# Changelog Automation Contract

## Status Snapshot

Current state as of 2026-05-13:

- The shared implementation is present in `internal/changelog/` and is exposed
  as `sow-toolkit build-changelog`.
- Consumer configs exist in both `module/scripts/changelog.json` and
  `assets/scripts/changelog.json`.
- CLI parsing and generator behavior are covered by
  `internal/app/app_test.go` and `internal/changelog/changelog_test.go`.
- `module/scripts/release-all.sh` already stages `build/CHANGELOG.md`.

Remaining work:

- confirm and document the `assets/` release workflow uses the shared command in
  the same way as `module/`
- build the deferred cross-repo NodeBB aggregation bot if combined public release
  posts are still desired

## Scope

This contract governs release changelog generation across:

- `toolkit/` as the implementation owner
- `module/` as a changelog-producing consumer
- `assets/` as a changelog-producing consumer

The immediate goal is to produce stable per-repo `CHANGELOG.md` release artifacts
that can later be merged by a NodeBB bot into one combined release post.

## Ownership Split

- `toolkit/`
  - owns the shared changelog generator implementation
  - owns the CLI contract exposed through `sow-toolkit`
  - owns the config schema used by consumer repos
- `module/`
  - owns its changelog section mapping under `scripts/changelog.json`
  - owns invoking changelog generation during its tag release flow
- `assets/`
  - owns its changelog section mapping under `scripts/changelog.json`
  - owns invoking changelog generation during its tag release flow

## Shared CLI Contract

The canonical generator entrypoint is:

```bash
sow-toolkit build-changelog
```

Supported flags:

- `--config <path>`: repo-local JSON section config
- `--output <path>`: write rendered Markdown to a file; otherwise stdout
- `--current-tag <tag>`: optional explicit current tag
- `--previous-tag <tag>`: optional explicit previous tag
- `--api-base-url <url>`: optional explicit Gitea API base URL
- `--token <token>`: optional explicit Gitea API token

If `--current-tag` is omitted, the generator must resolve the exact tag at
`HEAD`. If `--previous-tag` is omitted, it must select the next older tag by
`creatordate`.

## Config Contract

Each consumer repo provides `scripts/changelog.json` with:

- `repo_url`: canonical web URL for pull request and commit links
- `categories[]`
- `categories[].title`
- `categories[].sections[]`
- `categories[].sections[].title`
- `categories[].sections[].paths[]`

Paths are repo-relative path filters passed through to `git log`.

## Author Contract

Rendered changelog entries must support both first-parent pull-request-style
pushes and direct first-parent pushes between the selected tags.

For pull-request-style commits that include a `(#123)` suffix, the generator
must resolve author names from the Gitea pull request API rather than trusting
the merge commit author field.

Expected endpoint shape:

- `GET /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/pulls/{index}`
- prefer `user.full_name`
- fall back to `user.login` only if `full_name` is empty

## Release Contract

For each version-tagged release workflow:

1. generate `build/CHANGELOG.md` for the current tag;
2. upload `CHANGELOG.md` as a release asset on the versioned release;
3. keep the file name stable across repos so later automation can fetch it
   without repo-specific asset naming logic.

The changelog is a staged build artifact, not a committed source-controlled file.
This avoids detached-tag push complexity while preserving a stable artifact for
later aggregation.

For direct pushes without a pull number suffix, the generator must render the
commit using its commit hash link and commit author without calling the pull
request API.

## Output Contract

The Markdown output must remain simple and merge-friendly:

- title line with current tag and publish date
- comparison line naming the previous tag when one exists
- category headings
- section headings
- bullet entries in one of these forms:

```text
- Title ([#123](.../pulls/123)) - From Author Name
- Title ([abc1234](.../commit/<sha>)) - From Author Name
```

## Deferred Work

- add a dedicated bot that fetches `CHANGELOG.md` assets from module and assets
  releases, merges them, and publishes a single NodeBB release post
- decide whether changelog generation should later move from shell wrappers into
  first-class repo-root user commands
