Release Notes Generator
Build structured release notes from version info, change entries, and contributors. Export as Markdown, HTML, or Plain Text.
About This Tool
The Release Notes Generator is a free browser-based tool that helps you create professional, well-structured release notes for your software projects. Instead of manually formatting changelog entries, you fill in version details, add categorized change entries (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security), and the tool generates properly formatted output in your chosen format.
The generator supports three popular templates: Keep a Changelog follows
the widely adopted keepachangelog.com convention
with semantic versioning headers and grouped categories. GitHub Release
produces output optimized for GitHub's release feature with highlights sections
and contributor mentions. Conventional Changelog follows the format used by
tools like conventional-changelog and standard-version, ideal for
projects using Conventional Commits.
Each change entry is categorized following the Keep a Changelog standard: Added for new features, Changed for modifications to existing functionality, Deprecated for features that will be removed, Removed for features that were deleted, Fixed for bug fixes, and Security for vulnerability patches. You can optionally attach PR or issue links to each entry.
If you use Conventional Commits in your workflow, the Conventional Commits Linter can help validate commit messages before you build your release notes. For automating the entire release process, check out the Semantic Release Config Builder. You can also use the Changelog Generator to create ongoing CHANGELOG.md files from commit history.
All processing runs entirely in your browser. No version data, change descriptions, or contributor information is ever sent to any server.
How to Use
- Enter your version number (e.g., 2.0.0), release date, and an optional codename in the Version Info section.
- Write a brief release highlights summary describing the most important changes in this release.
- If there are breaking changes, describe them in the Breaking Changes section so they appear prominently in the output.
- Add individual change entries by selecting a category (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security), typing a description, and optionally linking a PR or issue.
- Expand the Contributors section to add team members or community contributors with optional profile URLs.
- Choose a template (Keep a Changelog, GitHub Release, or Conventional Changelog) and output format (Markdown, HTML, or Plain Text).
- Review the generated output in the right panel. Click Copy or press Ctrl+Shift+C to copy, or click Download to save as a file.
Popular Release Notes Examples
FAQ
What is the Keep a Changelog format?
Keep a Changelog is a convention for writing changelogs that groups changes into categories (Added, Changed, Deprecated, Removed, Fixed, Security) under version headers with dates. It follows Semantic Versioning and is described at keepachangelog.com. This tool generates output that conforms to this widely-adopted standard.
What output formats are supported?
The tool generates release notes in three formats: Markdown (the most common for README files, GitHub releases, and documentation), HTML (for embedding in web pages or emails), and Plain Text (for terminal output, emails, or simple text files).
Can I add PR or issue links to change entries?
Yes. Each change entry has an optional link field where you can enter a PR number (like #123), a full URL, or any reference. The link will be formatted appropriately for your chosen output format - as a Markdown link, HTML anchor, or parenthetical reference.
What are the three template options?
Keep a Changelog uses the standard format with [version] - date headers and grouped categories. GitHub Release produces output with H1 headers, a Highlights section, and formatting optimized for GitHub's release feature. Conventional Changelog follows the format used by conventional-changelog tools with a focus on commit-type grouping.
How do breaking changes appear in the output?
Breaking changes are rendered prominently with a dedicated BREAKING CHANGES section using a blockquote (in Markdown), a blockquote element (in HTML), or a clearly labeled section (in Plain Text). This ensures they are immediately visible to users upgrading to the new version.
Is my data safe?
Yes. All release notes generation runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. No version information, change descriptions, contributor details, or any other data is ever sent to any server. You can verify this by checking the Network tab in your browser's developer tools while using the tool.
Can I use this tool for non-software projects?
Absolutely. While the categories follow software release conventions, you can use this tool for any project that needs structured update notes - APIs, documentation, design systems, or even hardware product updates. Simply adapt the change descriptions to fit your context.
Related Tools
Changelog Generator
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Validate commit messages against the Conventional Commits specification. Check type, scope, description, and body format.