Changelog Writer

Generate changelogs for a new Bifrost release. Reads git history to identify changes per module, asks the user for version bump type, bumps all module versions respecting the dependency hierarchy, writes transports/changelog.md and per-module changelog.md files, and updates version files.

IMPORTANT: This skill NEVER creates or modifies files under docs/. No MDX files, no docs.json updates. Only changelog.md and version files within module directories.

Module Hierarchy

Changes cascade down this dependency chain:

core → framework → plugins → transports

• core depends on nothing internal
• framework depends on core
• plugins/* each depend on core + framework
• transports depends on core + framework + all plugins

If core changes, every module below it must bump its version (at minimum a patch bump).

If framework changes (but not core), plugins and transports must bump.

If only a plugin changes, transports must bump.

If only transports changes, only transports bumps.

Usage

/changelog-writer                    # Interactive — prompts for everything
/changelog-writer <transport-ver>    # Pre-set transport version (e.g., v1.5.0)

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Current State

Read the current version of every module:

echo "core: $(cat core/version)"
echo "framework: $(cat framework/version)"
echo "transports: $(cat transports/version)"
for d in plugins/*/; do echo "$(basename $d): $(cat ${d}version)"; done

To understand the previous release state, use the latest released tags (do NOT use docs/changelogs file mtimes — that directory also holds helm-, cli-, edge-, ent-, and prerelease files):

for prefix in core framework transports; do
  git tag -l "$prefix/v*" --sort=-v:refname | head -1
done

If a docs changelog for that transport version exists (docs/changelogs/v<version>.mdx), read it to know the previous versions of all modules.

Step 2: Identify Changes Since Last Release

The base for change detection is always determined per module from git — never from docs/changelogs filenames or file mtimes. (docs/changelogs contains helm-, cli-, edge-, ent-, and prerelease mdx files, so "newest mdx" does not identify the last release.)

For each module, resolve the base commit in this priority order:

# 1. Latest released tag for the module, by version sort (NOT mtime, NOT alphabetical):
TAG=$(git tag -l "core/v*" --sort=-v:refname | head -1)   # framework/v*, transports/v*, plugins tags likewise

# 2. Module tags may be cut on release branches. If the tag is not an ancestor
#    of HEAD, fall back to the last commit that modified the module's version
#    file on the current branch:
if git merge-base --is-ancestor "$TAG" HEAD; then
  BASE=$TAG
else
  BASE=$(git log -1 --format=%H -- core/version)
fi
echo "core base: $BASE"

Then apply the hard rule: if git diff ${BASE}..HEAD -- <module>/ is non-empty (ignoring only the module's own changelog.md and version files), that module MUST get a version bump. No exceptions, no heuristics.

# Changes in core
git diff --name-only ${BASE}..HEAD -- core/ ':(exclude)core/changelog.md' ':(exclude)core/version'

# Changes in framework
git diff --name-only ${BASE}..HEAD -- framework/ ':(exclude)framework/changelog.md' ':(exclude)framework/version'

# Changes in each plugin
for d in plugins/*/; do
  CHANGES=$(git diff --name-only ${BASE}..HEAD -- "$d" ":(exclude)${d}changelog.md" ":(exclude)${d}version" | wc -l)
  if [ "$CHANGES" -gt 0 ]; then
    echo "$(basename $d): $CHANGES files changed"
  fi
done

# Changes in transports
git diff --name-only ${BASE}..HEAD -- transports/ ':(exclude)transports/changelog.md' ':(exclude)transports/version'

List the commits in the window for changelog writing:

git log ${BASE}..HEAD --oneline --no-merges -- <module>/

Step 3: Classify Changes and Determine Bump Types

Present the identified changes to the user and ask what type of version bump each changed module needs.

Always ask the user with AskUserQuestion what bump type to use for each module.

Ask for every module that will be bumped — both modules with code changes and modules with only cascade bumps. Use AskUserQuestion with up to 4 questions at a time (the tool's limit), batching in hierarchy order:

1. First batch: core, framework, and up to 2 plugins
2. Continue with remaining plugins and transports

For each module ask: "What type of version bump for {module}?"

Options:

• patch — Bug fixes, small improvements (0.0.X)
• minor — New features, non-breaking changes (0.X.0)
• major — Breaking changes (X.0.0)

Note: Minor bumps reset the patch version to 0 (e.g., 1.4.24 → 1.5.0). Patch bumps only increment the last number (e.g., 1.4.24 → 1.4.25).

