Shipnote: changelogs people actually read
A CLI + web app that turns git commits into readable changelogs.
- Role
- Solo maintainer
- Timeline
- 4 weeks, 2025
- Stack
- Node.js, OpenAI API, Astro
- Users
- 300+ GitHub stars
The problem
Release notes at work were either a raw commit dump or skipped entirely, so nobody outside the team knew what had shipped.
Constraints
- Must run locally and in CI with one command.
- Commits stay on the machine unless the user opts in to the AI summary.
Architecture
- git log
- Node.js CLI
- OpenAI API
- Astro site
Key decisions
Group by conventional commit type first. Most of the structure comes for free from commit prefixes; the model only rewrites each group into plain English.
Results
300+GitHub stars
12contributors
5sper release note
What I'd do differently
Ship the plain, non-AI formatter first. Most users wanted grouping more than prose.