What is Keep a Changelog?

Keep a Changelog (keepachangelog.com) is a convention for maintaining a CHANGELOG.md file. Each release gets a heading like "## [1.4.2] - 2026-05-18" followed by labeled subsections — Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, and Security — containing bullet points that describe each change.

What should I put in each section?

"Added" lists new features. "Changed" covers changes to existing behavior. "Deprecated" marks features that will be removed in a future release. "Removed" lists features removed in this release. "Fixed" covers bug fixes. "Security" documents vulnerability patches.

What is the Compare URL at the bottom?

Keep a Changelog recommends adding a reference link at the end of your file so each version heading links to a diff on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. The Compare URL helper builds that link automatically from a repository URL and the previous and current tag names.

Do I need to fill in all six sections?

No. Only check and fill in the sections that are relevant to this release. Empty or unchecked sections are omitted from the output.

Is an Unreleased entry supported?

Yes. Check the "Unreleased" toggle instead of entering a version number and date to produce the standard "## [Unreleased]" heading used for changes not yet tagged.

Is any data sent to a server?

No. All formatting happens in your browser with JavaScript. Nothing you type is transmitted anywhere.

Changelog Entry Formatter

Fill in version, date, and change sections (Added, Fixed, etc.) and get a properly formatted Keep a Changelog Markdown entry with one click.

Release Info

Unreleased entry (no version or date)

Version

Release Date

Change Sections

Check the sections relevant to this release. Enter one bullet point per line — no leading hyphens needed.

Added New features

Changed Changes in existing functionality

Deprecated Soon-to-be removed features

Removed Removed features

Fixed Bug fixes

Security Vulnerability fixes

Compare URL Helper (optional)

Generates the reference link appended at the bottom of the entry, e.g.
[1.4.2]: https://github.com/owner/repo/compare/v1.4.1...v1.4.2

Repository URL

Previous Tag

Current Tag

Markdown Output

Fill in the form and click Generate to see your changelog entry here.

Rendered Preview

Preview appears after generating.

Copied!

Summary

This in-browser tool generates a changelog entry that follows the Keep a Changelog 1.1.0 specification. Pick a version and date, check the change-type sections you need, enter one bullet per line, and click Generate. An optional Compare URL helper constructs the GitHub/GitLab reference link from your repo URL and tag names. The output panel shows the formatted Markdown and a live rendered preview.

How it works

Enter the version number (e.g. 1.4.2) and pick the release date.
Check the change-type sections that apply to this release (Added, Changed, Fixed, etc.).
Type one bullet point per line in each section's textarea.
Optionally fill in the Compare URL helper to auto-generate the reference link.
Click "Generate" and the formatted Markdown appears in the output panel.
Click "Copy Markdown" to copy the entry to your clipboard.

Use cases

Generating a new release entry for a CHANGELOG.md file that follows Keep a Changelog.
Quickly producing well-structured release notes before tagging a new version.
Ensuring consistent formatting across team members who contribute to the changelog.
Building the comparison link between two Git tags without memorizing the URL pattern.
Previewing how the Markdown will render before pasting it into your repository.
Onboarding contributors who are unfamiliar with the Keep a Changelog specification.
Documenting security patches or deprecations in the correct section format.
Preparing patch notes for open-source projects that publish changelogs to end users.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-05-23 · Reviewed by Nham Vu