Jetpack Changelogger Laravel Package

## Getting Started

### Minimal Setup
1. **Installation**:
   ```bash
   composer require --dev automattic/jetpack-changelogger

Ensure the changelog directory exists with a .gitkeep file:

mkdir -p changelog && touch changelog/.gitkeep

2. First Change File: Create a change file (e.g., changelog/feat-add-login.md) with metadata and content:

   Significance: minor
   Type: added
   Comment: New login feature
   
   Users can now log in via OAuth.
   

3. Validate:

   composer exec -- changelogger validate changelog/feat-add-login.md
   

4. Generate Changelog:

   composer exec -- changelogger write
   

Key Files to Review

• composer.json: Configure extra.changelogger (e.g., changes-dir, types).
• CHANGELOG.md: Default output file (customizable via config).
• changelog/*.md: Change files for each PR.

Implementation Patterns

Workflow Integration

1. PR-Based Changelogging:

   • Branch Naming: Use unique branch names (e.g., feat/login-oauth) to auto-generate filenames.
   • CI/CD Hook: Add a GitHub Action to validate change files on PR:

     - name: Validate Changelog
       run: composer exec changelogger validate changelog/*.md
     

2. Release Process:

   • Pre-Release:

     composer exec changelogger add --significance=minor --type=added --comment="New feature" --entry="Description"
     

   • Finalize Release:

     composer exec changelogger write --version=1.2.0
     git add CHANGELOG.md changelog/.gitkeep
     

3. Custom Types: Extend types in composer.json for domain-specific categories:

   "extra": {
     "changelogger": {
       "types": {
         "deprecated": "Deprecated",
         "security": "Security Fixes"
       }
     }
   }
   

Laravel-Specific Tips

• Artisan Command: Create a custom command to wrap changelogger:

  // app/Console/Commands/GenerateChangelog.php
  use Symfony\Component\Process\Process;
  use Symfony\Component\Process\Exception\ProcessFailedException;
  
  class GenerateChangelog extends Command {
      protected $signature = 'changelog:generate {--version=}';
      public function handle() {
          $process = new Process(['changelogger', 'write', '--version=' . $this->option('version')]);
          $process->run();
          if (!$process->isSuccessful()) {
              throw new ProcessFailedException($process);
          }
          $this->info('Changelog generated!');
      }
  }
  

  Register in app/Console/Kernel.php:

  protected $commands = [
      Commands\GenerateChangelog::class,
  ];
  

• Git Hooks: Use Laravel’s repository facade to trigger changelog updates post-merge:

  // app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php
  use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Event;
  use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Process;
  
  public function boot() {
      Event::listen('repository.merged', function () {
          Process::run('composer exec changelogger validate changelog/*.md');
      });
  }
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. Empty Entries:

   • Issue: Patch-significance entries must have content (even if empty, use a placeholder like [ ]).
   • Fix: Validate with changelogger validate --strict.

2. Version Bumps:

   • Issue: semver plugin may miscalculate if Significance is missing or invalid.
   • Fix: Use --version flag to override:

     composer exec changelogger write --version=1.0.0
     

3. Plugin Conflicts:

   • Issue: Custom formatter or versioning plugins may break if not properly autoloaded.
   • Fix: Ensure plugins implement FormatterPlugin/VersioningPlugin and are PSR-4 compliant.

4. Merge Conflicts:

   • Issue: Change files with identical names (e.g., changelog/feat-x.md) cause conflicts.
   • Fix: Enforce branch-name-based filenames (e.g., changelog/feat-login-{branch-name}.md).

Debugging

• Dry Runs: Use --dry-run to preview changes:

  composer exec changelogger write --dry-run
  

• Verbose Output: Enable debug mode:

  composer exec changelogger write -vvv
  

Extension Points

1. Custom Formatter: Extend keepachangelog to support custom Markdown (e.g., tables):

   // app/Plugins/CustomFormatter.php
   namespace App\Plugins;
   use Automattic\Jetpack\Changelogger\FormatterPlugin;
   
   class CustomFormatter implements FormatterPlugin {
       public function format(array $entries) {
           // Custom logic (e.g., wrap entries in tables)
           return "```markdown\n| Version | Changes |\n|---------|---------|\n" . implode("\n", $entries) . "\n```";
       }
   }
   

   Register in composer.json:

   "extra": {
     "changelogger": {
       "formatter": {
         "class": "App\\Plugins\\CustomFormatter"
       }
     }
   }
   

2. Git Metadata: Auto-populate Comment with PR numbers using a Laravel service:

   // app/Services/ChangelogService.php
   use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
   
   class ChangelogService {
       public function getPrNumber(string $branch) {
           $response = Http::get("https://api.github.com/repos/{repo}/compare/{branch}...main");
           return $response->object()->commit->parents[0]->message ?? null;
       }
   }
   

   Hook into changelogger add via a custom script.

3. WordPress Versioning: Use the wordpress plugin for decimal versions (e.g., 9.4):

   composer exec changelogger write --point-release
   

Config Quirks

• Relative Paths: Ensure changelog and changes-dir paths are relative to composer.json (not project root).
• Types Validation: Omit Type field if types is empty in config (defaults to Keep a Changelog types).
• Link Templates: Customize ${new}/${old} in link-template for release notes:

  "link-template": "https://github.com/{repo}/releases/tag/v${new}"
  

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