Release Notes

Buddy automatically extracts, formats, and includes release notes in pull requests to provide context about package updates and their impact.

Automatic Release Notes Extraction

Buddy intelligently extracts release notes from multiple sources to provide comprehensive update information.

Data Sources

GitHub Releases

const githubReleasesConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    sources: {
      githubReleases: {
        enabled: true,
        includePrerelease: false,
        includeDraft: false,
        maxAge: 365 // days
      }
    }
  }
}

Changelog Files

const changelogConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    sources: {
      changelog: {
        enabled: true,
        files: ['CHANGELOG.md', 'HISTORY.md', 'RELEASES.md'],
        formats: ['keep-a-changelog', 'common-changelog'],
        maxEntries: 10
      }
    }
  }
}

NPM Registry

const npmRegistryConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    sources: {
      npmRegistry: {
        enabled: true,
        includeDescription: true,
        includeKeywords: true,
        maxVersionHistory: 5
      }
    }
  }
}

Git Commits

const gitCommitsConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    sources: {
      gitCommits: {
        enabled: true,
        conventionalCommits: true,
        maxCommits: 20,
        groupByType: true
      }
    }
  }
}

Release Notes Processing

Buddy processes and formats release notes for clarity and consistency.

Content Formatting

export default {
  releaseNotes: {
    formatting: {
      // Markdown processing
      markdown: {
        sanitize: true, // Remove unsafe HTML
        preserveLinks: true, // Keep links intact
        maxLength: 2000, // Truncate long notes
        removeEmptyLines: true // Clean up formatting
      },

      // Content filtering
      filters: {
        excludePatterns: [
          /^chore:/, // Exclude chore commits
          /^docs:/, // Exclude documentation
          /dependabot/i // Exclude dependabot commits
        ],
        includeTypes: [
          'feat',
          'fix',
          'perf',
          'security'
        ]
      },

      // Content enhancement
      enhance: {
        linkIssues: true, // Link issue references
        linkPRs: true, // Link PR references
        formatBreaking: true, // Highlight breaking changes
        addEmojis: false // Add type emojis
      }
    }
  }
} satisfies BuddyBotConfig

Breaking Changes Detection

Automatically detect and highlight breaking changes:

const breakingChangesConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    breakingChanges: {
      detection: {
        keywords: [
          'BREAKING CHANGE',
          'BREAKING:',
          'breaking change',
          'breaking',
          'incompatible'
        ],
        semverMajor: true, // Detect from version bump
        commitFooter: true // Check commit footers
      },

      formatting: {
        highlight: true, // Highlight in notes
        separate: true, // Separate section
        emoji: '⚠️', // Warning emoji
        label: 'Breaking Changes'
      }
    }
  }
}

Release Notes Templates

Customize how release notes appear in pull requests.

Template Configuration

export default {
  releaseNotes: {
    template: {
      // Header template
      header: '## 📋 Release Notes\n\n',

      // Package section template
      packageSection: `
### {packageName} {currentVersion} → {targetVersion}

{releaseNotes}

{breakingChanges}

---
`,

      // Footer template
      footer: '\n*Release notes extracted from GitHub releases, changelogs, and commit history.*',

      // Empty state
      empty: 'No release notes available for this update.',

      // Error handling
      error: 'Unable to fetch release notes. See package documentation for details.'
    }
  }
} satisfies BuddyBotConfig

Custom Templates

const customTemplatesConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    customTemplates: {
      // Security update template
      security: `
## 🔒 Security Update

**{packageName}** has been updated from **{currentVersion}** to **{targetVersion}** to address security vulnerabilities.

### Security Fixes
{securityFixes}

### Other Changes
{otherChanges}

**Recommendation:** This update should be applied immediately.
`,

      // Major update template
      major: `
## 🚀 Major Update

**{packageName}** has been updated from **{currentVersion}** to **{targetVersion}**.

⚠️ **This is a major version update and may contain breaking changes.**

### What's New
{newFeatures}

### Breaking Changes
{breakingChanges}

### Migration Guide
{migrationGuide}

**Action Required:** Review breaking changes and update code as needed.
`,

      // Patch update template
      patch: `
## 🐛 Bug Fixes

**{packageName}** {currentVersion} → {targetVersion}

{releaseNotes}
`
    }
  }
}

Release Notes Aggregation

For pull requests with multiple packages, Buddy intelligently aggregates release notes.

