auto-changelog

At a glance

• Editor score
  6.0 / 10
• Pricing
  Free plan
• Best for
  Teams customizing changelogs from Git history
• Free plan
  Yes
• Paid from
  Free
• Semantic versioning
  No
• Facts checked
  5 Oct 2026

• Where it wins

  • Offers compact, Keep a Changelog, and JSON templates.
  • Parses merged pull requests and closed issues from commit history.
  • Supports custom templates, plugins, and monorepo tag-prefix detection.

• Where it doesn't

  • Requires Git and semver-formatted tags for standard release detection.
  • Generates changelogs but does not determine semantic version increments.
  • Does not publish releases or provide release notes.

Our verdict on auto-changelog

For projects that keep their source history in Git, auto-changelog is a command-line tool that turns tags and commits into changelog output. Teams can select compact, Keep a Changelog, or JSON templates, include unreleased changes and release summaries, and save output to files. It can also be integrated into a package’s version script. This fits teams that want control over changelog content and formatting across a range of organization sizes, while remaining a poor fit for teams seeking an end-to-end release manager.

Its scope is changelog generation rather than version management. Standard release detection expects semantic-version-formatted tags, but the tool does not choose semantic version increments. Commit, tag, and issue patterns are configurable, as are links for commits, issues, merges, and version comparisons. It can parse merged pull requests and closed issues from commit history, and monorepo package tag-prefix detection is supported when enabled. Custom templates and plugins offer room to adapt output, though teams should expect to configure their desired conventions rather than rely on automatic release decisions.

The project is open source and self-hosted, with documentation and community support. Its listed integrations include GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, npm, and Yarn; these are ecosystem connections for a Git-oriented command-line workflow, not a hosted service. Choose auto-changelog if the main need is tailored changelog generation from repository history and tags. Look elsewhere if publishing releases, producing release notes as a separate function, or calculating version increments is central to the workflow.

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auto-changelog pricing

auto-changelog fact sheet

auto-changelog integrations

auto-changelog lists 6 integrations on its own site.

• GitHub
• GitLab
• Bitbucket
• Azure DevOps
• npm
• Yarn

Alternatives to auto-changelog

• semantic-releaseAn open-source CI release tool that turns commit history into versions, notes, and published releases.9.1
• LernaLerna combines monorepo task orchestration with npm package versioning and publishing.8.1
• RIrelease-itA flexible release CLI that handles Git workflows, release notes and npm publishing.7.9

See all auto-changelog alternatives →

Featured on iTechGuides

auto-changelog is listed in our Release Automation Tools directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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Last updated 20 Oct 2026 · How we research and update