Release Notes Generator from Merged PRs

WHAT IT DOES

The Release Notes Generator from Merged PRs is a developer tool that automatically generates structured release notes from merged pull request data. It takes user-provided PR information (titles, descriptions, labels, authors), categorizes changes by type (features, bug fixes, enhancements, breaking changes, and other changes), and produces a comprehensive Markdown release notes document. This helps development teams streamline the release documentation process, ensure consistent formatting, and save time when preparing releases.

HOW TO USE

Enter your release version and PR data in the format: title,description,labels (pipe-separated),author (one per line). Click "generate release notes" to produce a structured document. The tool categorizes PRs based on labels and title heuristics, separates breaking changes, features, bug fixes, enhancements, and other changes, and includes a contributor summary with PR counts per author. The generated release notes follow a standard format with sections for each change type and a contributors section. Download the notes as a Markdown file for integration with your release process.

TECHNICAL MECHANISM

The tool parses user input into structured PR objects containing title, description, labels, and author. It then categorizes each PR using a heuristic-based approach: PRs with "breaking" labels are classified as breaking changes; PRs with "feature" or "enhancement" labels are classified as features; PRs with "bugfix" or "fix" labels are classified as bug fixes. For PRs without clear labels, the tool analyzes the title for keywords like "fix", "add", "improve", or "update" to infer the category. The tool aggregates PRs by category and generates a release notes document with sections for breaking changes, new features, bug fixes, enhancements, and other changes. The contributor summary counts PRs per author and displays them sorted alphabetically. The output is formatted as Markdown with appropriate headers, bullet points, and descriptive text.

WHAT IT CANNOT SEE

The tool cannot fetch PR data directly from GitHub without user-provided data or an API key. It cannot automatically determine the correct version bump type (major, minor, patch) without additional context. The tool cannot distinguish between user-facing and internal changes without manual review. It cannot detect if PR descriptions are accurate or complete. The tool cannot automatically categorize ambiguous changes without heuristics. It cannot generate release notes for PRs that are not included in the input data. The tool cannot verify that the generated notes are appropriate for the target audience without manual review.

PLEASE NOTE

This tool is designed for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains but works with any project using GitHub PRs. The categorization is based on labels and heuristics—users should review the generated notes and adjust categories if needed. The tool provides a starting point for release documentation but should not replace manual review of changes. The generated release notes follow a standard format but can be customized by editing the output. The tool does not integrate with GitHub APIs—users must provide PR data manually.