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An opinionated changelog manager

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Sacho: an opinionated changelog manager
=======================================

[![GitHub Releases][GitHub Releases badge]][GitHub Releases]
[![crates.io][crates.io badge]][crates.io]
[![npm][npm badge]][npm]
[![GitHub Actions][GitHub Actions badge]][GitHub Actions]
[![License: GPL-3.0-only][GPL-3.0 badge]][GPL-3.0]
[![GitHub Sponsors][GitHub Sponsors badge]][GitHub Sponsors]

[GitHub Releases badge]: https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/dahlia/sacho?logo=github
[GitHub Releases]: https://github.com/dahlia/sacho/releases
[crates.io badge]: https://img.shields.io/crates/v/sacho?logo=rust
[crates.io]: https://crates.io/crates/sacho
[npm badge]: https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@sacho/sacho?logo=npm
[npm]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@sacho/sacho
[GitHub Actions badge]: https://github.com/dahlia/sacho/actions/workflows/main.yaml/badge.svg
[GitHub Actions]: https://github.com/dahlia/sacho/actions/workflows/main.yaml
[GPL-3.0 badge]: https://img.shields.io/github/license/dahlia/sacho
[GPL-3.0]: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
[GitHub Sponsors badge]: https://img.shields.io/github/sponsors/dahlia?logo=githubsponsors
[GitHub Sponsors]: https://github.com/sponsors/dahlia

Motivation
----------

Changelogs are not commit messages. A commit message explains why a change was
made and addresses collaborators; a changelog tells users what changed and what
they should or can do when they upgrade. Most changelog tooling ignores this
distinction. Tools like git-cliff, conventional-changelog, and semantic-release
generate changelogs *from* commit messages, which produces documents written
for the wrong audience in the wrong voice. Sacho rejects generation outright:
every changelog entry is prose written by a human, for users, at the time the
change is made.

The remaining tools that share this stance are tied to language ecosystems.
towncrier assumes Python; changesets assumes an npm monorepo. Sacho is a single
static binary with no runtime dependencies, usable in any repository regardless
of language, and it does not even assume Git.

[*Sacho is opinionated.*](./PHILOSOPHY.md) It enforces one fragment format,
one output style, and one set of invariants. Configuration exists to describe
your repository, not to customize the philosophy.

Installation
------------

The recommended way to install Sacho is with [mise]'s GitHub backend:

~~~~ sh
mise use -g github:dahlia/sacho
~~~~

This selects the release archive for the current platform and puts *sacho* on
your `PATH`. npm installs the same prebuilt binary:

~~~~ sh
npm install -g @sacho/sacho
~~~~

Development builds are available as `@sacho/sacho@canary`.

Cargo can build and install the published crate from crates.io instead:

~~~~ sh
cargo install sacho
~~~~

Without mise, npm, or Cargo, download the archive for your platform from
[GitHub Releases], then extract
*sacho* (*sacho.exe* on Windows) into a directory on your `PATH`.

[mise]: https://mise.jdx.dev/

Agent Skill
-----------

Sacho ships an [Agent Skill] that teaches AI coding agents, such as Claude Code,
how to adopt and operate Sacho: writing fragments for users, cutting releases,
and forward-porting fixes across maintenance branches.

In Claude Code, install it as a plugin. Add this repository as a plugin
marketplace, then install the `sacho` plugin:

~~~~ text
/plugin marketplace add dahlia/sacho
/plugin install sacho@sacho
~~~~

For other agents, or to install the skill without the plugin system, use the
[`skills`] CLI, which reads the skill straight from this repository:

~~~~ sh
npx skills add dahlia/sacho
~~~~

Add `-a claude-code` to target one agent, `-g` to install it globally, and
`--skill sacho` to select the skill by name.

The skill is also bundled inside the `@sacho/sacho` npm package, following the
[`skills-npm`] layout. In a project that depends on that package, run
`npx skills-npm setup` once to link bundled skills from *node\_modules* into
your agent on every install.

[Agent Skill]: https://agentskills.io/
[`skills`]: https://github.com/vercel-labs/skills
[`skills-npm`]: https://github.com/antfu/skills-npm

Documentation
-------------

The [*Sacho documentation*] walks through adoption, everyday use, releases,
CI, and version-control integration. It also explains Sacho's core concepts and
provides complete command and configuration references.

[*Sacho documentation*]: https://sacho.dev/guide/getting-started

How it works
------------

Each user-visible change lives in a small Markdown file under *changes.d/*.
These files are called fragments. They are the source of truth for the next
release; the unreleased section in *CHANGES.md* is generated output. Sacho
sorts and formats the fragments, then turns them into a dated version section
when you release. The consumed fragment files are deleted, while the released
section is left untouched.

A fragment contains exactly one top-level unordered list. One item is usual,
but related changes may share a fragment:

~~~~ markdown
 -  Added `clear()` to remove every entry at once.
 -  Added `is_empty()` for checking whether a collection has entries.
~~~~

Name fragments after the change itself, such as *clear-function.md*, rather
than after an issue or pull request number. A later change to the same feature
can then update the existing fragment instead of documenting an intermediate
state that never shipped.

