creating-changesets

Changeset & Release Manager

Overview

Automate the creation of changesets following project conventions, ensuring proper version bumps and well-documented release notes.

When to Use

• After completing a feature or fix
• Before creating a PR
• When preparing a release
• To document breaking changes

What is a Changeset?

A changeset is a markdown file in the .changeset/ directory that describes:

1. Which packages are affected
2. What type of version bump (patch/minor/major)
3. A description of the change

Changeset Types

Type	When to Use	Version Change
patch	Bug fixes, documentation, refactoring, dependency updates	1.0.0 → 1.0.1
minor	New features, non-breaking enhancements	1.0.0 → 1.1.0
major	Breaking changes, API modifications	1.0.0 → 2.0.0

Decision Guide

Use patch for:

• Bug fixes that don't change behavior
• Documentation updates
• Internal refactoring (no API changes)
• Dependency updates (non-breaking)
• Performance improvements
• Code style/linting fixes

Use minor for:

• New features
• New CLI commands
• New configuration options
• Enhanced functionality
• New entity types support
• Non-breaking API additions

Use major for:

• Breaking configuration changes
• Removed features or commands
• Changed CLI interface
• Required migration steps
• Node.js version requirement changes

Creating a Changeset

Interactive Method

pnpm changeset

Follow the prompts:

1. Select affected packages (space to select)
2. Choose bump type for each package
3. Write a summary of changes

Manual Method

Create a file in .changeset/ with a random name:

---
"@saleor/configurator": minor
---

Add support for reference attributes with entityType field

- Attributes of type REFERENCE now require an entityType field
- Introspection properly captures entity type references
- Deploy correctly handles reference attribute creation

File Format

---
"package-name": patch|minor|major
---

Short description of the change (shown in CHANGELOG)

Optional longer description with:
- Bullet points for details
- Code examples if needed
- Migration instructions for breaking changes

Release Workflow

1. Create Changeset

pnpm changeset
git add .changeset/
git commit -m "chore: add changeset for feature"

2. PR and Review

• Changeset is part of the PR
• Reviewers can suggest bump type changes

3. Merge to Main

• Changesets action creates "Version Packages" PR
• This PR updates version and CHANGELOG

4. Merge Version PR

• Triggers npm publish
• Creates GitHub release

Checking Status

# See what changesets exist
npx changeset status

# Preview version bump
npx changeset version --dry-run

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Issue	Fix
Wrong bump type	Unexpected version	Review decision guide above
Vague description	Poor CHANGELOG	Be specific about changes
Missing changeset	No release notes	Always add before PR
Multiple changesets	Fragmented notes	Combine related changes
Not including context	Hard to understand	Explain why not just what

Common Scenarios

For detailed examples of common scenarios including:

• Bug fixes, new features, breaking changes
• Multiple related changes
• Consolidated changesets
• Pre-release versions
• Best practices for descriptions

See Scenarios & Examples

References

• {baseDir}/.changeset/config.json - Changeset configuration
• {baseDir}/CHANGELOG.md - Generated changelog
• Changesets docs: https://github.com/changesets/changesets

Related Skills

• CI/CD automation: See managing-github-ci for release workflow integration
• Pre-commit validation: See validating-pre-commit for quality gates before committing