Step 4: Calculate New Versions

Apply version bumps. Semver rules:

• patch: 1.4.4 → 1.4.5
• minor: 1.4.4 → 1.5.0
• major: 1.4.4 → 2.0.0

Calculate new versions for ALL modules following the cascade rules:

new_core_version = bump(current_core, user_chosen_bump) if core changed, else current_core
new_framework_version = bump(current_framework, user_chosen_bump) if framework changed, else patch_bump(current_framework) if core changed, else current_framework
new_plugin_X_version = bump(current_plugin_X, user_chosen_bump) if plugin_X changed, else patch_bump(current_plugin_X) if core or framework changed, else current_plugin_X
new_transport_version = bump(current_transport, user_chosen_bump) if transport changed, else patch_bump(current_transport) if any upstream changed

Present the version plan to the user for confirmation before proceeding.

Show a table like:

Module             Current    New       Bump Type    Reason
core               1.4.4      1.5.0    minor        code changes
framework          1.2.23     1.3.0    minor        cascade from core
governance         1.4.24     1.4.25   patch        cascade from core+framework
...
transports         1.4.9      1.5.0    minor        cascade from all

Wait for user confirmation. If they want to adjust any version, update accordingly.

Step 5: Collect and Write Changelog Entries

For each module, compose changelog entries from the git log.

Read the actual git commits and changed code to write meaningful entries:

# For each changed module, get detailed commit messages
git log ${BASE}..HEAD --oneline --no-merges -- core/
git log ${BASE}..HEAD --oneline --no-merges -- framework/
# etc.

Credit Outside Contributors

For each commit that references a PR number (e.g., #1234), check if the author is an outside contributor:

# Get the repo name
REPO=$(gh repo view --json nameWithOwner --jq '.nameWithOwner')

# For each PR number found in commits:
gh api "repos/$REPO/pulls/<PR_NUMBER>" --jq '"\(.number) \(.user.login) \(.author_association)"'

author_association values:

• MEMBER, OWNER, COLLABORATOR → internal team, no credit needed
• CONTRIBUTOR, FIRST_TIMER, FIRST_TIME_CONTRIBUTOR, NONE → outside contributor, credit them

How to credit:

Use a markdown link to the contributor's GitHub profile: [@username](https://github.com/username)

• In transports/changelog.md (enterprise-style): append (thanks [@username](https://github.com/username)!) to the description
  • Example: - **Logprobs JSON Tag** — Fixed logprobs JSON tag in BifrostResponseChoice (thanks [@contributor](https://github.com/contributor)!)
• In per-module changelog.md (flat-list): append (thanks [@username](https://github.com/username)!) to the entry
  • Example: - fix: fixed logprobs JSON tag in BifrostResponseChoice (thanks [@contributor](https://github.com/contributor)!)

If multiple PRs from the same outside contributor are grouped into one entry, credit them once.

Collect Closed GitHub Issues

Gather every GitHub issue closed in this release so they can be listed in the ## 🐙 Closed GitHub Issues section of transports/changelog.md. Each issue MUST be rendered as a markdown link.

For each PR in the release window, query its linked closing issues (this catches Closes #N / Fixes #N links even when the commit subject doesn't mention them):

# For each PR number in the release window:
gh api graphql -f query="query{repository(owner:\"maximhq\",name:\"bifrost\"){pullRequest(number:PR_NUMBER){closingIssuesReferences(first:100){nodes{number title}}}}}" \
  --jq '.data.repository.pullRequest.closingIssuesReferences.nodes[]? | "#\(.number)\t\(.title)"'

Also grep commit bodies for closing keywords as a fallback (some issues are linked only in the message text):

git log ${BASE}..HEAD --no-merges --pretty=format:"%B" | grep -ioE "(close[sd]?|fix(e[sd])?|resolve[sd]?) +#[0-9]+" | sort -u

Merge both sources and deduplicate by issue number before confirming/rendering (e.g. collect all #N values and sort -un), so an issue linked via both closingIssuesReferences and a commit-body keyword appears only once.

Confirm each issue's state and final title before listing it:

gh api repos/maximhq/bifrost/issues/<ISSUE_NUMBER> --jq '"#\(.number) [\(.state)] \(.title)"'

Render every closed issue as a markdown link in ascending issue-number order:

- [#3795](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/issues/3795) — MCP tools fail with Bedrock provider in v1.5.0

If an issue's title is generic or unhelpful (e.g. just [Bug Report]), read the issue body and write a short, specific description instead.

Present the draft entries to the user for review before writing files.

Per-Module changelog.md (core, framework, plugins)

Write simple flat-list entries to each module's changelog.md:

- fix: description of what was fixed
- feat: description of new feature
- hotfix: description of urgent fix

For modules with only cascading bumps (no code changes), add a chore: entry describing which upstream dependencies were bumped. No changelog should ever be left empty. Example:

- chore: upgraded core to v1.5.0 and framework to v1.3.0

If only one upstream changed, mention just that one (e.g., - chore: upgraded core to v1.5.0). Always use the actual new versions of the upstream modules.

