Changelog
Auto-generated product changelogs
Thesis
Product changelogs are tedious to write. This is fully automatable from git. Free for public repos, paid for private.
The Problem
Most teams skip changelogs because writing them is tedious: Digging through PRs and commits takes forever. Translating technical changes to user-facing language is surprisingly hard. Nobody owns it, so it just... doesn't happen. Users get surprised by changes or miss new features entirely. The result? Frustrated users, repeated support questions, and missed adoption of new features.
Implementation Approaches
GitHub App (Recommended)
Native GitHub integration that generates changelogs automatically on release
Implementation
- →GitHub App installed at org or repo level
- →Watches for release events or tagged commits
- →Reads PR titles, descriptions, and linked issues
- →Uses Claude to generate friendly changelog copy
- →Creates release notes or updates CHANGELOG.md via PR
Pros
- +Native GitHub experience, users stay in their workflow
- +GitHub Marketplace gives you built-in discovery
- +Freemium model: free for public, paid for private repos
- +Gets smarter over time by learning from edited changelogs
Cons
- −GitHub-only at first (GitLab, Bitbucket come later)
- −Competitive space, need strong differentiation
- −GitHub API rate limits on free tier
CLI Tool
Command-line tool that generates changelogs from local git history
Implementation
- →npm package: `npx changelog-ai generate`
- →Reads git log between tags/dates
- →Outputs markdown or integrates with existing CHANGELOG.md
- →Configurable via .changelogrc file
- →Works offline, runs locally
Pros
- +Fastest to build, just a CLI wrapper around Claude
- +Platform agnostic, works with any git host
- +Privacy-focused since code stays local
- +Can be part of CI/CD pipelines
Cons
- −Requires user action, not automatic
- −Harder to monetize CLI tools
- −Less viral distribution than marketplace
Web App + Webhooks
Dashboard that connects to repos and generates changelogs via webhooks
Implementation
- →OAuth with GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket
- →Dashboard to configure repos and preferences
- →Webhook-based changelog generation
- →Hosted changelog pages (like changelog.yourapp.com)
- →Widget embeds for marketing sites
Pros
- +Full control over user experience
- +Can offer hosted changelog pages as a differentiator
- +Multiple VCS support from day one
- +More features means higher price point
Cons
- −More infrastructure to maintain
- −Longer to build, more to go wrong
- −Users have to leave their workflow to configure
Validation Plan
Hypothesis to Test
Developers will pay $9/mo to auto-generate changelogs for private repos
Validation Phases
Landing Page Test
1 week- •Create landing page with value prop and pricing
- •Add waitlist signup with 'which repos?' question
- •Run $100 in GitHub-targeted ads
- •Target: 50+ signups, 10+ provide repo names
Manual MVP
1 week- •Reach out to top 10 waitlist signups
- •Manually generate changelogs for their repos
- •Gather feedback on quality and usefulness
- •Ask: 'Would you pay $9/mo for this?'
Beta Launch
2 weeks- •Build GitHub App MVP
- •Launch on Product Hunt and GitHub Marketplace
- •Offer free tier for public repos
- •Track: installs, generations, upgrades to paid
Kill Criteria
Stop and move on if any of these become true:
- ✕Fewer than 20 waitlist signups after $100 ad spend
- ✕Quality feedback is consistently negative
- ✕No interest in paying even after seeing value
- ✕Competitive products already nail this