How to Write a Keep a Changelog File from Commit Subjects
Changelogs invent version bumps. Keep every bullet on a commit subject.
The matching generator is the CHANGELOG Keep-a-Changelog from Commit Subjects (No Invented Semver) prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
Map each subject before you pick a heading
Build a Keep a Changelog file from pasted commit subjects only. Never invent SemVer bumps, dates, or unlisted commits. Start by filling Inputs, not by asking the model to remember last week's run. If a field is blank, write NONE or NOT IN INPUTS and leave it blank through Generate. The card is built so the model cannot honestly invent a number, owner, URL, or command that you did not paste.
Paste these fields before you hit run:
Pasted commit subjects (one per line): [Subjects]
Version string I lock (or NONE): [Version]
Release date I lock (ISO or NONE): [Date]
Keep a Changelog version I lock: [Spec or 1.1.0]
Section headings I allow: [Sections]
Words I must not use: [Banned]
What I must never invent: [Never]
Output format: [Format]
Language: [Lang]
Max bullets: [Max]
That inventory is the honesty ledger. Anything that does not appear there is forbidden in the draft. If you catch yourself adding a nice-to-have after the run, you are no longer using the card. You are ghostwriting. Put the extra fact in Inputs and run again.
Leave the version Unreleased when Version is NONE
Generate is numbered on purpose. Do not skip a step because the first paragraph looked done. The early steps exist to stop later prose from smuggling claims.
Walk the Generate list in order:
- Honesty ledger: subject count, Version status, Date status, Spec, Sections, Lang, Max. Forbidden: invented SemVer, invented dates, invented commits.
- Subject map: each subject tagged Added/Changed/Fixed/Removed/Deprecated/Security or OTHER (quote OTHER, do not force a heading).
- Changelog body: Keep a Changelog markdown. Unreleased if Version is NONE. Date line only if Date is not NONE.
- Provenance: each output bullet mapped to a Subject line number.
- Refuse list: invented 1.2.0 bumps, invented compare URLs, invented contributors.
- Diff notes: Banned or Never cuts. Subjects tagged OTHER stay in a leftover list, not a fake section.
- Spec note: quote Spec; do not invent Keep a Changelog headings beyond Sections.
- Compliance pass: Banned/Never hits. Bullet count vs Max. Gaps list of five. Format as Format.
If a step asks for a version lock, quote the version from Inputs in the output. If a step asks for a refuse list, keep the refuse list in the published artifact, not in a sidebar you delete. Reviewers should see what the model was not allowed to do.
Refuse invented compare URLs and dates
Most failures are the same shape: a missing field gets a confident fill. A conversion rate appears. A Gradle task appears. A flash point appears. A caption appears on a job that asked for slide text only. Your review is to search the draft for numbers, names, and commands, then grep Inputs. No match means cut.
Honor the constraints as hard stops, not vibes:
- Keep a Changelog from Subjects only. Not a GitHub Releases essay and not a SemVer oracle.
- Never invent SemVer, dates, or unlisted commits.
- Stay at or under Max bullets.
- No emojis.
When the card says not legal advice, not certification, not an exam dump, or not a caption engine, that sentence belongs at the top of the output. Deleting it to look more finished is how you inherit risk.
Print bullet count against the max
Finish with the compliance pass the prompt already asks for. Quote the banned-word hits. Cut them. Print character counts when the job has a cap. Print word counts when the job has a budget. List gaps as gaps. Five missing facts are more useful than one smooth paragraph.
Tags on the card (keep a changelog, no invented semver, commit subjects changelog) are a reminder of the job shape, not an invitation to wander into a neighboring cluster. If you need a different surface, open a different PromptDig card rather than stretching this one.
Fill the card, then run
Replace every bracket. Run on ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Read the ledger first, then the artifact. If the model invents a commit, KPI, DOI, PEL, bid, or logo, discard the run. Tighten Inputs. Run again. Share the filled card that survived, not the first draft that sounded done.