Grouping Strategies

const groupingStrategiesConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    aggregation: {
      // Group by update type
      groupByType: {
        enabled: true,
        types: {
          security: 'Security Updates',
          major: 'Major Updates',
          minor: 'Feature Updates',
          patch: 'Bug Fixes'
        }
      },

      // Group by ecosystem
      groupByEcosystem: {
        enabled: true,
        ecosystems: {
          react: 'React Ecosystem',
          vue: 'Vue.js Ecosystem',
          testing: 'Testing Tools',
          build: 'Build Tools'
        }
      },

      // Priority ordering
      priorityOrder: [
        'security',
        'breaking',
        'major',
        'minor',
        'patch'
      ]
    }
  }
}

Summary Generation

const summaryGenerationConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    summary: {
      enabled: true,

      // Summary template
      template: `
## 📊 Update Summary

- **{totalPackages}** packages updated
- **{securityUpdates}** security updates
- **{majorUpdates}** major updates
- **{minorUpdates}** minor updates
- **{patchUpdates}** patch updates

{topChanges}
`,

      // Top changes extraction
      topChanges: {
        maxItems: 5,
        prioritize: ['security', 'breaking', 'new-features'],
        format: '• {change} ({package})'
      }
    }
  }
}

Advanced Features

Release Notes Caching

const cachingConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    caching: {
      enabled: true,
      ttl: 86400, // 24 hours
      storage: 'memory', // 'memory' | 'disk' | 'redis'

      // Cache invalidation
      invalidateOn: [
        'new-release',
        'changelog-update',
        'tag-creation'
      ]
    }
  }
}

External Integration

const externalIntegrationConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    external: {
      // Custom release notes API
      api: {
        enabled: false,
        endpoint: 'https://api.company.com/release-notes',
        headers: {
          Authorization: 'Bearer {token}'
        }
      },

      // Webhook notifications
      webhooks: {
        onExtract: 'https://api.company.com/webhooks/release-notes',
        onError: 'https://api.company.com/webhooks/errors'
      }
    }
  }
}

Content Enhancement

const contentEnhancementConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    enhancement: {
      // Link detection and formatting
      links: {
        autoLink: true,
        domains: ['github.com', 'company.com'],
        format: '[{text}]({url})'
      },

      // Issue and PR linking
      references: {
        github: {
          issues: true,
          pullRequests: true,
          format: '[#{number}]({url})'
        }
      },

      // Emoji enhancement
      emojis: {
        enabled: false,
        mapping: {
          feat: '✨',
          fix: '🐛',
          security: '🔒',
          breaking: '⚠️'
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Error Handling

Robust error handling for release notes extraction failures.

Fallback Strategies

const fallbackStrategiesConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    errorHandling: {
      // Fallback sources
      fallbacks: [
        'github-releases',
        'changelog-file',
        'git-commits',
        'package-json'
      ],

      // Retry configuration
      retry: {
        maxAttempts: 3,
        delay: 1000,
        backoff: 'exponential'
      },

      // Graceful degradation
      gracefulDegradation: {
        enabled: true,
        minimalTemplate: 'Updated {packageName} from {currentVersion} to {targetVersion}',
        showErrors: false
      }
    }
  }
}

CLI Commands

Manage release notes via CLI:

# Extract release notes for a package
buddy-bot release-notes react 18.0.0 18.2.0

# Preview release notes for current updates
buddy-bot release-notes --preview

# Cache release notes
buddy-bot release-notes --cache-update

# Test release notes template
buddy-bot release-notes --template-test

Integration Examples

Security-Focused Configuration

export default {
  releaseNotes: {
    prioritize: ['security', 'breaking'],

    template: {
      header: '## 🔒 Security & Critical Updates\n\n',
      packageSection: `
### {packageName} Security Update
**Version:** {currentVersion} → {targetVersion}
**Severity:** {severity}

{securityNotes}

{additionalNotes}
`
    },

    breakingChanges: {
      highlight: true,
      separate: true,
      requireAcknowledgment: true
    }
  }
} satisfies BuddyBotConfig

Minimal Configuration

export default {
  releaseNotes: {
    sources: {
      githubReleases: { enabled: true },
      changelog: { enabled: false },
      gitCommits: { enabled: false }
    },

    formatting: {
      maxLength: 500,
      filters: {
        includeTypes: ['fix', 'security']
      }
    },

    template: {
      packageSection: '**{packageName}** {currentVersion} → {targetVersion}\n{releaseNotes}\n'
    }
  }
} satisfies BuddyBotConfig

Performance Optimization

Parallel Processing

const performanceConfig = {
  releaseNotes: {
    performance: {
      parallel: {
        enabled: true,
        maxConcurrency: 5,
        batchSize: 10
      },

      // Request optimization
      requests: {
        timeout: 10000,
        retries: 2,
        rateLimit: {
          requests: 60,
          window: 60000
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

See Pull Request Generation for how release notes integrate into the complete PR workflow.