Formatting rules for per-module changelogs:

• Each entry starts with - followed by the type prefix and colon
• Use fix:, feat:, hotfix:, or chore: prefixes
• Breaking changes get a <Note> or <Warning> block indented under the entry
• Keep entries concise — 1 line per change unless a breaking change note is needed

transports/changelog.md (Enterprise-Style Format)

The transports changelog uses a categorized format with bold names. Write it using this template:

## ✨ Features

- **Feature Name** — Description of the feature
- **Feature Name** — Description of the feature

## 🐞 Fixed

- **Bug Name** — Description of what was fixed
- **Bug Name** — Description of what was fixed

## 🐙 Closed GitHub Issues

- [#1234](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/issues/1234) — Issue title
- [#1235](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/issues/1235) — Issue title

Formatting rules for transports/changelog.md:

• Use ## ✨ Features and ## 🐞 Fixed section headers
• Each entry uses bold name followed by em dash (—) and description
• Keep descriptions concise — 1-2 lines max per bullet
• Group related commits into a single bullet point
• Include changes from ALL modules (transports is the top-level summary)
• Breaking changes get a <Warning> or <Note> block indented under the entry
• Omit sections that have no entries (e.g., if there are no features, skip the Features section)
• If the release has only cascading bumps and no meaningful features or fixes, add a ## 🔧 Maintenance section with an entry like: - **Dependency Upgrades** — Bumped core to v1.5.0 and framework to v1.3.0 across all modules
• Add a ## 🐙 Closed GitHub Issues section listing every issue closed in this release (see "Collect Closed GitHub Issues" below). Each entry MUST be a markdown link to the issue: - [#NUMBER](https://github.com/maximhq/bifrost/issues/NUMBER) — Issue title. Omit the section only if no issues were closed.

Step 6: Update Version Files

Update the version file in each module that was bumped:

echo "{new_version}" > core/version
echo "{new_version}" > framework/version
echo "{new_version}" > transports/version
echo "{new_version}" > plugins/{plugin}/version

Do NOT update go.mod files — that is handled separately by the developer as part of the release process.

Step 7: Present Summary

After all files are written, present a summary:

## Changelog Written: v{new_transport_version}

### Files Modified:
- transports/changelog.md
- core/changelog.md
- framework/changelog.md
- plugins/{changed_plugins}/changelog.md
- {list of version files updated}

### Version Bumps:
{table of old → new versions}

### Next Steps:
1. Review the changelogs
2. Update go.mod files with new dependency versions
3. Run `go mod tidy` in each module
4. Create the docs/changelogs MDX file and update docs.json manually
5. Tag the release: git tag v{new_transport_version}

Error Handling

No Changes Detected

If git diff shows no changes since the last release:

No changes detected since the last release (v{last_version}).
Are you sure you want to create a new changelog?

Ask the user to confirm or provide a different base commit/tag.

Version Conflict

If the calculated new version already has a changelog file in docs:

A changelog for v{version} already exists at docs/changelogs/v{version}.mdx.
Would you like to:
1. Continue anyway (version files and changelog.md will be overwritten)
2. Choose a different version number

Missing Module Version File

If a version file is missing:

# Fallback: read version from go.mod
grep "^module" {module}/go.mod

Ask the user what version to use.

Project Directory Reference

bifrost/
├── core/
│   ├── version              # Plain text: "1.5.0"
│   ├── changelog.md         # Simple flat-list format
│   └── go.mod
├── framework/
│   ├── version              # Plain text: "1.3.0"
│   ├── changelog.md         # Simple flat-list format
│   └── go.mod
├── plugins/
│   ├── governance/
│   │   ├── version
│   │   └── changelog.md     # Simple flat-list format
│   ├── jsonparser/version
│   ├── litellmcompat/version
│   ├── logging/
│   │   ├── version
│   │   └── changelog.md     # Simple flat-list format
│   ├── maxim/version
│   ├── mocker/version
│   ├── otel/version
│   ├── semanticcache/version
│   └── telemetry/version
├── transports/
│   ├── version              # Plain text: "1.5.0"
│   ├── changelog.md         # Enterprise-style format (✨ Features / 🐞 Fixed / 🐙 Closed GitHub Issues)
│   └── go.mod
└── docs/
    ├── changelogs/          # ⚠️ DO NOT TOUCH — MDX files managed separately
    └── docs.json            # ⚠️ DO NOT TOUCH — navigation managed separately

Plugin List (Alphabetical Order)

This is the canonical order for plugins:

1. governance
2. jsonparser
3. litellmcompat
4. logging
5. maxim
6. mocker
7. otel
8. semanticcache
9. telemetry