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Gradle Changelog Plugin

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A Gradle plugin providing tasks and helper methods to simplify working with a changelog that is managed in the keep a changelog style.

Note

This project requires Gradle 6.8 or newer

Upgrade Gradle Wrapper with ./gradlew wrapper --gradle-version 8.3

Table of contents

Usage

The latest available version is: Gradle Plugin

Note

The patchPluginXml task is defined in Gradle IntelliJ Plugin

build.gradle.kts (Kotlin)

import org.jetbrains.changelog.Changelog
import org.jetbrains.changelog.ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder
import org.jetbrains.changelog.date

plugins {
    id("org.jetbrains.changelog") version "..."
}

tasks {
    // ...

    patchPluginXml {
        changeNotes.set(provider {
            changelog.renderItem(
                changelog
                    .getUnreleased()
                    .withHeader(false)
                    .withEmptySections(false),
                Changelog.OutputType.HTML
            )
        })
    }
}

changelog {
    version.set("1.0.0")
    path.set(file("CHANGELOG.md").canonicalPath)
    header.set(provider { "[${version.get()}] - ${date()}" })
    headerParserRegex.set("""(\d+\.\d+)""".toRegex())
    introduction.set(
        """
        My awesome project that provides a lot of useful features, like:
        
        - Feature 1
        - Feature 2
        - and Feature 3
        """.trimIndent()
    )
    itemPrefix.set("-")
    keepUnreleasedSection.set(true)
    unreleasedTerm.set("[Unreleased]")
    groups.set(listOf("Added", "Changed", "Deprecated", "Removed", "Fixed", "Security"))
    lineSeparator.set("\n")
    combinePreReleases.set(true)
    sectionUrlBuilder.set(ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder { repositoryUrl, currentVersion, previousVersion, isUnreleased -> "foo" })
}

build.gradle (Groovy)

import org.jetbrains.changelog.Changelog
import org.jetbrains.changelog.ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder
import org.jetbrains.changelog.ExtensionsKt

plugins {
    id 'org.jetbrains.changelog' version '...'
}

apply plugin: 'org.jetbrains.changelog'

intellij {
    // ...

    patchPluginXml {
        changeNotes = provider {
            changelog.renderItem(
                changelog
                    .getUnreleased()
                    .withHeader(false)
                    .withEmptySections(false),
                Changelog.OutputType.HTML
            )
        }
    }
}

changelog {
    version = "1.0.0"
    path = file("CHANGELOG.md").canonicalPath
    header = "[${-> version.get()}] - ${ExtensionsKt.date("yyyy-MM-dd")}"
    headerParserRegex = ~/(\d+\.\d+)/
    introduction = """
        My awesome project that provides a lot of useful features, like:
        
        - Feature 1
        - Feature 2
        - and Feature 3
    """.stripIndent()
    itemPrefix = "-"
    keepUnreleasedSection = true
    unreleasedTerm = "[Unreleased]"
    groups = ["Added", "Changed", "Deprecated", "Removed", "Fixed", "Security"]
    lineSeparator = "\n"
    combinePreReleases = true
    sectionUrlBuilder = { repositoryUrl, currentVersion, previousVersion, isUnreleased -> "foo" } as ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder
}

Note

All the extension and task properties are now lazy (see Lazy Configuration).

To set values in Kotlin DSL, use .set(...) method explicitly, like changelog.version.set("1.0.0"), in Groovy it is still possible to use = assignment.

To access property value, call .get(), like: changelog.version.get() in both variants.

Configuration

Plugin can be configured with the following properties set in the changelog {} closure:

