198 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
198 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: none
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group: unassigned
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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---
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# Changelog entries
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This guide contains instructions for when and how to generate a changelog entry
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file, as well as information and history about our changelog process.
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## Overview
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Each list item, or **entry**, in our
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[`CHANGELOG.md`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md)
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file is generated from the subject line of a Git commit. Commits are included
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when they contain the `Changelog` [Git trailer](https://git-scm.com/docs/git-interpret-trailers).
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When generating the changelog, author and merge request details are added
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automatically.
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The `Changelog` trailer accepts the following values:
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- `added`: New feature
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- `fixed`: Bug fix
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- `changed`: Feature change
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- `deprecated`: New deprecation
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- `removed`: Feature removal
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- `security`: Security fix
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- `performance`: Performance improvement
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- `other`: Other
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An example of a Git commit to include in the changelog is the following:
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```plaintext
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Update git vendor to gitlab
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Now that we are using gitaly to compile git, the git version isn't known
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from the manifest, instead we are getting the gitaly version. Update our
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vendor field to be `gitlab` to avoid cve matching old versions.
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Changelog: changed
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```
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### Overriding the associated merge request
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GitLab automatically links the merge request to the commit when generating the
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changelog. If you want to override the merge request to link to, you can specify
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an alternative merge request using the `MR` trailer:
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```plaintext
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Update git vendor to gitlab
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Now that we are using gitaly to compile git, the git version isn't known
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from the manifest, instead we are getting the gitaly version. Update our
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vendor field to be `gitlab` to avoid cve matching old versions.
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Changelog: changed
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MR: https://gitlab.com/foo/bar/-/merge_requests/123
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```
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The value must be the full URL of the merge request.
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### GitLab Enterprise changes
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If a change is exclusively for GitLab Enterprise Edition, **you must add** the
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trailer `EE: true`:
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```plaintext
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Update git vendor to gitlab
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Now that we are using gitaly to compile git, the git version isn't known
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from the manifest, instead we are getting the gitaly version. Update our
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vendor field to be `gitlab` to avoid cve matching old versions.
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Changelog: changed
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MR: https://gitlab.com/foo/bar/-/merge_requests/123
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EE: true
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```
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**Do not** add the trailer for changes that apply to both EE and CE.
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## What warrants a changelog entry?
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- Any change that introduces a database migration, whether it's regular, post,
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or data migration, **must** have a changelog entry, even if it is behind a
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disabled feature flag.
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- [Security fixes](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/release/docs/blob/master/general/security/developer.md)
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**must** have a changelog entry, with `Changelog` trailer set to `security`.
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- Any user-facing change **must** have a changelog entry. Example: "GitLab now
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uses system fonts for all text."
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- Any client-facing change to our REST and GraphQL APIs **must** have a changelog entry.
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See the [complete list what comprises a GraphQL breaking change](api_graphql_styleguide.md#breaking-changes).
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- Any change that introduces an [Advanced Search migration](elasticsearch.md#creating-a-new-advanced-search-migration)
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**must** have a changelog entry.
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- A fix for a regression introduced and then fixed in the same release (such as
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fixing a bug introduced during a monthly release candidate) **should not**
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have a changelog entry.
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- Any developer-facing change (such as refactoring, technical debt remediation,
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or test suite changes) **should not** have a changelog entry. Example: "Reduce
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database records created during Cycle Analytics model spec."
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- _Any_ contribution from a community member, no matter how small, **may** have
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a changelog entry regardless of these guidelines if the contributor wants one.
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- Any [experiment](experiment_guide/index.md) changes **should not** have a changelog entry.
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- An MR that includes only documentation changes **should not** have a changelog entry.
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For more information, see
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[how to handle changelog entries with feature flags](feature_flags/index.md#changelog).
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## Writing good changelog entries
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A good changelog entry should be descriptive and concise. It should explain the
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change to a reader who has _zero context_ about the change. If you have trouble
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making it both concise and descriptive, err on the side of descriptive.
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- **Bad:** Go to a project order.
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- **Good:** Show a user's starred projects at the top of the "Go to project"
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dropdown.
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The first example provides no context of where the change was made, or why, or
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how it benefits the user.
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- **Bad:** Copy (some text) to clipboard.
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- **Good:** Update the "Copy to clipboard" tooltip to indicate what's being
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copied.
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Again, the first example is too vague and provides no context.
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- **Bad:** Fixes and Improves CSS and HTML problems in mini pipeline graph and
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builds dropdown.
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- **Good:** Fix tooltips and hover states in mini pipeline graph and builds
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dropdown.
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The first example is too focused on implementation details. The user doesn't
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care that we changed CSS and HTML, they care about the _end result_ of those
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changes.
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- **Bad:** Strip out `nil`s in the Array of Commit objects returned from
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`find_commits_by_message_with_elastic`
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- **Good:** Fix 500 errors caused by Elasticsearch results referencing
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garbage-collected commits
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The first example focuses on _how_ we fixed something, not on _what_ it fixes.
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The rewritten version clearly describes the _end benefit_ to the user (fewer 500
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errors), and _when_ (searching commits with Elasticsearch).
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Use your best judgement and try to put yourself in the mindset of someone
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reading the compiled changelog. Does this entry add value? Does it offer context
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about _where_ and _why_ the change was made?
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## How to generate a changelog entry
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Git trailers are added when committing your changes. This can be done using your
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text editor of choice. Adding the trailer to an existing commit requires either
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amending to the commit (if it's the most recent one), or an interactive rebase
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using `git rebase -i`.
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To update the last commit, run the following:
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```shell
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git commit --amend
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```
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You can then add the `Changelog` trailer to the commit message. If you had
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already pushed prior commits to your remote branch, you have to force push
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the new commit:
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```shell
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git push -f origin your-branch-name
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```
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To edit older (or multiple commits), use `git rebase -i HEAD~N` where `N` is the
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last N number of commits to rebase. Let's say you have 3 commits on your branch:
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A, B, and C. If you want to update commit B, you need to run:
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```shell
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git rebase -i HEAD~2
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```
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This starts an interactive rebase session for the last two commits. When
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started, Git presents you with a text editor with contents along the lines of
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the following:
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```plaintext
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pick B Subject of commit B
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pick C Subject of commit C
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```
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To update commit B, change the word `pick` to `reword`, then save and quit the
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editor. Once closed, Git presents you with a new text editor instance to edit
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the commit message of commit B. Add the trailer, then save and quit the editor.
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If all went well, commit B is now updated.
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For more information about interactive rebases, take a look at [the Git
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documentation](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Git-Tools-Rewriting-History).
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---
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[Return to Development documentation](index.md)
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