Using conventionalcommits Preset with semantic-release

The conventionalcommits Preset

While semantic-release defaults to the Angular commit convention, the conventionalcommits preset provides more flexibility in configuring which commit types trigger releases and how release notes are formatted.

Configuration

{
  "branches": ["main"],
  "plugins": [
    ["@semantic-release/commit-analyzer", {
      "preset": "conventionalcommits",
      "releaseRules": [
        {"type": "feat", "section": "Features", "release": "minor"},
        {"type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "release": "patch"},
        {"type": "perf", "section": "Performance", "release": "patch"},
        {"type": "revert", "section": "Reverts", "release": "patch"},
        {"type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "release": false},
        {"type": "style", "release": false},
        {"type": "chore", "release": false},
        {"type": "refactor", "section": "Refactoring", "release": false},
        {"type": "test", "section": "Tests", "release": false},
        {"type": "build", "section": "Build System", "release": false},
        {"type": "ci", "section": "CI", "release": false}
      ]
    }],
    ["@semantic-release/release-notes-generator", {
      "preset": "conventionalcommits",
      "presetConfig": {
        "types": [
          {"type": "feat", "section": "Features", "hidden": false},
          {"type": "fix", "section": "Bug Fixes", "hidden": false},
          {"type": "perf", "section": "Performance", "hidden": false},
          {"type": "revert", "section": "Reverts", "hidden": false},
          {"type": "docs", "section": "Documentation", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "style", "section": "Styles", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "chore", "section": "Miscellaneous", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "refactor", "section": "Code Refactoring", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "test", "section": "Tests", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "build", "section": "Build System", "hidden": true},
          {"type": "ci", "section": "CI", "hidden": true}
        ]
      }
    }],
    "@semantic-release/npm",
    "@semantic-release/github"
  ]
}

Angular vs conventionalcommits

Feature	angular	conventionalcommits
Section customization	Limited	Full control
Hidden types	Not configurable	hidden property
Scope filtering	Basic	Advanced
Breaking change format	Footer only	Header (!) and footer

Section Configuration

The presetConfig.types array in the release-notes-generator controls which commit types appear in the release notes and under which section heading. Set hidden: true to exclude types from release notes even though they were analyzed.