md.

Is there a machine-readable variant?

Toggle to JSON output. Useful for release automation and cross-language tooling. Still follows Keep a Changelog's structure.

CHANGELOG.md Generator | DevTools Surf

DevTools Surf

Example: CHANGELOG.md Generator

A worked example, rendered from real sample data. Sign in to run the tool on your own input.

Input

v=1.0.0 date=2026-04-19

Output

# Changelog

All notable changes to this project are documented here. Format: [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- 

### Changed
- 

### Fixed
- 

## [1.0.0] - 2026-04-19

### Added
- Initial release

[Unreleased]: https://github.com/you/project/compare/v1.0.0...HEAD
[1.0.0]: https://github.com/you/project/releases/tag/v1.0.0

About CHANGELOG.md Generator

CHANGELOG.md Generator preview - Generators tool

Keep a Changelog starter with [Unreleased] + first version section. Part of the DevTools Surf developer suite. Browse more tools in the Generators collection.

Use Cases

Maintainers starting a changelog for their first public release
Release managers documenting breaking changes for major versions
Teams adopting Keep a Changelog format across all repositories
Product managers tracking feature additions between releases

Tips

Start with an [Unreleased] section for ongoing changes
Follow Keep a Changelog format for community recognition
Link version headers to git comparison URLs for traceability

Fun Facts

The 'Keep a Changelog' format was created by Olivier Lacan in 2014 and has been adopted by thousands of open-source projects as a de facto standard.
Semantic Versioning (SemVer), which changelogs typically reference, was formalized by Tom Preston-Werner (GitHub co-founder) in his SemVer 2.0.0 specification in 2013.
Conventional Commits, a specification for structured commit messages that auto-generate changelogs, was first published in 2017 and is used by Angular, Vue, and Electron.

FAQ

What format does it follow?: Keep a Changelog (keepachangelog.com) — the de facto standard. Sections: Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security. [Unreleased] at the top, dated versions below.
How does it handle semver?: The generator prompts for the first version number (default 0.1.0 per semver). Subsequent releases you edit manually — the tool is a starter, not a git-aware release automator.
Can I use it with auto-changelog tools?: Yes — the output format is compatible with conventional-changelog, release-please, and changesets. Use this tool to seed your first CHANGELOG.md.
Is there a machine-readable variant?: Toggle to JSON output. Useful for release automation and cross-language tooling. Still follows Keep a Changelog's structure.

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