changelogify

Introduction

Changelogify automatically collects site changes, groups them into releases, and publishes a public changelog.
It captures events from your Drupal site like content updates, module installs, and user changes, and helps you
turn them into polished, categorized release notes for clients, stakeholders, or public consumption.

Changelogify bridges the gap between automatic logging and manually written release notes.

Why Keep a Changelog?

A changelog is more than a list of updates — it's a communication tool that builds trust and drives engagement.
Here's why every site should maintain one:

1. Builds Trust and Transparency:
   A changelog proves your site is actively maintained and that you listen to feedback — especially important
   for sites handling data or payments.
2. Educates and Re-engages Users:
   New features often go unnoticed. A changelog acts as a central hub to explain what changed and why,
   and gives you a reason to send users back to explore improvements.
3. Improves Internal Alignment:
   Writing a changelog forces reflection and helps align design, engineering, and marketing teams
   on what was actually shipped.
4. Provides a Searchable History:
   As a project grows, it becomes hard to remember when or why a change was made. A changelog gives
   teams and power users an easy-to-search archive.
5. Showcases Craft and Quality:
   Documenting small fixes and polish signals to users, collaborators, and competitors that you care
   about the details.
6. Reduces Support Volume:
   Proactively listing bug fixes and interface changes reduces support tickets from users who might
   otherwise mistake a change for a glitch.

Key Features

• Automatic Event Capture:
  Silently tracks node creates, updates, deletes, module operations, and user role changes in the background.
• Structured Releases:
  Group events into industry standard sections: Added, Changed, Fixed, Removed, Security, and Other.
• Public Changelog Page:
  Automatically publishes a clean, themeable list of releases at /changelog.
• Draft and Review Workflow:
  Generate a draft release from recent events, edit the descriptions for clarity, and publish when ready.

Use Cases

• Agencies:
  Quickly generate maintenance reports for clients showing "What we did this month."
• Product Sites:
  Keep users informed of new features and updates automatically.
• Intranets:
  Track and display system updates for internal staff.

Getting Started

After installing the module, it starts working immediately but requires a few setup steps to fully utilize:

1. Configure Tracking:
   Go to /admin/config/development/changelogify/settings to choose which events to track
   (Content, Modules, Users) and set retention limits.
2. Generate a Release:
   Navigate to the Dashboard at /admin/config/development/changelogify. Even if you just installed it,
   you can manually create a release. As you use the site, events will accumulate here.
3. Publish:
   Click "Generate New Release," select a date range (or "Since last release"), review the draft, and click Publish.
4. View:
   Your release is now live at /changelog.

Requirements

• Drupal 10.x or 11.x
• PHP 8.1 or higher
• Core modules: node, user
• No external libraries required

How Changelogify Compares

Traditional changelogs usually rely on manual node creation or static files.
Changelogify differs by automating the collection of events from the system itself, reducing the manual work required
to compile release notes.

Project Resources

• GitHub Repository: Star the project or contribute PRs.
• Issue Queue: Report bugs or request features.

See the README.md file for a quick start guide.