Basic workflow
--------------

With `sacho` on your `PATH`, initialize it at the repository root:

~~~~ sh
sacho init
~~~~

Initialization creates *sacho.toml*, *changes.d/*, and *CHANGES.md*. It also
sets up the merge integration supported by the detected version-control
system. The interactive setup can infer an issue-link template from the
repository URL, offer headings found across an existing changelog as section
configuration, and offer to install a Git pre-commit hook. Repository
integrations use the executable that ran `init`; pass
`--integration-executable PATH` to use another executable.

If an existing *CHANGES.md* already has entries under `Unreleased` or
`Version X`, import them before creating new fragments:

~~~~ sh
sacho import-unreleased
~~~~

Sacho shows any normalization diff before writing. The import creates one root
fragment, or one fragment per populated configured section, records `X` as the
next version when present, and leaves every released section unchanged.

If the import did not infer a version, choose the version you are preparing:

~~~~ sh
sacho next 1.2.0
~~~~

Create one fragment for each user-visible change, then edit the path printed by
the command:

~~~~ sh
sacho add clear-function
~~~~

Repositories configured with sections, such as packages in a monorepo, select
the section by its configured id:

~~~~ sh
sacho add --section core clear-function
~~~~

Format the fragments, inspect the compiled release, and check the repository
before committing:

~~~~ sh
sacho fmt
sacho resolve-links  # optional: pin final redirected reference URLs
sacho preview
sacho check
~~~~

`sacho fmt` also refreshes the materialized unreleased section. Do not edit
that section in *CHANGES.md* by hand; edit its fragments and run `sacho sync`
if the generated copy falls out of date. To enforce fragment coverage for
source changes, configure `[check].paths` and use `sacho check --staged` for
staged Git changes or `sacho check --base <revision>` in CI.

When the version is ready, compile and consume its fragments. This command
releases the version stored by `sacho next`, uses the current local date, and
closes the materialized unreleased region:

~~~~ sh
sacho release
~~~~

If no next version has been set, pass the release version explicitly, for
example `sacho release 1.2.0`. Use `--date YYYY-MM-DD` when the release date
must be supplied rather than taken from the local clock. A repository with no
released changelog sections can cut its first release without fragments. Later
empty releases require an explicit `--allow-empty`.

Commit and tag that released-only state. When development resumes, start the
next cycle separately:

~~~~ sh
sacho next 1.3.0
~~~~

Pass `--next 1.3.0` to `sacho release` only when the release commit should also
open the next cycle and retain its empty materialized region.

After committing a release, print its frozen Markdown section with `show`:

~~~~ sh
sacho show 1.2.0
~~~~

The output starts at the version heading and ends before the next released
version heading. It is written to standard output unless `-o PATH` or
`--output-file PATH` is supplied. Pass `-H` or `--skip-heading` to omit the
version heading. For example, a GitHub Actions job triggered by a `v1.2.0` tag
can run:

~~~~ sh
version="${GITHUB_REF_NAME#v}"
sacho show "$version" --skip-heading --no-word-wrap --output-file release-notes.md
gh release create "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --notes-file release-notes.md
~~~~

Version-control integration
---------------------------

Sacho can enforce that commits changing configured source paths also carry a
changelog fragment. Select the repository's VCS and the paths to check in
*sacho.toml*:

~~~~ toml
[vcs]
preset = "git" # "jj", "hg", or "none"

[check]
paths = ["src/**"]
~~~~

Then check commits after a base revision with `sacho check --base <revision>`.
Git also supports `sacho check --staged`. The `none` preset explicitly skips
VCS-backed checks while leaving fragment validation and changelog consistency
checks enabled.

`sacho init` installs Git merge attributes and drivers in Git repositories. In
Mercurial repositories it installs an idempotent block in *.hg/hgrc* containing
a successful-merge update hook and, when changelog materialization is enabled,
the changelog merge driver. These integrations invoke the executable that ran
`init` unless `--integration-executable` selects another one. Jujutsu has no
per-path merge-driver hook; after resolving a concurrent fragment merge, run
`sacho sync --force`.

See [*CI and hooks*] for fragment coverage and [*Version control*] for preset,
merge-driver, and custom-query details.

[*CI and hooks*]: https://sacho.dev/guide/ci-and-hooks
[*Version control*]: https://sacho.dev/guide/version-control

Etymology
---------

Sacho (史草) names the
[draft records kept by official historians of Joseon Korea.][1]
Historiographers wrote sacho independently, event by event, as things happened.
Only after a king's death did the Office for Annals Compilation collect the
sacho and compile them into the Veritable Records (sillok, 實錄). Once
compiled, the annals were sealed in archives and could not be revised; not even
the king was permitted to read the sacho or to interfere with their
compilation. The drafts themselves were then washed of their ink so the paper
could be reused, a step with its own name: secho (洗草).

The correspondence to this tool is close enough that the name doubles as a
design summary. Fragments are sacho: independent records written when the
change happens. A release is the compilation of the annals: fragments are
gathered into a permanent document. Released sections are sealed: Sacho never
rewrites them. Deleting consumed fragments after a release is secho. The
institutional insistence that drafts, not recollection, are the source of truth
is the same insistence this tool makes against generating changelogs from
commit messages after the fact.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veritable_Records_of_the_Joseon_Dynasty#Compilation_process

License
-------

Sacho is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3
only. It comes with no warranty, to the extent permitted by law. See
[*LICENSE*](./LICENSE) for the full terms.

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