PropertyDescription
versionPrefixVersion prefix used to compare tags.Type: String <br/> Default value: v
versionCurrent version. By default, project's version is used.Type: String <br/> Default value: project.version
pathPath to the changelog file.Type: String <br/> Default value: file("CHANGELOG.md").cannonicalPath
preTitleOptional content placed before the title.Type: String? <br/> Default value: null
titleThe changelog title set as the top-lever header – #.Type: String <br/> Default value: "Changelog"
introductionOptional content placed after the title.Type: String? <br/> Default value: null
headerHeader value used when patching the Unreleased section with text containing the current version.Type: String <br/> Default value: provider { "${version.get()} - ${date()}" }
headerParserRegexRegex/Pattern/String used to extract version from the header string.Type: Regex / Pattern / String <br/> Default value: null, fallbacks to SEM_VER_REGEX
unreleasedTermUnreleased section name.Type: String <br/> Default value: "[Unreleased]"
keepUnreleasedSectionAdd an unreleased empty section on the top of the changelog after running the patching task.Type: Boolean <br/> Default value: true
patchEmptyPatches changelog even if no release note is provided.Type: Boolean <br/> Default value: true
groupsList of groups created with a new Unreleased section.Type: String <br/> Default value: ["Added", "Changed", "Deprecated", "Removed", "Fixed", "Security"]
itemPrefixSingle item's prefix, allows to customise the bullet sign.Type: String <br/> Default value: "-"
combinePreReleasesCombines pre-releases (like 1.0.0-alpha, 1.0.0-beta.2) into the final release note when patching.Type: Boolean <br/> Default value: true
lineSeparatorLine separator used for generating changelog content.Type: String <br/> Default value: "\n" or determined from the existing file
repositoryUrlThe GitHub repository URL used to build release links. If provided, leads to the GitHub comparison page.Type: String? <br/> Default value: null
sectionUrlBuilderFunction to build a single URL to link section with the GitHub page to present changes within the given release.Type: ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder <br/> Default value: Common ChangelogSectionUrlBuilder implementation

Note

The header closure has the delegate explicitly set to the extension's context for the sake of the Configuration cache support.

Tasks

The plugin introduces the following tasks:

TaskDescription
getChangelogRetrieves changelog for the specified version.
initializeChangelogCreates a new changelog file with an unreleased section and empty groups.
patchChangelogUpdates the unreleased section to the given version.

getChangelog

Retrieves changelog for the specified version.

Options

OptionTypeDefault valueDescription
--no-headerBooleanfalseOmits the section header in the changelog output.
--no-summaryBooleanfalseOmits the section summary in the changelog output.
--no-linksBooleanfalseOmits links in the changelog output.
--no-empty-sectionsBooleanfalseOmits empty sections in the changelog output.
--project-versionString?nullReturns change notes for the specified project version.
--unreleasedBooleanfalseReturns change notes for an unreleased section.

Examples

$ ./gradlew getChangelog --console=plain -q --no-header --no-summary

### Added
- Initial project scaffold
- GitHub Actions to automate testing and deployment
- Kotlin support

initializeChangelog

Creates a new changelog file with an unreleased section and empty groups.

Examples

$ ./gradlew initializeChangelog
$ cat CHANGELOG.md

## [Unreleased]
### Added
- Example item

### Changed

### Deprecated

### Removed

### Fixed

### Security

patchChangelog

Updates the unreleased section to the given version.

Options

OptionTypeDefault valueDescription
--release-noteString?nullUse custom release note to create new changelog entry.

Warning

Content provided with the --release-note option will override the existing release note for the latest unreleased entry.

Examples

$ cat CHANGELOG.md
## [Unreleased]
### Added
- A based new feature
 
$ ./gradlew patchChangelog
$ cat CHANGELOG.md

## [Unreleased]
### Added

## [1.0.0]
### Added
- A based new feature
$ cat CHANGELOG.md
## [Unreleased]
### Added
- This note will get overridden by the `--release-note`

$ ./gradlew patchChangelog --release-note='- Foo'
$ cat CHANGELOG.md
## [Unreleased]
### Added

## [1.0.0]
- Foo

Extension Methods

All the methods are available via the changelog extension and allow for reading the changelog file within the Gradle tasks to provide the latest (or specific) change notes.

Note

The following methods depend on the changelog extension set in the Configuration build phase. For safe access and process of your changelog file, we recommend accessing the changelog extension within Gradle closures as presented in the Usage section.

changelog.get(version: String): Changelog.Item

The method returns a Changelog.Item? object for the specified version. Throws MissingVersionException if the version is not available.

Parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
versionStringChange note version.

changelog.getUnreleased(): Changelog.Item

The method returns a Changelog.Item object for the unreleased version. Throws MissingVersionException if the version is not available.

changelog.getLatest(): Changelog.Item

The method returns the latest released Changelog.Item object (first on the list). Throws MissingVersionException if the version is not available.

changelog.has(version: String): Boolean

The method checks if the given version exists in the changelog.

Parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
versionStringChange note version.

changelog.render(outputType: Changelog.OutputType): String

Renders the whole Changelog object to string based on the given outputType.

Parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
outputTypeChangelog.OutputTypeOutput type, see Changelog.OutputType

changelog.renderItem(item: Changelog.Item, outputType: Changelog.OutputType): String

Renders the given Changelog.Item object to string based on the given outputType.

Parameters

ParameterTypeDescription
itemChangelog.ItemItem to render, see Changelog.Item
outputTypeChangelog.OutputTypeOutput type, see Changelog.OutputType

changelog.getInstance(): Changelog

Returns the Changelog instance shared among all the tasks. See Changelog for more details.

Classes

Changelog class

The Changelog class is a wrapper for the Changelog file. It provides methods to read and write the changelog file.

Properties

NameTypeDescription
preTitleStringOptional content placed before the title.
titleStringThe changelog title set as the top-lever header – #.
introductionStringOptional content placed after the title.
itemsMap<String, Changelog.Item>List of all items available in the changelog stored in a map of version to Changelog.Item.
unreleasedItemChangelog.Item?An instance of the unreleased item, may be null.
releasedItemsList<Changelog.Item>List of already released item instances.
linksMap<String, String>List of all links stored at the end of the changelog in a map of id to url.

Methods

NameReturn typeDescription
get(version: String)Changelog.ItemReturns item for the given version. Throws MissingVersionException if missing.
getLatest()Changelog.ItemReturns the latest released item. Throws MissingVersionException if missing.
has(version: String)BooleanChecks if item with the given version exists.
render(outputType: Changelog.OutputType)StringRenders the whole Changelog object to string based on the given outputType.
renderItem(item: Changelog.Item, outputType: Changelog.OutputType)StringRenders the given Changelog.Item object to string based on the given outputType.

Changelog.OutputType enum

NameDescription
MARKDOWNDefault, Markdown content format.
PLAIN_TEXTPlain text with no Markdown syntax generated.
HTMLHTML content created out of Markdown version.

Changelog.Item class

Methods described in the above section return Changelog.Item object, which is a representation of the single changelog section for the specific version.

It provides a couple of properties and methods that allow altering the output form of the change notes:

Properties

NameTypeDescription
versionStringItem version.
headerStringLiteral representation of the given item – may contain version with extra meta, like date.
summaryStringOptional summary of the release item.
isUnreleasedBooleanDetermines if an item is released or not.

Methods

NameDescriptionReturned type
withHeader(Boolean)Includes header part in the output.Changelog.Item
withLinkedHeader(Boolean)Adds link to the version in the header.Changelog.Item
withSummary(Boolean)Includes summary part.Changelog.Item
withLinks(Boolean)Returns links used in the release section at the end.Changelog.Item
withEmptySections(Boolean)Prints empty sections.Changelog.Item
withFilter(Boolean)Applies custom filter to the returned entries.Changelog.Item
toText()Deprecated. Use changelog.renderItem(item)String
toPlainText()Deprecated. Use changelog.renderItem(item, Changelog.OutputType.PLAIN_TEXT)String
toString()Deprecated. Use changelog.renderItem(item, Changelog.OutputType.MARKDOWN)String
toHTML()Deprecated. Use changelog.renderItem(item, Changelog.OutputType.HTML)String

Helper Methods

NameDescriptionReturned type
date(pattern: String = "yyyy-MM-dd")Shorthand for retrieving the current date in the given format.String
markdownToHTML(input: String, lineSeparator: String = "\n")Converts given Markdown content to HTML output.String
markdownToPlainText(input: String, lineSeparator: String)Converts given Markdown content to Plain Text output.String

Note

To use package-level Kotlin functions in Groovy, you need to import the containing file as a class:

import org.jetbrains.changelog.ExtensionsKt

changelog {
  header = { "[$version] - ${ExtensionsKt.date('yyyy-MM-dd')}" }
}

Usage Examples

Changelog

All releases are available in the Releases section. The latest available version is:

Gradle Plugin

Contributing

Please see CONTRIBUTING on how to submit feedback and contribute to this project.

License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"), see LICENCE.