Changelog
Template:Short description Template:For A changelog (also spelled change log)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> is a log or record of all notable changes made to a project.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The project is often a website or software project, and the changelog usually includes records of changes such as bug fixes, new features, etc. Some open-source projects include a changelog as one of the top-level files in their distribution.
A changelog has historically included all changes made to a project. An alternative approach has been suggested that the log should instead contain "a curated, chronologically ordered list of notable changes for each version of a project" and should not be a "dump" of a git log "because this helps nobody".<ref name="keepachangelog">Template:Cite web</ref>
Although the GNU (Automake) canonical naming convention for the file is ChangeLog,<ref>The GNU automake manual.</ref> it is sometimes alternatively named as CHANGES or HISTORY (NEWS is usually a different file reflecting changes between releases, not between the commits). Another convention is to call it a CHANGELOG.<ref name="keepachangelog"/> Some project maintainers will append a .txt suffix to the file name if the changelog is plain text, a .md suffix if it is in Markdown, or a .rst suffix if it is in reStructuredText.
Some revision control systems are able to generate the relevant information for a changelog, if the goal is to include all changes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Format
Changelog files are organized by paragraphs, which define a unique change within a function or file. The GNU Coding standards recommend the following format:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Pre
Between the date and the name, and again between the name and the email address, there are two spaces each. It is common to enclose the email address in < and >. The Emacs editor creates such entries when creating additional changelog entries.
Changelogs in wikis
Most wiki software includes changelogs as a fundamental feature (often called history in this context). For example, the "View history" link at the top<ref>Help:Page_history.</ref> of a Wikipedia entry links to that page's changelog. This feature is vital for complying with the attribution requirements of some copyright licenses.Template:Citation needed
Product changelogs
A product changelog can keep customers in the loop about what's new. It helps to announce new features, latest releases, and relevant news directly in-app.Template:Cn